Journey of the Three Failures
by Hinata0321
Summary: Uzumaki Naruto's defeat at the hands of Hyuuga Neji changed the course of history. Now an outcast Naruto, Hinata, and Lee must flee Konoha to become stronger, and ultimately save the very village which scorned them. Strong Naruto, Hinata, and Lee. DarkNeji, NiceHanabi. NaruHina.
1. Setting Out

Journey of the Three Failures

Chapter 1

Hi! Almost a year after I get an account, I finally decide to write something! Here's my first fanfic here, my second fanfic ever, and my first ever Naruto fanfiction! I hope to give you a good read! Enjoy!

**Disclaimer: **If I owned _NARUTO_, it would probably be called _HINATA_.

**Journey of the Three Failures**

**One: Setting Out**

'_The winner is… Hyuuga Neji.'_

Oh, how one event could change the future – but to say it merely changed would be an understatement. More accurate would be warped, stabbed repeatedly, tossed into a blender and crushed to tiny pieces, scattered in the wind to be collected and rolled into a fresh ball of clay, mashed haphazardly into something new that got fired far too long – which was dropped and broken – and then reformed in an entirely new way because no one had a clue what the heck it was supposed to look like.

Uzumaki Naruto's defeat at the hands of Hyuuga Neji jarred not only the destiny of three individuals, but Konohagakure no Sato, Hi no Kuni, the Godaikoku, and the entire shinobi world as we know it.

Fate is a funny thing.

* * *

**Hinata ****ヒナタ**

I picked myself up off the floor, gasping as I raised one palm before me, the other near my side.

"A-again," I gasped.

Chakra pulsed through my feet, propelling my sprint forward. He did the same, meeting me halfway to effortlessly block one palm strike, thrusting aside the next. I began to fall backwards, off-balance, as I blocked a high, heavy strike, and instantly two fingers jabbed sharply into my bicep as a palm crashed into my belly. He closed in in a blur as I stumbled back, and with lightning speed a very sparring-unfriendly palm smashed brutally into my sternum.

Chakra-imbued Juuken strikes were not permitted, of course. It was for this reason that Neji-nii-san merely attacked me with the ferocious entirety of his hatred-fueled strength.

I wasn't sure whether or not I should be grateful.

I landed several yards away, struggling to draw a proper breath, head ringing at the pain in my chest. Stunned, I rolled onto my side, coughing wetly.

"Nii-san," I heard Hanabi say timidly. No one particularly enjoyed talking to Neji when he was in one of his rages. "I – I think you're … hitting too hard…"

"Maybe," he scoffed icily, "or perhaps Hinata-_sama _is too weak."

My teeth clenched in pain and determination as I stood, fighting tears. I raised my right arm in front of me, the left near limp at my side.

"A…gain…" I croaked.

He shook his head in disgust. "Why do you even keep standing? You're no match, Hinata-sama. Accept that you're not destined to win."

I glared at him, even knowing the look couldn't be half as menacing as his cold, calm scowl. "I can't give up! Naruto-kun wouldn't give up, so I won't either! As long as I _can _stand – I will!" Three passing Hyuuga shot me a look.

"Oh? I defeated Uzumaki. You think you're stronger than your precious Naruto-kun?"

I opened my mouth, and then closed it. I wasn't sure what to say to that. He frowned.

"If you want to defeat me so badly, order me to lose – or even better, activate this seal!" he screamed, and in one motion ripped off his hitai-ate, exposing his curse mark in a challenge.

"No!" I cried, appalled.

"Pathetic!" he spat, and suddenly there was little distance between us. I blindly raised an arm to block, but a strong hand grabbed it, pulling me forward and down. He attacked from low, rising to slam a palm into my chin. Pain shot through me.

I realized in a moment I was on my back, and tried to blink away the darkness creeping in along the edges of my vision. Hanabi shrieked something like, "Nee-chan, you're bleeding!"

"Activate the seal, Hinata-_sama_. Go on – punish me for my words and disrespect. One hand, one sign, and I would suffer."

"I … won't," I whispered, trembling as I got to my hands and knees. To Hanabi's rising horror, I coughed up the specks of red I'd been choking on.

"I – I'm getting Father!" she cried, "And he's hearing about this, Neji, don't think he won't!" She ran off, leaving us alone.

I rose to my feet, swaying and lightheaded.

"A-g-g-gain."

He shook his head. "You can't be serious."

"I … said … again…."

"I'm done with this insipid nonsense. You're not even worth my time," he spat, turning his back to walk away. Anger and despair flared up inside me.

"I'm not finished yet!" I cried, running at him. He stopped a short way down the walkway that ran along the manor, but still did not face me. Chakra collected in my palm when I was eight yards away. I drew back my hand…

A hard fist had buried itself in my gut, and all wind had fled me. Stunned beyond belief, I stared into my cousin's eyes, which were so suddenly inches from my own.

His mouth was set in a frown, his white eyes cold and despising. Though his eyes were cold, his face calm, just beneath the surface of his pale orbs – so like mine, but at the same time so very different in too many small ways to comprehend – churned an unfathomable animosity, a barely contained and incredible fury like I'd never seen before. _Neji-nii-san…_

He spoke very slowly and pointedly.

"Elite … Failure. This will _never _change."

The world momentarily listed to one side as, unblinking and dazed, I slipped limply off his unmoving fist. I dropped to the ground.

"You're weak, Hinata-sama – and you always will be."

He left me there.

I hissed the only word I felt I could right now – a word I did not use lightly.

"_Kuso…_"

Then I cried.

* * *

**Naruto ****ナルト**

After securing the mask and checking that it concealed my whiskers, I tugged the hood of the dark cloak over my head so that it covered my obvious blond hair. With any luck, it would also shadow my eyes from view.

Certain I was unrecognizable, I removed the panel of wood that had replaced my broken window. I frowned, seeing the fresh profanities and scribbles of 'bakemono' and 'kitsune' that adorned it. _And when I was so close … to being respected … accepted… _I would clean it later.

I peeked cautiously out the window, surveying to the left and the right, even above. Slowly, still glancing side to side, I stepped out, lowering myself onto the balcony…

"OH MY FREAKIN'–!!"

I bit back the string of curses that followed, instead bellowing them furiously in my mind as I sat down. Someone had set some sort of metal hunting trap below my window; when I had stepped on it, it had snapped shut to bite into my leg with sharp teeth. It was the kind of trap you saw in movies or books, that had always caught some poor wolf or fo–

"Oh, very funny," I hissed through my teeth as I carefully removed it. A mess of red was dripping to my foot; I re-entered my house to quickly clean and wrap the wound. It would be gone without a trace in an hour.

I threw a glance at the clock. "Kuso!" It was getting late. If I didn't hurry, the shop would be closed by the time I got there!

_Screw stealth!_ I thought, launching myself out the window and to an adjacent rooftop. In a flash I was in the shadow of a water tower, and then that of a group of barrels near the edge. I grabbed a drain pipe, sliding swiftly to the ground, and then flickered across the street to another building's shadows. I shot diagonally across the street to more buildings, completely undetected by passing civilians. All ninja were given a wide berth.

Near my destination I began walking normally, head down. Luckily my cloak and mask weren't extremely out of place; it was mid-fall, and nights were getting cooler. Masks weren't uncommon among ninja, like Kakashi-sensei, for instance – who happened to be the one who had given me this mask when he'd forgotten my birthday. _And I thought I'd never need it!_

I looked up slightly as I passed a mildly tense group of familiar faces; Sakura, my teammate, and Kiba, Akamaru, Shikamaru, and Chouji were walking together. A sharp pang of guilt shook me as I observed Sakura's bandages and two broken arms.

Closest to me, she glanced at me out of the corner of her eye, a subtle glint of recognition lighting it. Of course, we both knew that she couldn't tell the others right now, invite me to join them, or even say hello; it was a risk I refused to allow. We wordlessly passed each other.

I entered the (thankfully, near empty) stand with a sigh of relief, pulling my mask down past my nose to better draw in the array of heavenly aromas. A smile spread across my hidden face as I sat down on a stool. It was good to be back here…

"What would you like, S… Sir? Your mask is wet…" I accepted the napkin he offered, dabbing at the drool seeping through the mask before speaking.

"One miso ramen, Teuchi-jii-san," I whispered, glancing up to flash my eyes.

"N–! Yes, coming right up," he caught himself.

I almost jumped as someone sat down on the stool next to mine and became absorbed in reading the wall menu. A Konoha hitai-ate covered his forehead, but he was one of the few shinobi I didn't know well.

What I did know is that he had once thrown shuriken at me when I was six, and, from his drunken cries, Ninetails had killed his brother.

"Here you are," Ayame-nee-chan said with a warm smile, setting down a bowl. I whispered a quick "Arigatou" and turned so that I faced slightly away from the ninja. He was still engrossed in the menu.

I sighed; I was getting paranoid, but then again I had every right to. _What did I do to deserve this…?_

* * *

_That's it, _I thought with a sudden burst of inspiration, _I can use the Kyuubi's chakra! _My trembling hands formed the sign of the ram, hitsuji.

Neji smirked. "It's pointless, I told you."

_I can do it! I won't lose!_

–"_I vow to win."–_

–"_The loser beating the gifted genius through sheer willpower … now would not that make for an exciting match?"–_

–"_Don't forget to come watch me wipe the floor with Neji!"– _

"Why fight a hopeless battle trying to defy your destiny?" Neji scoffed at my efforts.

I opened my eyes. "'Cause someone told me … I was a failure!"

A roar tore from my throat as the fox's chakra sprang to life inside me, engulfing me in an explosion of power. The earth trembled slightly as the massive raw energy danced and spiraled around me. Neji observed with his Byakugan, a look of awed fear plastered on his face.

Then he ground his teeth and raced toward me.

I was caught off-guard, and still getting a handle on the sudden power. Before I knew what had happened, two fingers jabbed my stomach, emitting a sharp burst of foreign chakra.

Within seconds, something – several things – I hadn't anticipated took place.

It seemed, when Kyuubi had lent me its chakra, the energy had also rapidly replenished my own. My personal chakra, having been in constant contact with and suppressing the demon's strength since the day I was born, had somewhat adapted and gained an immunity to Kyuubi's destructive chakra; for this reason, it was necessary that my own chakra flowed strong in order to mostly protect my body from being damaged when Kyuubi's awoke.

Neji hit a vital tenketsu. My chakra flow was cut.

At the sudden imbalance, Kyuubi's power in turn exploded out of control. My body, unprotected, felt like it was fried from the inside out. The flare of chakra blasted Neji into the arena wall thirty yards away, despite a split-second attempt at a Kaiten, and a massive crater formed around me as the soil was incinerated.

My body was on fire and bleeding as a fox-shaped aura suddenly wrapped around me, and as I loosed a demonic roar of agony at the sky, a giant chakra image of Kyuubi materialized above me to do the same.

The chakra fled back behind the seal before it killed me.

Then it was over, and in a blur the ground rushed to meet me.

* * *

"We close in five minutes. Might want to hurry."

I blinked. I'd been swirling my ramen in the bowl with my chopsticks. Teuchi looked worried by this unnatural lack of appetite for ramen.

I split the chopsticks, lowered my mask, and slurped up the bowl's contents in forty seconds – a long time. As I fished the money from my pocket, a coin fell to the ground and rolled a few yards away. I handed the rest to Teuchi before getting off the stool to retrieve it.

The ninja still sitting next to me was stepping on the end of my cloak, I was soon to realize. I moved, and it was left behind.

I froze mid-step.

"I knew it!"

I dived for the coin, rolled as I snatched it, and threw it at Teuchi in one motion before bolting outside.

Several pairs of arms immediately grabbed me, and even more began to pound and cut ruthlessly. I was winded painfully; my nose was smashed; I screamed as my arm broke at the elbow; someone had a kunai and ran it across my belly, but, disappointed by the armor, embedded it in my shoulder.

I was on the ground now, and the kicking began. I opened the eye that wasn't swollen a moment. _Half of them are civilians – I can't fight back!_

I managed to curl into a ball, waiting for it to end. _I've survived worse. They beat me to an inch of death, but I survive! It'll be over soon!_

…I hoped.

My prayers were answered sooner than I'd hoped as the beating suddenly ceased.

"Kagemane no Jutsu success."

The attackers had been ensnared in an extremely contorted and irregular shadow. I beamed at my savior.

"Shikamaru!"

He nodded. "Naruto," he called, tossing something to the ground beside him. "Got it!" I said, forming a hand seal, "Kawarimi!"

I replaced with it, appearing beside Shikamaru as a shuriken clattered on the ground where I'd been. He caught me before I could fall.

"Let us go, idiot!" someone yelled.

"Yeah, kid, why are you protecting the demon?!"

"Mendoukuse…" He shook his head in exasperation. "Naruto's a good guy. You all are the fools. So what if he's got the fox spirit inside him? He's not the demon, and if you troublesome people can't get it straight, we're not about to let him suffer for it."

Someone suddenly appeared beside me; Shikamaru gently placed me on Chouji's back. "Let's get going," the Akimichi said.

"So," I said as he ran, "Shikamaru's one of … ours?" I wasn't sure how to word it. "He really is a genius, and he's heir to the Nara, right? I mean…"

"Shikamaru has a sense of justice. Lazy as he is, he's not up for tolerating the superiority their side believes in, and he's not about to put up with bullying, either. He chose his side. It's not so strange, really – Kiba did the same thing, but mostly to watch out for Hinata."

"Hm… So what do the sides look like?"

"Shikamaru, Kiba, Hinata … Sakura, and Lee are with us. Neji's got Tenten, Shino, Ino, and Sasuke.

"But see, nothing's completely solid; basically, we're all tied up by team bonds on the other side, which is probably why things haven't gotten too bad yet," he continued. "They mostly just bully and humiliate us; no real fighting can start without retaliation from allies. For example, the only actual battle we've had started over Kiba's mouth, but it fell apart when Sasuke slugged Tenten for almost putting a kunai in Sakura, getting Neji on him for loyalty … and Shino set a swarm on Ino when she tried to go for Hinata … who was busy stopping Lee – who was about to attack Shino while he was distracted. Sasuke's kind of torn, and there's rumor he sometimes shadows you, chasing off civilians who prepare to ambush you – of course they listen to him. Then there's Shino, who agrees with _them _but isn't about to lay a finger on Hinata. He's been threatening Neji for being rough in sparring sessions with her." He shook his head. "Man, I pity Hinata – living in the same place as their "leader." Then she's the only one of us that stands up to him..."

I thought a moment._ Neji's their leader … who's ours?_ "And the villagers?"

"Hm… They're not on any side; they just attack you, and sometimes Lee, on sight, and anyone who they associate with you. Of course, _they're _left alone. Can you imagine them picking a fight with the genius Uchiha, or the Hyuuga hero who "stopped the demon," or a guy filled with bugs?"

"No," I sighed. "This is all so stupid. The Chuunin Exams started a war between us. How can we let this drive our friendships apart?"

We were on an empty street when, very suddenly, Chouji stopped running. I fell on my rear as he let go of me and turned to face me. "Ouch! Chouji, what was that for?"

He frowned. "Sorry, Naruto."

It was then I noticed Shino walking up, Ino's body – abandoned, I realized – limp in his arms.

"Ino, Shino, why?" I asked as Shino began to tie up Chouji.

Shino pushed up his glasses. "You'll thank us later for this, Naruto. You all need to learn when to give up, to accept that at times, you are outmatched. When this happens in the real world, the only option is to give in."

"I don't believe a word of that! It's never time to give–!"

"My teammate could have died, Naruto." There was a cold edge in his voice, and I could tell he was angry. "Neji almost killed her that day, because she was inspired enough by your admirable comeback to refuse to stay down. Her heart may never beat as strong as it could again. I will not lie; I hold you largely responsible for this."

"I – I'm sorry…" I hung my head.

"The gap between Hinata and Neji quickly proved far greater than that between yourself and Kiba. Anyone could see that she should have forfeited."

My eyes hardened, and I glowered up at him. "I'm sorry, but _only _if I pressured her into a decision she didn't want – because it's not my place, or yours, or anyone else's to tell someone when to give up! It's up to the individual! So…" my voice softened, "why don't we just leave it at that, and call all this off? I'm scared of this … of what we're doing to each other. It has to end before –,"

"It will end – when you admit defeat."

"We won't do that!"

He shook his head.

"I'm done," he told Ino. She nodded. "Kai!" Her body on the ground sat up, while Chouji blinked, confused. "Dang it!" he cried, sighting the two and realizing what had happened.

"Whatever Neji says, I will not hurt Naruto while he's already injured. Let's go," Shino said, vanishing. Ino looked at the ground. "Sorry, guys." She was gone.

"Wait! You can't just leave us here!" Chouji whimpered, "I'm hungry…" I crawled toward him, already beginning to heal. "I'll get you out of there."

"No," he shook his head, "I'm not really in much danger, but if _you _get caught…"

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah! Any dummy could get out of here in a few minutes with the rope escape jutsu!"

"Aha… yeah…" _Really good thing I'm not tied up…_

"Besides, Shikamaru would find me if I couldn't get out. You just try to walk, and cast a henge."

"Right!" I said, standing. "Henge no Jutsu!" I transformed into Iruka-sensei.

"Now go – and be careful, boss."

A chill trickled down my spine, my fears confirmed. I didn't want to be a leader in _this_…

Each step brought a collection of aches; I tried to walk normally, but any ninja would notice the slight signs of injury in my movements. I avoided the busier streets, keeping to the shadows and being inconspicuous as possible.

I felt a hand on my shoulder.

"Kai!"

In a poof of smoke, I was no longer Iruka-sensei.

"It's him!" the man behind me called, kicking me in the back. I stumbled forward as a dozen villagers jumped a nearby fence. I swore, running as fast as I could manage. I was pelted with rocks as I fled, and the mob followed. A stone glanced off my shoulder, tearing open the kunai wound from fifteen minutes ago. One struck just below my neck with enough force that I stumbled forward; as my hand reached the ground, I pushed myself back up without breaking stride. The villagers were shouting.

"Look at him, scorched through by the demon's chakra and up walking days later!"

"My dad was burned by the cursed beast, and he died!"

"He's really a demon in disguise!"

A stone collided with my head, and I tumbled gracelessly to the ground. I looked up, gasping in pain from the run and the fall. The group looked at me like I was something disgusting.

"Look at his scared eyes – just one of the filthy demon child's tricks!"

"Get ready, you monster!"

I raised my arm as a hail of stones flew toward me. I closed my eyes… _Did a shadow just pass over me…?_

"KONOHA SENPUU!!"

My eyes snapped open. In a blur, each stone was deflected.

"Bushy Brow," I whispered.

He turned his head, flashing a smile; despite the dark, light from _somewhere_ was bright enough to reflect off his teeth and glint off in a sparkle … or maybe his teeth actually _produced _their own light.

My eyebrow twitched.

I shook my head. "Thanks, you totally saved my tail!"

"It is nothing, Naruto-kun!"

A villager shouted, "Look, it's the friend of the demon!"

"Move outta' the way, kid, we'll deal with you later!"

A rock soared at him. I couldn't see from behind him, but collective gasps sounded from the group. The next moment he held his arm out to the side, and dust fell from his hand. "I, Konoha's handsome green beast, ROCK LEE, will NOT allow you to harm my YOUTHFUL comrade!!" he proclaimed.

"You can't attack civilians, demon-friend!"

"I do not plan to!" he declared, flinging a small, black sphere to the ground. It exploded into a smokescreen that filled the area. Someone lifted me with great ease and shot onto a rooftop. A few rooftops away, near the village's edge, we returned to ground level.

I gasped, surveying the wreckage before us. The streets were empty and littered with fallen, near leafless trees; houses had been crushed as though constructed of paper-thin glass. Massive holes had been punched through some buildings. In the near distance, a monstrous break was gaping in the wall of Konoha.

"This … this is…"

Lee nodded. "This is the place where Gaara – or rather, the sand spirit entered the village. Luckily, Hokage-sama managed to subdue him before he could cause further damage."

"…I see."

"I … apologize if this disturbs you, Naruto-kun, but we will be safe cutting through this area. The villagers do not come here."

"Yeah, it's fine," I assured him.

"That aside, what is important now is getting you to the hospital!" he said, "You are a mess!"

"_Nooo_," I drew the word out. "Not the hospital. I can never be sure I'll get a doctor who likes me – and frankly the number of people who like me has dropped a long way since last week. Could you take me to my apartment? Don't worry," I said, seeing his face, "Side effect of the stupid kitsune – I'll be just about good as new by morning."

Lee nodded, and we were silent a few minutes as he walked.

"Why are the villagers doing this?" he asked, "And why has Sandaime-sama yet to intervene?"

I thought a moment. "I gave them a scare, there's no question about that. Then – not two hours later, I'm told – Orochimaru and Oto invaded Konoha and the Ichibi attacked."

"So," Lee thought aloud, "the idea that a repeat of the demon attack almost happened so soon after the incident in your match … That does not make a lot of sense…"

"And Hokage-jii-san… I have no idea. You know we're at war, right – you know, us rookies plus your team."

"How could I not…" he said, his face falling. He was the only one on our side with both teammates as enemies.

"You'd think he wouldn't let this go on … he should have broken up this little feud by now."

"Then, our sensei would have intervened – after all, not one of our teams remains undivided – but Hokage-sama sent them all out on confidential missions. There is no telling when Gai-sensei and the other jonin will return…" He sighed.

I studied his face. My eyes widened as I noticed for the first time a white square of something taped to his cheek.

It clicked as I remembered something Chouji had told me earlier.

"Lee, were you injured?!"

"It is nothing…" He turned his head away. I looked harder in the moonlit darkness. "You have a black eye, too! What happened – who did this?!"

He avoided my eyes. "You see … your match went on longer than expected; I was there at the … end. I did not care in the slightest that the spirit of the Kyuubi had just sprung from your body to roar at the sky; I could not believe you had lost. I shouted desperately that you _would _stand up again, and Hinata-san did the same. The villagers … now call us the demon-friends, and claim we are under the Kyuubi's spell…"

I ground my teeth. "They attacked you!" I growled, furious.

"It was a group of civilians, one a retired jonin. A retired shinobi is counted as a civilian; I could only try to defend and escape."

"And Hinata…?" I whispered.

"I believe Hinata-san's status within clan Hyuuga protects her in the village … however, according to Kiba-kun she is treated nearly as badly on clan grounds as you and I in the village."

"Kuso…" I whispered through my teeth. "I hate this! All my friends are in danger for having anything to do with me! Shikamaru, Chouji, Kiba – they've got status to help protect them, but who's ever even _heard _of the Haruno?" I ranted, "Do you know what _happened _to Sakura-chan four days ago? She was tailing me without my knowing it, and when I was attacked, she helped me escape. When they caught us, she was beaten to a bloody pulp next to me!"

I found myself in tears. "Except you all don't heal overnight! I'm done letting you get hurt for me, and I don't want to be our side's leader! Put me down, I can make it the rest of the way!"

"I will not leave you here, Naruto-kun." His voice was hard; there was no arguing.

My voice was quiet as I calmed down. "Then once I'm home … stay away from me. And tell the others to do the same."

He didn't answer.

We were out of the demolished area soon, and Lee began running to be safe. The streets were deserted at this hour, and in under a minute we were near my apartment.

There was smoke above it.

I swore.

Lee frowned at the building and the people gathered around it. "I am sorry, Naruto. It appears the fire has long ended; they would not have left anything, but either way we can not check now." We were moving again.

"Lee! Where are we going?!" I protested.

"I live alone. You can stay at my house."

"Demo–!"

"Naruto! I HAVE made my decision – whether you like it or not, we ARE in this together! I PROMISE!" he said in his declaring voice.

I closed my mouth; I couldn't argue with that, after all. His decision was his decision, not mine or anyone else's.

* * *

**Hinata ****ヒナタ**

Rendered unable to move on a much used walkway outside the Hyuuga household was not a good situation to be in. This was even more so true if you were lying prone and face down in an unsightly manner; were committing the disgraceful sin of crying; and if you happened to be a little respected and much despised weakling heiress and word was flying that you were once again trounced by your branch family cousin.

My position was definitely not a good one.

The walkway was well used, but not _this _well used; obviously, news was passing…

_Naruto would stand up…_But I wasn't Naruto, I wasn't as strong as Naruto, and this time I couldn't find the strength to stand up.

So, for my pathetic display, I was punished. Painfully.

"Demon-friend," a man snarled.

A foot connected with my side.

"Trash," someone muttered.

A quick kick was thrown at my ribs.

"Failure."

Kick.

"Pathetic little mouse…"

Kick.

"Stupid worm!"

_Kick._

"Disgrace to our name!" …Oh, shoot. An elder.

_Kick! Kick! __**KI–!**_

_Crack._

I screeched a squeak-whimper of pain. The woman gave another crippling blow and stormed off.

The tears began to fall anew. Trembling, I bit my lip to keep from crying out again. _…What did I do to deserve this?_

I already knew the answer.

* * *

I stared in unblinking horror as the effects of Neji's attack took place. The fierce red chakra, so unlike Naruto's own, went haywire and rapidly began eating away at his body. Naruto reared his head back, and the chakra around him – so intense and vivid I felt sure it was visible to the unaided eye – instantly formed into a monstrous, demonic fox. At the same time I realized that the cloak of red surrounding Naruto's body had become the shape of a fox … with nine tails.

As one, the now demonic Naruto and the life sized kitsune spirit loosed a wild and terrible roar of anguish at the sky.

I shuddered violently, clasping a hand over my heart. I thought my blood froze.

Then, suddenly as it had appeared, the chakra vanished, and Naruto collapsed.

"Naruto-kun!!" I cried as tears streamed down my cheeks.

In a moment, the proctor, who had retreated a good distance up the arena wall, hopped to the ground and cautiously approached him. I saw Neji moan and stand, weakly shaking off rubble that had fallen on him from the depression he'd made in the wall. An arm lay across his body, cradling his ribcage, and twin lines of red trailed from the corners of his mouth. His impulse Kaiten may well have saved his life.

Genma closed his eyes. "Uzumaki Naruto is unable to continue, so–,"

"_No!_" I cried, standing. I realized faintly how loudly the scream rang in the shocked silent stadium, and that most of said stadium was now staring at me. I didn't care. I couldn't bear the thought that Naruto, my unstoppable Naruto, had lost. My world came crashing down on me. I couldn't comprehend… It just … wasn't … possible…. "Naruto-kun will stand again!"

Genma raised an eyebrow.

"She is right!" Rock Lee bellowed from his spot in the stands, about forty yards from me. "As long as he BREATHES, Naruto-kun will NEVER give up OR concede defeat!!"

In the corner of my eye I spotted a disturbance in the still crowd heading in my direction. A strong hand locked almost painfully around my wrist, and another forced me back into my seat. "_Are you out of your mind?_" Father hissed in my ear from behind as Lee shouted something else.

"Let go of me!" I cried, escaping his grasp. I clutched the rail in front of me with both hands. I wanted him to get up, even knowing, somewhere in my mind, he would not. But I was desperate.

"Naruto will win! He said he would, and he won't go back on his word! That's his nindo, and he–!!"

My breath caught as two fingers jabbed painfully and precisely into a point on my neck. My jaw slackened, and my fisted hands loosened, arms slipping from the rail to hang limp at my sides. My legs swayed with sudden lack of strength, and the world spun sickeningly as I slumped forward.

An arm wrapped around me to catch me before I could fall. Dazed, I blinked very slowly, trying to force heavy eyelids to open wider with little success. Each time they drooped shut, but I opened them again a bit less than the previous attempt as my strength slipped away.

A distant, echoing voice pierced fleetingly through the thick silence.

"_The winner is … Hyuuga Neji."_

The world at last went dark, and I knew no more.

* * *

My world had shattered that day. Naruto should have won, but he hadn't. He was my inspiration, my idol, my inner strength and drive to keep going. When _he _failed, what was I to do? I didn't know, so I was now broken, confused, and hopelessly lost.

It was likely for these reasons that I'd blindly challenged Neji earlier today (disregarding my recuperation), lost my near nonexistent temper, and was currently lying prone on the floor, receiving a kick to the ribs from every Hyuuga who passed – for now I was not only the clan failure, but the fool who had disgraced the Hyuuga by standing up for the "demon" over supporting the fellow Hyuuga who had "saved the village."

"Hinata."

I ground my teeth and waited, prepared for a kick and not sure how much more I could take.

"You will answer me when I speak to you!" I realized too late it was Father. A savage kick in the side flipped me onto my back. I retched and spewed blood.

"Hinata."

"H-h-hai, O-t-tou-s-sama," I gasped.

"Hanabi says Neji did this to you."

"H-h-hai, h-he d-d-did."

"Did he use Juuken on vital points?"

I hesitated, but I couldn't lie to him. I had felt it. "…In h-his final a-a-attack, yes."

Hiashi's face hardened further, and he frowned. "It is forbidden in sparring. He needs to be reminded of his place."

As he turned to leave, I suddenly had the strength to reach out and grab his ankle. He glared at me. I tried to find my voice.

"P-please … please, you c-can't punish Neji-san f-for this. It's n-not h-his fault … his h-hatred is m-misguided … he is c-confused…"

His foot jerked free of my hand … and slammed onto my chest.

"Disgrace!" he roared, enraged, "To falter in putting the Branch in its place!"

My vision flickered; my head spun. I felt the neck of my shirt tighten as I was roughly hoisted into the air.

"This is the final straw, you filthy disgrace," he hissed venomously. I trembled as his Byakugan flared menacingly around his furious eyes. "You are no heiress of mine…"

He drew back a palm that glowed with chakra.

"Chichi-ue!" a small, despairing voice cried.

I hesitantly opened my eyes in a moment, and Hiashi slowly lowered his hand.

We'd attracted a considerable audience; several pairs of white eyes observed from a safe distance. Even more were surely watching through walls with their bloodline. Hanabi, pale with fright, eyes wide and brimming with tears, stood a few feet away, far closer than anyone else dared. Her arms were in front of her, a finger to her lips in a gesture more commonly used by me.

"P… Please don't, Chichi-ue … p-_please_," she whimpered quietly in distress, utterly terrified.

Father's face softened with remorse. The veins marking his bloodline instantly relaxed.

His gaze returned to me, and suddenly I was flung against a wall, hard. I slid to the ground, gasping and weak and broken – but thanks to Hanabi, alive.

"You'll be sealed in the morning," Father said quietly. He walked away.

I realized I was tired. It was cold, but I didn't care. The pain was finally too much.

_A nap sounds like a good i…_

The world went dark.

* * *

I could sense movement, but my body certainly was not moving. I could feel the tops of my feet dragging slowly over the floor. My knees hung low near the ground.

…_What … is this…?_

My upper body was resting against something that was warm in contrast to a cold breeze, and my arms were hanging in the air, each held in a firm grasp.

I next registered a pattern in the motion, and soon took note of the sound that matched that pattern. _Footsteps … someone walking … slowly… _There was another rhythmic noise; very soft panting, I realized.

Slowly I half opened my eyes. It was very dark … late night. To the right of my face was a curtain of dark brown…

The motion stopped a moment. My body was shifted slightly, as I'd been gradually sliding downward. I let out a long moan as dully aching breaks and bruises throbbed painfully at the adjustment.

"Almost … there…" a soft voice whispered between breaths. The grip on my arm gave a gentle squeeze.

"Imouto-chan…" I whispered hoarsely. My eyes closed again.

"…Arigatou…"

I faded once more into peaceful oblivion.

* * *

It was warmer when I woke. I was lying down, and could feel a soft blanket covering me, as well as bandaging covering my bruises. I opened my eyes to see a dimly lit room, a window showing that it was the dead of night.

"…Imouto-chan…"

"I'm here, Nee-chan." A small hand rested on mine.

"Thank you," I said weakly, "You s-saved m-me … twice…"

"Yeah, well…" I could tell from her voice she was blushing. "Did you _have _to pass out on the other side of the grounds? And sheesh, do you know how heavy you are?" I studied Hanabi's face from the corner of my eye; though she was trying hard to sound like her normal self, she was still slightly pale.

"Not my f-fault … you're so sh-short," I teased back lightly, getting a small, brief smile in response. I looked around. "This is … your room... How did you g-get me h-here…?" I murmured.

"I carried you on my back," she said with a hint of pride for her feat. "I waited 'til it was late and Father was asleep, then I snuck out of my room to go get you. Of course, no one who saw us would bother _me_, but they didn't make any effort to help, either." She scowled. "I didn't even bother asking any of them to carry you – they'd probably "accidentally" drop you or something…. Once I got you here, I went out and _ordered _one of our medics to see you. He complained to an elder and was excused. Apparently Father declared earlier that no one was to be prevented from helping you, but no one has to.… Anyways, I just had to do my best with Academy first aid, so you need to see a doctor."

She stood, and my gaze drifted from the ceiling to her. I noticed for the first time the dark splotches of red down the left side of her white shirt.

My head quickly turned toward her as I tried, without thinking, to sit up. My eyes snapped shut as a sound of pain rose from my throat. Hanabi was kneeling by me in an instant, helping me to slowly lie back down. "What's wrong, what is it?" she asked fearfully.

"Hanabi," I hissed, the fury in my voice giving it a very unfamiliar tone. "Did they hurt you?!" I demanded through my teeth.

She followed my eyes to the stain and blanched, wincing visibly. "While I carried you, you … _coughed _in your sleep…"

"Oh … Gomen … for m-my outburst." It was my blood, not hers. I knew how disturbed she was by the sight of the life fluid; it was a secret she shared only with me. She must have been very concerned about me, to get here and not immediately change out of the gore-spattered shirt.

"It's nothing," she waved aside my apology, and more likely the thoughts she'd guessed and picked up from my face as well – Hanabi and I shared an uncanny knack for doing that around each other. "Now, you need treatment. Since no Hyuuga medics will help, that leaves the Konoha Hospital. Can you move?"

Very slowly, she helped me to sit up. The multitude of bruises didn't throb so painfully; Hanabi must have applied some sort of ointment. In a minute I was situated on her back again, feet hanging to the floor with our size difference. She started toward the (thankfully, nearby) estate exit.

"So, I was thinking…" she started, "Your teammate, Aburame-san – he only lives about a half mile away, right? The guards would probably refuse to let in a guest to help you … so what if, once we're outside, I leave you and fetch him? The hospital's far, but he could carry you easily."

I hoped she didn't catch my small shudder at 'Aburame-san.'

"Shino-kun is … away on a m-mission…"

"No he's not."

There was virtually no use in lying to Hanabi; sometimes I had to hate our uncanny talent. But she didn't press, having read the subtle uneasiness in my voice, the pain of the topic, as well.

"Kiba-san isn't much farther, then…"

"Arigatou … a-again," I said gratefully.

"Not like I could just leave you," she said, "especially because in this condition, you m-might … not … _survive _being sealed."

When it came back to me, I was glad she couldn't see my face.

In the morning. The caged bird seal.

She understood my silence. "It'll be okay," she whispered comfortingly, and for a moment it felt _I _was the younger sister.

When drops of water silently began falling onto her, she remained respectfully silent.

* * *

**Lee ****リー**

I rolled over again on the couch. It was not because I was on the couch instead of my bed – which I had spent five minutes politely arguing and insisting that Naruto should use before he accepted – that I could not sleep. I had camped on enough missions that I could probably be perfectly comfortable on the floor.

With a sigh of defeat, I once again reached for the picture frame that lied face down beside a lamp on a small stand. I had promised repeatedly, each time I put it down, that I would not look again, but each night I did – doing six hundred or so push-ups the next morning as self-rule.

I stood on the left in the photo, one arm around Neji's shoulders and the other giving the camera a thumbs up as I proudly struck the nice guy pose. Neji was scowling, narrowed eyes glaring off into the distance and his arms crossed. From the right, Tenten gave Neji bunny ears while smiling vibrantly. Gai-sensei had a hand on mine and Tenten's shoulders, leaning over so that his face was between mine and Neji's as he winked and flashed a radiant smile.

My face further fell as I took in the scene from over a year ago. "I miss … those times," I mumbled, fingering the wooden frame. In a minute I reached out without looking to place it back on the stand; it slipped from my hand as it met the edge.

Throwing my blanket off, I was off the couch in an instant, picking up the photo.

The glass had cracked.

I stared a moment.

Then the tears I'd been fighting all week fell. I removed the picture from its frame and began gathering the broken glass fragments with trembling hands. "If I look again at this picture to promote more unyouthful moping, I will do eight hun–!"

A rock crashed through my window, and I noticed at once the familiar note stuck to it.

My hand unconsciously tightened on the photo as I shot through the door to my room, slamming it shut. In one move I pushed my bed onto its side (Naruto fell out with a startled noise in a tangle of blankets), vaulted over it, and braced my back against the bed.

"Bushy Br–?"

The wall behind us was blasted in as the paper bomb exploded, blowing out the room's window and sending splinters and chunks of wood flying into the opposite wall.

"What the heck?!" Naruto exclaimed, instantly awake and alert.

"We are under attack!" I shouted as a second detonation downstairs shook the room. I grabbed a sheet, laying it on the floor. Fire was beginning to spread to the room as I hurriedly pulled a drawer out of my dresser and dumped its contents; I repeated this with the one beneath it before gathering the sheet's corners. Finally, I snagged the bag I kept stocked for short notice missions. The process took up a total of four seconds.

"W-Woah!!"

The floor lurched and shifted to an angle as the side nearest the first explosion began to collapse. Naruto and I were tossed off our feet; my nails dug into a floorboard as I began sliding toward the new edge of the floor.

"Bushy Brow!" Naruto shouted, pointing with one hand. I looked to see a collection of exploding tag kunai bury themselves in a remaining part of the side wall. Flames began to lick at the tags.

"Jump!" Naruto cried, scrambling on all fours and leaping out the window. I rolled to dodge a falling chunk of ceiling and launched myself after him, into the cold, moonlit sky.

Naruto grabbed my hand. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu…!"

My home exploded behind us.

Fifteen Narutos locked hand to ankle to become a living chain. The one farthest ahead grasped a high line of lanterns strung between two buildings. Sixteen cries of thrill and terror were heard as we swung down. My foot nearly grazed the ground – and then we were hurtling forward.

The shadow clones dissolved into smoke a moment later, flinging us across the night sky.

"There!" I pointed to the building we would land on. We soared in an arc over two others before reaching it; I landed in a roll, while Naruto crashed and skidded before springing to his feet. Then we ran like never before, shooting from rooftop to rooftop with adrenaline-fueled fury.

Naruto looked me seriously in the eye.

"Lee…?"

I nodded, face grim as I gave a thumbs-up.

_We are in this together._

Two shadows raced for the wall of Konoha, one holding a sheet full of supplies in one hand … and crushing the corner of a now sweat-streaked photograph in the other.

* * *

**Hinata ****ヒナタ**

"What business do you have in the village at this hour?" the gate guard asked.

"I'm fetching a friend to bring her to the hospital," Hanabi said, all professional. "Unless you would like to, Hitori-san…?"

His white eyes narrowed a fraction. "Unfortunately, I would not, Hanabi-sama," he said, permitting us to exit.

Hanabi set me down, and shot Hitori a glare worthy of Neji's rare praise. "Don't you touch her."

"Of _course _not. I would not dream of harming her, Hanabi-sama."

She looked to me and crouched down. "Hey … Nee-chan…?"

"…Hm…"

"Come on," she said, dabbing at my tears with a handkerchief. "It's not the end of the world … I'll be right there with you tomorrow, okay…? So… Nee-chan, please don't look that way."

I bowed my head a moment, lowering my already downcast gaze. "Arigatou…" I said, barely above a whisper.

She forced a smile. "Now hang in there, and I'll be right back with Kiba-san, alright?"

I paused perhaps a moment too long.

"Mm-hm…"

She turned and began to run. I said something I probably shouldn't have.

"Hanabi."

Her steps stopped. I didn't meet her eyes.

"…Goodbye."

I knew she was giving me a weird look.

"See ya," she said, confused and a little concerned. I heard her run off.

_In the morning, I'll be branded with the seal. I'll never be able to make Otou-sama proud, or change the clan … because I'm a weak failure, and I always will be… Neji-nii-san was right. There's no changing that._

…Or was there?

Maybe Neji had been half right. If my destiny were sealed to the Branch, I would more than likely never have a chance to change the way of the clan. But he was also half wrong. People could change – of that much I was certain.

That meant that it was my responsibility to do what I could while I was free – but to do that, I would need to defend my freedom…

_I'll do it. I'll become stronger! _I shakily rose to my feet.

_And … I'll prove it to Neji that people can change!_

* * *

**Hanabi ****ハ****ナ****ビ**

I was deep in thought as I sprinted for the Inuzuka house. Something was wrong.

_That dead look in Nee-chan's eyes…_

I'd taken that to be fear of receiving the curse mark, and sadness – her dreams of improving the clan were about to be dashed, and she'd never get a chance to prove herself…

But that wasn't all of it – I could feel it. She'd avoided my eyes and spoken short words to keep me from reading it. Hinata was up to something … but what…?

"…_Goodbye."_

I skidded to a halt and reversed direction, eyes wide with the realization. Through that uncanny talent we shared, I'd oh so unexpectedly picked up on her thoughts.

"She wouldn't…"

But I knew she would.

* * *

**Hinata ****ヒナタ**

"Almost there…" I gasped, leaning against a building a moment to rest. The wall was thirty meters away. "I c-can make it…" Drawing shallow breaths and gingerly cradling my ribcage, I walked on.

I froze as I sensed a presence behind me, and then sighed in defeat; I would recognize that chakra signature anywhere, as easily as she would know mine. I turned around, dropping my henge guise as Hanabi stepped from the behind a building.

She took a tentative step. "…Why, Nee-chan?"

I winced as guilt gripped my heart, and shifted my gaze, unable to meet her eyes. "Please, Imouto-chan … this is something I have to do…" I began to turn away.

In a moment she'd closed the distance between us and was tugging on my sleeve. "Please don't l-leave m-me…" she whimpered, moisture collecting in her wide, disbelieving eyes.

It was very possibly the hardest thing I had ever done to refuse as I held her pleading gaze. "I have to go. It's the o-only way I'll ever b-be able … t-to help the clan…"

"Who cares about the clan?!" she cried, tears falling as she gave a betrayed look. "Just look at what they did to you! You'd risk your life to help the people who did this?!"

I put a hand on her shoulder. "It's n-not their fault, Imouto-chan. I can't b-blame them, and I c-can't be selfish. They hate me f-for showing them … I'll do poorly at my job … I owe it to them t-to do this. It's t-time … it's time I worked to make a difference."

"Nee-chan, if you leave you'll be a m-missing-nin! You're hurt – you can't even breathe right! Your heart's weak … You can't make it out there!"

"I'm worse off h-here… If I stay, I'll be the f-first heir in clan history to b-be … banished to the Branch. Think, Imouto-chan … the one responsible for the e-end of the sacred "purity" of the Hyuuga l-line's blood – what happened today would h-happen again, but worse … and then I w-won't even have status to protect m-me from their rage…"

Her pale lavender eyes shone with tears. She hiccupped softly. "N… Nee-chan…" She threw her arms around me in a gentle hug, softly pressing her head against me. The embrace was so gentle that hardly a slight ache was drawn from my wounds. Her voice shook. "Then i-if there's absolutely n-n-no w-way you can s-stay, Nee-chan … then let me come with you!"

I wrapped an arm around my sister's trembling form and cupped her head in my hand with the other, gently stroking her dark locks. _My precious Imouto-chan…_

"…Okay," I answered.

Her teary eyes beamed up at me as we separated.

"R-really?"

"Yes."

"Thank you, Nee-chan!"

"Hanabi-chan?"

"Hm?"

"Gomen nasai."

I got her hard in the stomach.

She crumpled like a paper sack.

Shock was written all over her face as she went down. _Forgive me… _I turned to leave, but felt a tug on my pants leg as I tried to take a step. I turned my head.

Hanabi's eyes were unfocused as she almost soundlessly spoke.

"_Nee … chan…_"

"It's something I have to do."

In a moment, her small, quivering hand released me.

"I will return … I promise."

I body flickered away, and in another minute had left Konohagakure no Sato behind.

* * *

**ナルト **/ **リー** / **ヒナタ** \ **ハ****ナ****ビ** \ **ネジ**

**End Chapter One**

What do you think? Good? Bad? Terrible? Fast paced, slow paced, nicely paced, bad at some points? Should I continue? Constructive criticism, suggestions, and opinions are welcome and highly appreciated! And if you spotted any mistakes, please let me know!

Oh, and I realized (some later than others...) that I changed more things than just Neji defeating Naruto. In this fic, Lee was never wounded by Gaara, and Hinata didn't pass out during the finals, for example. Just thought I'd point out I knew before someone corrected me – you know who you are! ;)

Later!

Hinata0321


	2. Snake in the Leaf

J3F\\\ Journey of the Three Failures

Chapter 2

So sorry for the wait! My computer seriously messed up, and we ended up getting a new one because it couldn't be fixed. Just so you know, I do plan to continue, and there won't be near as long a wait for the next chapter.

A huge thanks to everyone who read, reviewed, favorited, alerted, etc! I appreciate your support!

Sorry, we don't see much of the three failures in this chapter, but some really important stuff happens back in Konoha. So…

Oh wait! **Disclaimer: **No, I do NOT own _NARUTO_. I know. Can you believe it? It's really true.

* * *

**Journey of the Three Failures**

**Two: Snake in the Leaf**

**Hanabi ****ハ****ナ****ビ**

I could hardly feel miffed as I should that Nee-chan had been able to incapacitate me in one blow. I could not even be angry to find she had definitely gone easy on me in sparring. What really got me was that she had deliberately deceived me, taking advantage of my desperate emotions so that I wouldn't detect her lies – and because I had blindly fallen for it, she was gone.

I was alone. And somewhere out there, Hinata was, too.

"Enter!" someone called. I stood from the bench and grunted, a hand immediately covering the sore pressure point. I composed myself in a moment and stepped into the meeting room.

Father and several stern-faced elders were seated around the box shaped room for the emergency meeting; as I entered, all white eyes focused on me.

"Hyuuga Hanabi," one elder said in his gravelly but clear voice, "What is your account of the events regarding Hyuuga Hinata's disappearance?"

I took a deep breath, prepared to tell my story – but _tale _might be a bit more accurate…

* * *

/ When I finally recovered and got to my feet, I just stood there, an arm folded across my middle, staring in a daze.

_She's … _gone_…_

Yet I couldn't feel angry at her. I just felt a little … abandoned.

In ten minutes of shivering I shuddered violently and realized I was freezing; it was cold out, wind was rolling down the empty streets, and I was still in warm weather clothes. My head low, I turned and stiffly began to walk toward the Hyuuga estate.

_Great, _I realized, _what am I going to tell Chichi-ue?_

My head jerked up as an explosion roared in the near distance; I heard a wind chime ring softly at a shockwave. I looked up to see two people shoot over the alley I was on – from one rooftop to another so quickly I could have imagined it – in the opposite direction of the explosion. I formed a seal and activated my bloodline trait to glimpse two boys, very different in appearance but both oddly dressed in their own respective ways. The next moment they had vanished beyond my thirty meter range – the greatest distance my eyes could see clearly while looking through solid objects, in this case, the building.

I let my dojutsu deactivate. "What in the world...?" \\\

* * *

In a short minute of investigating afterward, I had gleaned a vital bit of information off a conversation in the cheerful crowd of ninja and civilians gathered on one side of a demolished and burning house: '_…two birds with one stone_,' I'd heard a man say, '_Can you believe our luck? The demon and the demon-friend, dead and gone…_' A few seconds after, I had realized two things. First, having been by chance in the right place at the right time, I knew something crucial that the village did not: Uzumaki Naruto and Rock Lee were alive.

Second, I had something to tell the clan.

So, with a stern face and the skill of a practiced composer and teller of lies, I began my tall tale.

"At about two o'clock this morning Hinata-san and I exited the grounds. I was going to leave her and fetch her teammate Inuzuka Kiba-san, who could carry her to Konoha hospital. However, on the way I felt something wasn't right, and returned before reaching the Inuzuka home to find she had left. I searched, and soon found Hinata-san nearing the house of genin Rock Lee. She claimed there was something urgent she needed to discuss with him, and she couldn't tell me.

"When she refused to listen to me I planned to knock her unconscious to get her to the hospital, but she overpowered me with ease…" At this an appropriate look of frustration at the aforementioned easy overpowering crossed my face, made authentic as I fueled it with the frustration in my inability to stop her leaving. "She turned to enter the house, and I lost consciousness for a minute. When I woke, the house was collapsing in flames. A mob of villagers had paper-bombed it." I bowed my head, finished.

While the average seven-year-old was adept at lying, I happened to be an exceptional seven-year-old liar – and that I could deceive the entire Hyuuga council proved it. None of the room's occupants suspected my "report" to be nonsense past the second sentence.

"Thank you," Father said with a nod, "You are dismissed." I bowed and then stepped outside, sliding the door shut behind me.

_They don't have a clue._

There would be consequences when the truth was discovered, I knew. I didn't care.

I stepped off the walkway and into the garden and pale dawn light, slowly raising tired eyes to the bleak, cloud-blanketed sky. _I don't care, because…_

–"_It's something I have to do." –_

–"_It's time I worked to make a difference."–_

–"_I will return … I promise."– _

"You will be a great leader someday … Nee-chan …" I whispered. My hand unconsciously brushed the light bruise on my middle. _Nee-chan… in one move too sudden for my eyes to see, Nee-chan was able to render me helpless. She did it to protect me … I'm not ready for the shinobi world, and she proved it. But…_

Two clouds broke overhead, dropping a ray of dawn light onto me.

_Hinata-nee-chan … you promised you would return, so you __**will **__survive. When you come back, I'll be strong like you. The next time you need me, I'll be ready to go with you and help … I promise!_

"Nee-chan … you had better keep _your_ promise," I whispered inaudibly, clasping a hand over my heart as I faced the dawn sun.

* * *

**Hinata ****ヒナタ**

_What … happened…?_

I was being carried piggyback, by someone who was both moving quickly and taking care not to jostle me. I recognized the unmistakable scent of the forest around me.

I grunted, opening my eyes.

"Hinata-chan, you're awake! Huh..? Hey, your face is all red!"

_If this is a dream –_

It was reality, and I fainted.

* * *

"How is she?" a familiar voice asked.

"She has a few rather serious injuries, but she should be alright. She is most likely unconscious due to fatigue, blood loss, and pain."

"Darn … what could've happened to her?"

I moaned very softly; my eyelids twitched before fluttering open. My vision focused in a moment; through the foliage above I could see a grey, cloudy sky, with rays of light poking through the gloom in only a few places. Then I noticed the two people knelt beside me.

"Naruto-kun … Lee-kun…?"

"Hinata, are you feeling okay?" Naruto asked, concerned. My cheeks warmed slightly. "H-hai, I'm fine … ano … where are w-we?"

"We found you unconscious around a mile from the village," Lee explained. "We were … fleeing the village after being attacked. Now we are perhaps five miles away. I bandaged your wounds and gave you a hyorogan to help accelerate your recovery."

"But what happened to you, Hinata? What were you doing out there?" Naruto asked with a frown. As my head cleared, I remembered.

* * *

/ I felt terrible; it had hurt me more than Hanabi would ever know to deceive her, strike her, and leave her behind, but I refused to endanger her. She wasn't ready (I wasn't even sure _I _was ready) to survive the life of a missing-nin.

I froze – someone was approaching. But just as I activated my bloodline, a softly chuckling man dropped from the treetops to land in front of me. He wore a standard chuunin vest and a leaf headband, but something deadly about him – something that made my instincts scream danger – left a much bigger impression on me than his outfit. "Lucky me," he muttered snidely, "and just when I was getting bored…"

Something was very wrong. I didn't recognize his face – this man was not a shinobi of the village.

Even with this discovery made, my eyes widened as he withdrew a kunai from his holster. He snickered malevolently, lazily tossing it between his hands. "What are you doing away from home, little girl?" he sneered in false kindness, "_Surely_ you know of our dear _Sandaime-sama's _order, forbidding citizens from leaving the village, right?" He took a step toward me, and I found myself shaking. "We wouldn't want any _Sound-nin _to get you!"

I took a step back. He shot past me, and my shoulder was slashed open.

I cried out. "Come on, little ninja!" he laughed behind me, "You'll have to do better than that!" Through my Byakugan I saw him leap toward me, kunai hand drawn back across his body and poised for a sweeping strike.

A decapitating strike.

_No! I can't die in my first three minutes outside! I promised Imouto-chan I would return! _Crouching, I whirled, channeling as much chakra as I could muster into my right arm. Seeing me face him, he changed targets on a whim, and in a practiced motion my palm flashed out…

A sharp pain in my side blazed with agony, and my jaw locked to bite back a scream. My eyes drifted up to the chuunin just as the left side of my face was spattered with blood. His speed and recklessness had been his downfall – his chest had crashed into my outstretched palm.

A terrified expression crossed his face as he realized what he had just coughed up. "What … have you…" I felt his heart shudder erratically under my hand, and winced as he convulsed and collapsed to the ground.

Were I not in pain, I probably would have vomited in reaction to the killing; but as it was I could hardly think past the inches of kunai still lodged in my side. It had fortunately missed any vital points, but the wound was moderately deep. If I removed the kunai, I could bleed to death in minutes, but quite likely if I didn't… _I'll bleed to death in an hour._

I pressed a hand below the knife as I continued to walk; in moments it was dripping with blood. I walked for some time, not in the least sure where I was going (except generally away from Konoha, for if another impersonator were to find me I would be finished) and even less certain what I hoped to accomplish. All I felt I could do now was get away, and pray I would somehow survive.

I _had_ to survive.

I had no idea whether I'd been walking for a couple of minutes or hours when I fell and couldn't get up. I had no strength left.

_No._

I thought of my sister whom I'd abandoned, waiting every day for me to return, trusting with all her heart that I would keep my promise.

_No…_

I tried to move, but my ribs ached, my side screamed, my shoulder burned, and my body just wouldn't listen. Blood fell from my mouth as I coughed weakly, and darkness slowly crawled in along the edges of my vision. I fought it, in a last desperate attempt trying to keep my eyes open – only to find they _were_ open, and the world still faded. My eyes closed. My refusing to accept the inevitable wasn't about to change anything.

_I've … failed…_\\\

* * *

After giving them thanks for saving me – which they brushed off, more than glad that they'd come across me in time to help – I told the two only that I'd run away, had been attacked by a strange shinobi impersonating a Leaf chuunin, and had tried to distance myself from the village.

"Are you serious?!" Naruto gasped, in reference to my description of the strange ninja and his words, as I finished my short explanation.

"I knew that something was wrong, but what could this mean?" Lee wondered aloud.

"I d-don't know…" We thought for a moment until Naruto broke the silence.

"Hey … Hinata?" Naruto asked tentatively, in contrast to his usual nature. A look of concern and something else – guilt? – had crossed his downcast face. It appeared to pain him to meet my eyes. "Why did you leave the village?" I was considering saying I'd rather not talk about it, but at the ashamed look on his face I realized I had to. He was holding himself responsible.

I sat up carefully against a tree trunk, and then very softly began to explain. "You see … I have never been l-liked within the H-Hyuuga Clan. I'm the clan failure, the family defect … s-so being the heiress, the other clansmen s-see me as unworthy and undeserving, not fit f-for a l-leader. They say I've d-doomed the clan, and – and I can't blame them. And now, after the incident d-during the finals, they claim I've further disgraced the f-family name … Their hatred was rekindled and i-intensified, and…" I paused a moment. "Um … a-ano … most of my i-injuries … aren't from fighting that chuunin…"

Naruto's face at this point was heart-wrenchingly sorrowful but fierce before, overwhelmed by shame, he tore his eyes away from my own and shut them with what could have been a grimace of pain. "You mean…?"

"It was d-done by Neji-nii-san, and s-several other clansmen…"

Suddenly fuming, Naruto punched his hand and harshly hissed, "That _jerk!_ What the heck kind of family –!"

"Please, d-don't blame him," I said, looking to the ground at thought of my cousin's past. "I love Neji-nii-san like a brother – I love and c-care very deeply for all of the Hyuuga. That's why I r-ran away. I – I'm shy, and weak, and I don't have any confidence, but –," I looked up at them, tears in my eyes. "But more than anything, I want to help the Hyuuga! I want … I want to be able to protect them, so that no one will have to suffer the way Neji-nii-san has ever again! That's why I need to become strong, and prove myself!" I closed my eyes, overcome by soft sobbing. "And now, sn-sn-sniveling like this, you m-must think I'm more p-_pathetic _than ev-ver…!"

Two hands rested gently on my shoulders; Naruto and Lee were on either side of me. "How could we possibly think you pathetic?" Lee asked good-naturedly, "You pursue a most courageous and noble goal indeed."

"Hinata…" Naruto whispered, "I think we do understand. You're a lot like us. You want more than anything to earn people's respect, and to protect the ones who are precious to you, right?"

I sniffled, wiping my tears, and nodded.

A grin spread across his face. "Then how about we get stronger together – y'know, the three of us?"

Lee's face brightened as well. "Yosh! That is an excellent idea, Naruto-kun!! If we let our youth EXPLODE –," here emphasis was provided by a fist enthusiastically pumped into the air, "– we can show Neji and EVERYONE else that we CAN change!!" I giggled as the boys' hands slapped together in a high five.

"So, what do you say, Hinata-chan? Are you with us?"

Uplifted by their high spirits, I blushed lightly and managed my own small smile as a sense of hope welled up inside me.

"Definitely."

Naruto sprang up to jump for joy before returning to the ground in the same motion. A new resolution lit up his face. "Alright! Sounds like a plan! I made a promise, and I failed. You guys had faith in me, but I let you down. I'm not letting that happen again – that's a promise! We'll return someday and show everyone how awesome we are!"

Lee held a hand out to the center of the small circle we formed. "YOSH! Let us all PROMISE to work HARD!!"

Understanding, I gave a determined grin as I placed my hand on top of his, adding, "To … To never give up!"

Naruto's hand covered mine as he finished off. "And to never go back on our word – believe it!"

Thus, Naruto, Lee, and I became a team. On that day the three of us, three failures, came together for the start of the journey of a lifetime.

* * *

**Hanabi ****ハ****ナ****ビ**

I sighed, setting down the watering pail, standing up, and brushing dirt off my knees as I finished. Nee-chan's garden was really one of the clan gardens that would normally be seen to by servants. Hinata had told me Kaa-san took care of it when she was alive; now that Hinata wasn't here to tend to it, I was determined to keep the plants healthy myself until she returned.

Because she _would _return.

Head down, I dragged my feet down the walkway. The grounds had an aura of almost disturbing quiet today; Sandaime-sama (who had been ill and bedridden the last few weeks, with the result that hardly anyone had heard from him lately) had just now called the first large village council meeting since the Oto-Suna invasion two weeks ago. Father had been notified yesterday, and as he and dozens of other Hyuuga – from every elder and council member to strong voices and important figures of the branch house – were attending, I could only assume this special meeting was highly important. Whatever was going on, it left the manor grounds eerily noiseless, and me without a morning training session. _This type of day, I'd normally get to hang out with Nee-chan…_

I bumped into someone as I turned a corner, and looked up to see Neji and four more genin behind him. My cousin's scowl became a smirk. "Ohayou gozaimasu, Hanabi-sama," he said, but for his face a perfect picture of politeness. He threw in a quick bow that I found to seem rather the opposite of respectful. "Tell me, why do you look so down this morning?"

I should add that I didn't like Neji very much. At all. If I was ever kind to that terrible person, it was because Hinata insisted that his past was so _complicated_, he's lost a lot, and he had every right to be angry. I didn't understand how she saw this to justify the dirty fiend's tearing down her confidence and thrashing her in their spars; so I naturally assumed that was her overly-kind and sympathetic nature talking, and I'd told her so. Still she had claimed I was mistaken, and had wrapped up the matter by asking me to please be kind toward him. So I called him "Nii-san" and played nice for her sake, and truly did make several honest attempts to understand my cousin the way Hinata did.

I couldn't.

"Neji!" a girl in purple snapped quietly behind him, slightly disgusted by his words.

He shot the blond a look before looking back to me. "What's this – not going to answer? And you know, it's only proper manners to make eye contact when someone is speaking to you… Oh, but surely you don't miss that pathetic sister of yours…? Death and loss are among the most basic and common aspects of a ninja's life, Hanabi-sama. If you ever hope to be a strong kunoichi, then –,"

"Shut up!" I shouted, glowering up at him with my teeth bared. My hands curled into trembling fists. He didn't know it (and I knew he didn't know it), but he was playing on my worst fear: That Nee-chan was out there dead right now.

His eyes narrowed calculatingly a moment before he slipped on a mask of surprise. "Sumimasen – have I said something to upset you?"

My right hand twitched; two fingers pulled out of the locked fist, itching to form the seal that his side of the family dreaded. "Out. Of my. Sight."

He bowed mockingly again. "As you wish, Hanabi-_sa_–,"

"_Now!!_"

He passed me, briskly heading down the walkway. "Are you coming or not?" he called to the group as he turned a corner.

The blond girl sighed, and I felt a hand on my shoulder. "Don't listen to him," she consoled with a sympathetic smile before she followed.

Shino passed me wordlessly.

The Uchiha's eyes were downcast, but I could see the darkened rings forming under them. He raised his head like he'd just noticed I was there, his blank gaze lifting to hold my eyes for a moment, before he walked on.

Tenten's eyes were filled with grief as she met my gaze. The older girl knelt down to my level and embraced me. "I'm s-so sorry, Hanabi-chan." She stood and went after the others, and I was alone.

I almost wanted to tell Sasuke and Tenten that their teammates were actually alive, but then I would have to reveal that Hinata was as well; I couldn't take the risk of letting anyone know. Perhaps it was better for all three of the escaped genin that Konoha thought them to be dead, so they wouldn't be targeted by pursuit teams.

I was about to continue on my way when a thought occurred to me. What could those five be doing together? As far as I knew, they were from a number of different ninja cells, and Tenten was the only one who could even be called Neji's friend.

"_Shino-kun is … away on a m-mission…"_

"That's it!" I gasped. Whatever had been going on between Nee-chan, the other rookie genin, and Neji's team, this had to have something to do with it…

* * *

**Neji ****ネジ**

_About time, _I thought in mild annoyance as the others entered my room. I slid the door shut – not that it would do much to stop anyone spying on us _here_.

I leaned against the wall, arms crossed and eyes closed in thought as they took seats. A few seconds after the silence which indicated they had settled, I spoke. "Surely you all know why we're here…?"

"Cut the drama, Hyuuga," Sasuke said, thoroughly uninterested, "Why, what's the meeting for?"

"You mean it's not obvious?" I said. My eyes opened. "It's time we finished the Failures. Their numbers advantage has been cut. We've been going far too soft on them, and they've made it clear they have no intentions of backing down. While they're struggling with the loss of their three pitiful leaders, we must challenge the fools – one final battle … to crush their petty little farce, their delusional aspirations, once and for all."

I studied their strange reactions. Sasuke and Ino looked disbelieving, almost shocked. Tenten met my eyes, both angered and upset. Shino's eyebrows angled inward in surprise and strong disapproval.

"Are you kidding?" Ino finally snapped. "If you are, it's not funny! What the heck's _wrong_ with you?!"

I raised an eyebrow. "Enlighten me. I don't see the problem."

"Neji-san, the three of them were murdered," Shino stated coldly, "Do you not think this has gone too far?"

"It's not like _we_ killed them," I said, raising my nose. "What should we care that a mob of villagers paper-bombed them?"

"The dobe…" Sasuke spoke for the first time, "He just wasn't the type of person … you can imagine _dying_. He had dreams too – stupid dreams, but he did have them. It's not right. You claim _they _had the numbers advantage? The five of us breathing down their necks with half the village _already_ out to get them was hardly what you could call a fair fight!" he roared.

I shook my head, sighing in exasperation. "You rookies could never understand…"

"I agree with those rookies, Neji!" Tenten cried. "How can you be so cruel? Didn't you care for Lee at all?"

My face hardened with a frown. "The imbeciles thought they could do anything just by trying – as though simply refusing to die could keep one alive," I spat, "Those three tried to defy destiny, and they paid the price … More than anything, this should make especially clear how important it is that we teach them this lesson while we still can. We owe it to our teammates to do this to _protect _them. After all … isn't that what friends are for…?"

I glared at them, and in a moment a few of them grudgingly nodded.

"Good," I said. "We'll attack them in the demolished zone, where they meet. They'll likely gather today as well, while their parents are away at the council meeting. Should they arrive, we must be prepared to challenge and defeat them – swiftly and decisively. They'll learn…"

I paused to activate my kekkei genkai. My eyes found Hanabi twenty-five meters away – her Byakugan active as well – in time to see her start in surprise and run off. I scowled, deactivating the dojutsu.

"Meet me east of the demolished zone in twenty minutes," I said to the four, pushing away from the wall to stand up straight. "I'll be right behind you."

After exchanging looks, they stood and left. All but one.

"Yes, Tenten?" I said when we were alone.

She was silent, staring at me with disbelief and grief in her bloodshot eyes. Emotions flickered across her face; for a moment her teeth ground, and she glowered slightly in anger. Then her expression softened with distress, and once more fell to anguished sadness.

"Neji," she whispered, "are you really so coldhearted? Do you mean you truly cared nothing for our _teammate_?"

"He was a fool, Tenten, doomed from the start of his ninja career. He fought fate with everything he had, so this was destined to –,"

"Don't give me that destiny crap!" she yelled, "Answer me, Neji! After all we've been through together, you honestly felt absolutely nothing for him – nothing at all?! What did he mean to you?!"

"I liked and would protect him as a teammate."

Tenten took a step back, appalled. "You sick _monster_…" She turned.

"W-wait!" I grabbed her wrist before she could go.

"What?!" she snapped, seething.

I wasn't sure of what I should say – so I tried the first thing that came to mind. "It's better they died now than on a mission…" I trailed off as it suddenly occurred to me this could come out wrong.

"Why?" she hissed.

"Because then, the failure would hurt the village."

Tenten wasn't the type to slap her teammate.

…Which why a fist slammed painfully into my cheek. "_Teme_!" she cried, running off in tears.

For a minute, I just sat there, shocked. I blinked. _I messed up… _I wiped my mouth, and sighed as I looked at the small bit of red smudged on my hand. Hopefully she would come around and understand soon. For now, however, I had something to take care of before I met up with the others…

* * *

**Hanabi ****ハ****ナ****ビ**

I was sitting in the garden again when I sensed someone approaching. "Hello, Hanabi-sama," came Neji's voice as I stood. He added offhandedly, "You seem to be spending a great deal of time in this garden lately…"

"If this is about my spying on your meeting…" I started.

"It's not," he stated, walking up. He stopped a short yard away, glaring down at me; I glared back, hiding my nervousness and trying not to squirm. Even without his Byakugan, his scathing white eyes seemed to bore clear through me. I felt a pressing and panic-inducing sense that that nothing, no thought – or secret – could be hidden from him.

"You know something we don't," he said confidently, in a serious tone. He began to walk slowly around me, looking at me like I was a criminal; I stood unmoving, my eyes trained ahead, determined not to let the intimidation tactic shake me.

"And how are you so sure? I asked coolly. I focused my chakra carefully, activating my Byakugan without the use of hand seals – an early accomplishment I prided myself in.

"I knew it the moment of your outburst earlier, Hanabi-sama. You're hiding something from the clan – something concerning Hinata-sama's '_death._'"

My eyes widened a fraction, and he caught the slip easily. _Impossible … could he know? No, he's got to be bluffing! _"I have no idea what you're talking about," I declared, raising my nose with my arms crossed.

"But of course you do," he said, casually kicking over a cluster of soft pink flowers as he continued to circle. I clenched my teeth, trying to conceal my emotion as he watched for a reaction. He resumed his interrogation, "She wasn't _really_ in that house when it exploded, was she?"

I snorted. "What reason would I have to lie, Nii-san?"

"Hm…" he said, pretending to be deep in thought as he lazily stomped another few flowers into the dirt. "I don't know … perhaps to cover an escape?"

"I wouldn't dream of –,"

"Out with it, Hanabi-sama. Tell me what really happened. You have my word I won't tell the other Hyuuga – and look around." His Byakugan flared to life in an instant. "Everyone else who lives in these Main House quarters around us is at the council meeting. You and I are the only two people in the area…"

I didn't miss his double meaning. While on the surface he pointed out that no one else would learn of the secret, he was simultaneously slipping in a threat. I felt a fleeting siren of panic inside, but made no outward show of it. _He wants a game of threats…_

As he passed in front of me again, I grabbed his arm, pulling him to face me. "I don't like your tone," I declared flatly, my free hand forming a two fingered seal in warning. To my surprise, he merely smirked.

"I have already figured you out, Hanabi-sama. You threaten with that hand seal, but you wouldn't dare activate the mark. Let me guess – your sister asked you not to?"

He had guessed dead-on, but he didn't need to know that.

My eyes narrowed coldly. "You think I won't?"

His free hand firmly grasped the wrist of my hand that held his arm, and as I released him in surprise a hand pushed painfully against my elbow. He shoved me away.

With a yelp, I staggered back to stay on my feet, and looked up to see him launching himself at me, spinning his body in the air to sharply drop a heel onto my shoulder. My knees were buckling at the force when a palm smashed into my chest.

I thought my ribs were crushed.

My back connected with a wooden beam, but as I began to slide to the ground a hand closed around my neck. "No, I don't think. I know. If you were at all willing to activate the seal, Hanabi-_sama_, I am quite certain you would have done so by now," he hissed matter-of-factly in my ear before releasing me. My arms folded across myself as I sank to my knees.

He knelt down. A hand lifted my chin, and I was forced to look into his menacing Byakugan. In contrast to the unconcealed fury in his eyes, his voice was clipped, cool, and even.

"Now, Hanabi-sama, you are a clearheaded child. If you knew for a fact that Hinata-sama were dead, you would not deny it."

I realized in a moment what he was getting at, and glared back. "Nee-chan is d…" A treacherous tremble jumped into my voice; even a practiced liar, I couldn't bring myself to say _this_. "Nee-chan i-i-is-s … d-de … _dea_ –,"

"Just as I thought," he said, dropping my chin without warning. "Your report was nothing more than a tall tale … but fortunately for you, I have something rather important to attend to at the moment." He stood. "Don't worry. I won't tell anyone – yet."

He vanished, and I spat a word I'd picked up from Kiba-san.

In a moment I got to my feet, bruised but otherwise uninjured. At least, I'd learned quite a bit from reading lips, "eavesdropping" on their meeting. It explained what had been going on since the Chuunin Exams – the secretive feud that Nee-chan had refused to tell me about. Obviously, Hinata and those other two had been with the "Failures," as Neji called them; and the fate-respecting nutcase was planning an attack on them today.

_Why am I just sitting here?! I've got to warn them! _I thought. I couldn't put a finger on why the need to help them felt so natural to me. Maybe it was because they were Hinata-nee-chan's friends – and people who were fighting and standing up for the same things she believed in.

_They meet in the 'demolished zone' … What could that be? What part of the village was hit hardest in the invasion…? _I gasped. "The sand tanuki monster!"

* * *

I skidded to a halt as I entered the part of Konoha many villagers now called cursed, not even stopping to catch my breath before my hands flashed through a string of seals.

"Byakugan!"

There, almost on the edge of my range – four people were seated within the remaining three walls of a half-destroyed shop. I turned off my kekkei genkai and ran in the direction.

"Nani?" I had frozen in my tracks – but not intentionally. My body involuntarily took a few steps as a boy with black hair sticking up in a funny-looking ponytail stepped out from the shadow of the building. He was holding the rat hand seal, ne.

From my right, two figures sprang into the air from behind a pile of wreckage; I looked to see two rotating grey blurs shoot toward me.

"_Gatsuu_–!!"

The blur in the lead came to a screeching halt, skidding until a wild looking boy was crouched next to me. An identical person crashed into him with a grunt, the impact triggering a burst of smoke; as it cleared, a small puppy was hanging onto the boy's shoulder.

Leaning forward, the boy blinked twice and sniffed the air in precaution. "Hanabi-chan?" Kiba-san asked, surprised.

"Hi," I said a bit breathlessly as my racing heart rate normalized.

"Shikamaru, let her go!" he called. "Guys, you can come out! False alarm!"

The Nara's lengthened shadow broke away, and control of my body was abruptly returned to me. I wobbled, and Kiba steadied me. Twenty yards away, a pink-haired girl and a boy rather on the plump side stepped from behind a fallen tree to my left.

"Chouji, Sakura, hold it!" Shikamaru shouted, running toward us. "Don't let your guard down. How can we be sure she's not with Neji?" His eyes quickly swept the area. "This may be a diversion."

"No way, man!" Kiba shouted, and his puppy Akamaru yipped in agreement. "We can trust her."

"Alright then, but what if she was forced into it?" Shikamaru returned.

"I _wasn't_!" I cried, frustrated. "I'm here to warn you because Neji's planning to attack you!"

The girl, Sakura, started in surprise. "Wh – how do you know?"

"The five of them just met at the Hyuuga manor, and I spied on them – in about two minutes, they'll probably be coming for you!"

"Are you serious?" the one the leader had called Chouji gasped, while Shikamaru swore.

Kiba clapped a hand on my shoulder; I winced slightly, but he took no notice. "Great work, Hanabi-chan! You're real brave to do this. Now hurry and get out of here, before they show up."

"Are you kidding?" I protested. I hadn't been able to help Nee-chan, and now it seemed I wouldn't be allowed to help her friends either. "Why? You have a numbers disadvantage, right? I can fix that!"

"Absolutely not!" Kiba barked, "No way am I letting Hinata's seven-year-old sister get involved in this!"

"But…"

"That's _final_! If we dragged you into this mess…" His face fell, and I noticed for the first time how much older he seemed to have become since I last saw him. His weary eyes deadened with grief as a far-off look entered them. "…Hinata would never forgive us…"

"You've already helped out plenty, Hanabi," Shikamaru said, taking over. "We just can't ask an academy student to fight with us…"

_So that's it_, I thought, hanging my head, _I'm too weak again…_

The Nara continued, "So hurry up and get out of here, before –,"

Akamaru barked; Kiba sniffed, and then glowered fiercely into the distance. "They're coming!"

I was suddenly pulled behind him as something plummeted from the sky: a kunai plunged into the ground five yards away from us. I followed the enraged dog-nin's gaze to five figures standing atop a large building just outside the wrecked area.

"Failures!" my cousin's harsh voice reached me. The five silhouettes vanished a moment; they reappeared in the air, falling toward us with their backs to the morning sun. Peeking around Kiba, I could see Neji's ferocious Byakugan blazing with hatred as he continued. "We challenge you to one final battle, here and now! This ends _today_!"

In front of me Kiba bared his teeth and growled menacingly, his clawed hands flexing; Chouji frowned anxiously; Sakura gulped, her hands curling into fists; Shikamaru glared at the approaching five, appeared to be mentally cursing his luck or wishing it was a different time, and finally glanced at the rest of his team before looking ahead and declaring, "You're on!"

They landed ten yards away, Neji in the lead – and raced toward us.

"Scatter!" Shikamaru barked.

Someone caught me around the waist and shot thirty yards in the blink of an eye. Before I knew it, I was being set down behind the remaining wall of a house that had been smashed by a fallen tree. Two Kibas stood in front of me.

"Stay hidden!" one said sternly, and they were gone.

* * *

**Neji ****ネジ**

They scattered, and we raced after them. Each of them doubled back sharply; Sakura went for Ino; Kiba, most likely, barreled on all fours at a crimson-eyed Sasuke while Akamaru similarly rushed Tenten; running through hand seals, Chouji launched himself at Shino, who prepared to unleash a swarm of kikaichuu. Shikamaru's shadow bolted toward me.

My heart raced in anticipation as I dashed toward him with a scowl, dancing and darting out of the shadow with ease as it tried futilely to capture me. Nara's eyes widened in surprised panic as I neared, hardly even slowed, with a mere frontal approach; he manipulated his shadow wildly, branching it, looping it back on itself, and throwing out a number of rapid-fire strategic traps – but still failed to catch me. At full speed I launched myself at him, drawing back a palm. He abandoned his jutsu and drew in a leg, prepared to strike with a kick to overcome my reach advantage. But before he did I replaced with a large chunk of rubble; instantly I was behind him.

I would waste no time; I had said swiftly and decisively, and I had meant it.

Shikamaru's eyes were wide in horror as he turned his head.

"Hakke Rokujuu Yonshou –!"

"_Konohagakure no Sato!_" a tremendous voice boomed sharply across the village.

I started, and Shikamaru, exploiting the distraction, whirled and aimed a heel at my head. I blocked and shoved the foot away, and we broke apart.

I saw the Kiba I'd correctly suspected to be Akamaru yowl in surprise and tumble to the ground at Tenten's feet, hands over his ears. Sakura and Ino, both about to throw their first blows, flinched and jumped apart. The true Inuzuka spun on heel and jumped away from Sasuke, who had already sidestepped regardless.

Shikamaru glared lazily, his eyes narrowed, and I shot a look back. In a moment he shook his head, hands slipping slowly into his pockets. "Time out. Something's up."

I nodded slightly, my Byakugan fading as my stance relaxed. On both sides, the others followed suit.

_It's Sandaime-sama_, I realized, _probably using some sort of jutsu to amplify and distribute his voice… _In the distance, I could see people leaving buildings, streaming onto the streets wearing curious faces. I quickly met the eyes of each of my team, and we flickered to a rooftop; I saw the Failures gather atop an adjacent building. In no time the streets were crowded by civilians, while dozens of shinobi viewed from the rooftops. On the distant Hokage tower stood the Third Hokage.

"Hear me, my dear village!" his voice boomed, "I bear grave news! We have been deceived! Our greatest jounin have been captured, and the enemy waits at our doorstep! The whole of the village council … has been imprisoned!"

While I simply furrowed my brow, all around me reactions rose up; Inuzuka howled for his mother and sister, and the members of team ten for their families, while Shino gasped with a barely noticeable start. A small, unmistakable shout of "Chichi-ue!" came from the Failures' direction. Throughout the village, outraged and tremendously bewildered yells voiced disbelief and demanded what was going on, just _how_ this crisis could have taken place.

"And finally, Konoha, your Hokage…" My eyes widened as in an abrupt change, his voice became a viciously razor-sharp edge. "Your beloved Hokage has fallen!"

My mouth hung open as I watched "Sandaime-sama" pull off his _face_ like a mask. The moment he did, dozens of Sound ninja appeared atop the wall of Konoha. Cries of terror rang through the village as the white face of the imposter was exposed, and every shinobi over twenty or so tensed instantly. _I've seen that man … in history books! He's…!_ "This is a hostile takeover, Hidden Leaf! Fail to obey me, and you shall suffer dire consequences. I, Orochimaru, now name myself Godaime Hokage!"

He laughed chillingly, and what he said next truly surprised me.

"From this day forward, I am your absolute ruler! Now, Hyuuga Neji, report to the Hokage tower at once! Everyone else, return to your homes until further notice!"

I had actually jumped, and now just stood staring, my mouth hanging open in a manner, I'll admit, most undignified and surely idiotic-looking to the observer. Once the shock backed down a bit, a fleeting sense of something else managed to register in my stunned mind: Fear.

I could feel my team, and even the Failures eyeing me. Uchiha frowned and walked up to stand at my side before whispering, "What could that freak want with you?"

I composed myself, recollecting my cool. "I have no idea, but there's no use in fighting him – at least not until we know more about our situation. For now we should do what he says." The four nodded, and I cast a sidelong glare at Shikamaru. "Some other time," I said, and at once my team body flickered to follow orders.

* * *

My eyes narrowed. "So you're with Sound."

The silver-haired spy shrugged. "I'm not really a genin either. But come to think of it…" As a hand passed over his hitai-ate, the eighth note on it was replaced by the Leaf mark. He grinned with false cheer. "Konoha belongs to Oto now, so it really doesn't matter."

I scowled. "Why am I here?"

He pushed his glasses up with a finger, an amused smirk crossing his face. "Of course. Right this way, Neji-san."

I followed him away from the tower.

* * *

We left the trees and emerged in a clearing, but even here it was almost dark as night. The Hidden Leaf forest was so thick in this area that a glimpse of sunlight was a rarity; hardly the smallest amounts of it could get through the tangle of leaves and branches overhead. A diversity of trees in a vast assortment of shapes and sizes surrounded us.

"Here we are," he said laughingly, and vanished. I was alone.

I scowled, forming the tora seal. "Bya –!"

"Hello, Neji-kun."

I whirled and jumped back several yards. _Impossible – to conceal his presence so well as to get right behind me undetected? So, _this_ is a legendary sannin… _My face hardened once more as I stared down the smirking snake. "So you're Orochimaru…" I stated.

"Indeed. And it is certainly a pleasure to meet _you_, Neji-kun, after hearing _so _much about you. I just had to see for myself…"

"What do you want with me?" I demanded evenly.

He laughed softly, tilting his head back a bit and closing his eyes. My skin crawled, but I concealed my unease. "I want you … to show me your _power_!" His eyes snapped open, and I flinched.

I ducked under a kick, and an elbow met my face. I staggered back and blocked a fist, but the following uppercut caught my jaw, throwing me into the air. Backflipping with a grunt, I landed on my feet, hands clapping together in a seal.

"Byaku–!"

I choked on the word as a fist landed below my ribcage, followed by a heavy kick to the chest. My back met a tree, and I fell to my knees. _What … just happened? He's too … fast… _Coughing, I raised my head to keep my eyes on him.

There was now a look of displeasure on Orochimaru's face as he looked into my eyes. "You'll have to do better than that, young Hyuuga. I must say … I'm disappointed!"

My breath caught. _What is … this murderous intent?!_

The man laughed, madness shining bright in his yellow eyes. "_Now_ … let's begin."

The world around me went crimson as hundreds of nameless weapons rapidly blasted through me. For the longest five seconds of my life, I screamed in pure agony. Then the barrage ended, and I bent over to heave my breakfast onto the ground.

_Gen … j-jut-tsu … n-not … real…_

I held one trembling hand in another in an attempt to steady it. My Byakugan activated weakly; all the blood, gouges and slashes, the dozens of punctures, and a kunai still lodged through the forearm vanished as my eyes showed me reality. "N-not … re-real," I gasped out, assuring myself once more.

The snake sannin snickered. "What does it matter if you don't see it? You _have _other senses. Real or illusion … pain is pain."

On cue, something invisible plunged through my heart … and shot out my back. The suffocating smell of blood filled my nose, its iron taste my mouth, and I felt a warm, sticky liquid dripping over my skin. Screams tore through the air, rang in my ears – and mine was one of them.

My bloodline failed at the shock – and the instant it did, I saw a kunai graze my cheek from behind, shooting forward to bury itself deep in the hitai-ate of a tall, white-eyed man standing before me. "Neji…" he breathed, and keeled over – dead.

"_NOOOO!! FAAATHEER–!!_"

The anguished cry was cut short as something slashed through my neck.

I was thrust back into reality with overwhelming abruptness. Unblinking and sweaty, gasping hungrily for air, I slumped limp to the ground.

I was scared.

"Hmm… that was too easy – rather boring. I didn't truly expect one so clearheaded and realistic as yourself to fall so easily to my illusionary arts … but it would seem I've gotten my hopes up for nothing…"

I reached slowly for the shuriken holster strapped to my leg; my violently quivering hand fumbled clumsily at the clasp as twitching fingers refused to work together. With much effort I finally palmed a throwing star. In short, jerky motions my arm moved forward, and a delayed moment after stopping in front of me released the weapon. It dropped straight to the ground, and my hand fell on top of it.

"Pitiful child. Did you honestly plan to _throw _that at me?" I heard a sigh. "I suppose I should have known better than to expect one from a mere side branch of his clan to wield any real power…"

I squeezed the shuriken hard – at once my palm bled. At the pain – real pain – I was snapped out of my fear-induced trance.

Blood boiling, I sprang to my feet, yelling out as my palm impacted his chest with a solid thud and an intense burst of chakra.

"Agh!" he cried in surprise, but still managed to get away before my follow-up attack. "Byakugan!!" I snarled and pursued, striking quick and sharp, precise despite my rage as I flowed through an uninterrupted stream of attacks that he dodged with equal grace.

He smacked aside a palm and flickered to the tree line. My penetrating eyes tracked him as he dashed through treetops, hidden from normal view as he cut to the left around the clearing with unreal speed.

I calculated rapidly. _There! A break in the tree line… _Turning a little over ninety degrees, I focused a great amount of chakra to my feet and shot into the trees.

Orochimaru's eyes widened visibly as I flew to intercept him mid-leap, drawing back an arm. I delivered a crushing palm strike to his face; his neck twisted unnaturally at the force.

I frowned. _Replaced with a mud clone?! _The fake faded to a murky brown and crumbled on collision with a tree. With chakra I attached my feet to the same tree as I reached it, and turned my head to glare daggers at the real shinobi who hung upside down with his arms crossed on a branch twenty yards away.

"Almost had me," he said with a chuckle. His eyes were bright with excitement. I growled, hurling six shuriken at him; he swung up onto a branch to dodge three, deflecting the rest with a kunai knife before he pushed off toward me. I focused my chakra and did the same.

At ten yards he threw the knife with a backhand motion. I moved my head from the whistling projectile's path and caught its handle with the opposite hand, flicking it back in a similar movement. As he dodged, I aimed a flying kick at his head, barely missing him as he bent back to duck. As we flew past each other, my left arm shot out to the side, the hand chakra-adhering to a nearby tree; the force swung me in a near circle around the trunk, filling the bandaging with splinters of wood as my hand slid quickly over the bark, before I released my hold. Momentum hardly expended, I shot toward Orochimaru in a flying kick, landing a heel in the man's gut.

He sailed at an angle toward the ground, crashing through several branches before colliding with the earth to stir a cloud of dust. I landed lightly in a crouch ten yards away, and in a moment slowly stood.

Again, he laughed. "It would appear I've largely underestimated you!" he hissed as he sank into the ground … and seemingly vanished.

Moments later I saw the ground behind my right foot glow with chakra before it slowly rose and morphed into a white hand. I jumped, flinging a kunai; it met the earth with a dull thud as the hand vanished. Scanning my surroundings with the Byakugan, I landed on a tree's sharply angled trunk.

Orochimaru sprang silently into existence from higher on the slanted trunk, behind me, with a kunai poised to stab; he soared over me as I let myself fall forward, attaching my hands to the trunk. Pushing off with my feet, I swung my legs forward to lash a heel at the snake's jaw.

I flipped out of the kick, landing on my feet, while he rolled to his. He turned to face me. After wiping his mouth, he examined his hand: he was bleeding.

"Amazing…" he gasped, incredulous, "That almost _hurt_…" A grin slid across his face before he sped toward me.

I drew two kunai in a flash, using them to parry blows from his knife. He jabbed and slashed rapidly, easily pushing my speed to its limits; my eyes traced his moves, and my body just barely kept up.

Thankfully I was accustomed to facing high speed opponents.

I had been backpedalling steadily as I blocked, using my extended field of vision to watch behind me and move accordingly so that I did not run into the trees. Picking up on this (and seemingly curious as to how I would react), he suddenly increased speed, swiftly switching his attacks between the right and the left. My eyes could only just follow as I parried and dodged, but I realized I was being herded toward a tree – and I couldn't exactly do anything about it.

My back met the trunk. In the very instant my two kunai flew together to cross just above my head, his one crashed down onto them from a high, two-handed strike. The three knives clashed with a sharp metallic clang, and screeched as they ground together. I clenched my teeth in effort as my enemy's superior strength began to force me downward.

I focused chakra to every tenketsu in my body. If I didn't do this quickly, the instant I released the knife lock would be enough time for his kunai to reach me. _Kaite–!_

I wasn't allowed to begin the justu as a foot connected painfully with my unguarded chest, sending me smashing through the tree. I skidded across the ground a good distance, gasping as I sprang to my feet. A kunai was instantly stabbing toward me; with a heavy swing of my arm I swatted it aside by the flat of the blade, freeing it from Orochimaru's hand.

Immediately I took the offensive, bombarding him with palm strikes. He dodged each with ease, and in a few seconds flickered away; my eyes located him as he wove a rapid string of seals and brought both hands to the ground.

The earth crackled apart and churned dangerously around me. As a fracture split the ground at my feet, I quickly jumped to a solid chunk of earth behind me. It promptly lurched to an angle, and I leapt to a tree trunk; as the tree began to fall from the quake, I returned to the ground. The earth cracked apart beneath my foot, which sank into the opening. I just managed to jump away before the earth shifted – my foot would have been crushed.

I stuck to a tree and ran up its trunk even as it fell, and then jumped across to another before it met the ground. Darting between trees, I stayed away from the earth until the jutsu ceased.

I sprang to a standing tree just in time to avoid a speeding mass of flames; the fireball chased after me, and I sprinted upward. I jumped to a taller tree and continued, then leapt from branch to branch to climb as I got higher, all the while the fire eating the trees at my heels.

Nearing the top and beginning to see light, I built up chakra and launched myself upward to break through the treetops, exploding into the sunlit sky. Still the fireball followed. At the peak of my jump, it had almost reached me…

My absolute defense sprang into action as I released chakra and rotated my body; safe within a firm sphere of chakra, I crashed down through the heart of the fire. The flames dissipated above me, and I landed on a blackened branch.

Only when he appeared in the air behind me did I realize I'd been careless enough to lose sight of my enemy.

"Too slow!" he hissed viciously, and a heel slammed onto my shoulder. I shot straight to the earth, landing face up with my right hand between my back and the ground. I moaned in pain, seeing the insides of my eyelids as my bloodline's insight faded.

I heard him land softly a few yards away. He snickered as he approached.

I slowly opened my eyes.

"I must say, Neji-kun…"

He was standing to my left, by my feet, and leaning forward slightly to smirk down at me.

"…You're even stronger than I imagined–!"

In one explosive motion, I pushed against the ground with my feet and the hand resting behind my back, violently sweep-kicking his feet from under him. He began to fall forward.

"KAITEN!!" I roared savagely, initiating the technique even as I spun to my feet. Once upright I whirled rapidly, and Orochimaru was thrown high into the air.

I bent my knees and spread my arms, dropping low into a familiar stance as my Byakugan furiously blazed to life. "You're in range!" I growled, darting forward.

As Orochimaru landed hard on his feet, I was in front of him.

"Nishou!" I jabbed two tenketsu sharply.

"Yonshou!" Increasing speed, I hit four more.

"Hachishou!" This time, eight…

"Juurokushou!" I whirled and went faster still…

"Sanjuu nishou!" My hands were flying now…

"_Hakke Rokujuu Yonshou!_"

At the final strike, I sent him flying. The man's back collided into a tree with a resounding crack; he slid limply to the ground, head slumping forward.

Panting heavily, I dropped to my knees and realized just how tired I was. I had been in almost constant high speed motion for the last five or so minutes, not to mention thoroughly exhausting my chakra supply. My Byakugan deactivated as I continued to gasp for breath. _It's … over…_

A menacing laugh sent a chill down my spine.

"No," I croaked weakly, shoving to my feet. I stiffened as I met his eyes, frozen by the sheer unnatural amount of murderous intent rolling off him in waves. _You … monster… _I thought, sinking again to my knees as I shook uncontrollably.

Orochimaru strode toward me, stopping ten yards away. "I'm impressed," he drawled with a grin, "You are a very strong and beautiful fighter … at present, even more so than Uchiha. You are a true master of your bloodline. And your hatred bears so much potential; I can see it in your eyes…"

"H-how," I whispered, "How did you take the village … from under our noses? When did you…?"

"Curious, are we? Kukukuku…" he snickered, "Gaara's attack was delayed, but as it turned out he couldn't have arrived at a better time. I ordered my shinobi to release their barrier around Sarutobi-sensei and I in a challenge, a dare – deal with me, the one he regretted not finishing off in the past, or deal with the sand spirit that was beginning to lay waste to his precious village … The sentimental old fool took off to confront the tailed beast.

"He ordered all other ninja fighting it to leave the area, and faced it alone but for that ancient monkey, Enma – he had no summons large enough to combat it … Meanwhile, I set a few buildings and hidden civilian shelters ablaze to provide a sufficient distraction for the other Leaf shinobi. Then, decisively forming a new plan, I went to kill him…

"Sarutobi-sensei was tired and faring poorly – it was easy. I created a smokescreen and slit his throat. Then … I stole his face and armor, disposed of the body, and took out the Shukaku by attacking Gaara. By the time the Konoha ANBU arrived, they were easily led to believe he had killed me, and left with no idea what had taken place…

"From there it was simple … as I assumed the role of Hokage, Konoha remained none the wiser… Soon I issued the decree that until further notice, no one was permitted to leave the village, and recalled all shinobi already on missions. Days after, I assigned the majority of the village's jounin a number of "classified missions" in which they were sent to walk into traps … my troops reported a one hundred percent success rate in capturing them. With the element of surprise on my side, I took care of my fool old friend Jiraiya before he could snoop around; he currently rots in a prison as well. I secured the village council with relative ease … and as we speak, a large force of my minions enters the village."

He let up on the killer intent, but I didn't attack – just as he'd known I wouldn't. "I see … your victory was absolute – destined from the moment you killed Sandaime-sama," I pondered aloud. "We haven't the powerful shinobi or influential figures to stage a revolt, nor is the village vulnerable due to addition of your Oto ninja … Clever…"

The man smirked. "I'm curious. A rhetorical question, Neji-kun…? Say I offered to face you seriously, with the vow that should you manage to land a single blow, I would relinquish control over this village. What would you do?"

"You are one of the legendary sannin of ultimate renown. As a mere genin, I would never stand a chance against your experience; I wouldn't try."

"Then tell me – why did you even bother fighting me just now?"

"If you had said your intention was to kill me, I _wouldn't_ have bothered." I opted to leave out the fact that I'd also allowed anger to overcome my sense of logic.

He shook his head cheerfully, closing his eyes. "Tsk, tsk, tsk. You realistic child … I like you. You don't fight a hopeless battle, and your intellect is superb … making you all the more _desirable_…"

"And what exactly do you want of me?" I inquired.

His smile grew to just slightly bare his teeth. "I need someone to help enforce my rule … impose my will. You – and perhaps even your adorable little gang of friends – are perfect for this role. In return for your assistance, I could grant you power," his eyes gleamed as he hissed the word, "more power, Neji-kun, than you could even imagine … Why, if you wished it, you could rule the Hyuuga…"

I frowned slightly, resisting a small impulse to lay a hand over the hidden seal on my brow. "Destiny forbids it."

"Dear child, if anyone can change destiny, would not you agree _I_ can, hmm?" He snickered softly. "I'll find a way to remove that pesky seal of yours, if that's where your concerns lie…"

_But – but the seal was created to be permanent … does he really think he could…?_

"I see the doubt in your eyes … kukuku. I am here to bring about change, to set things in motion – and I'll do it. A new age is soon to commence in Konohagakure … and if you wish it, in Clan Hyuuga as well. But first, I need you to help me bring my dream to light."

"What _is_ your dream?"

"You're sure to find out in time…" He paused, running a long tongue across his lips. "What do you say, Neji-kun? Will you serve under my command, and assist me in realizing my vision?"

I hesitated, lowering my gaze in thought. It was not that I didn't love and care for the village. Indeed, I believed this takeover was an unfortunate turn for the worst – but even a fool could have seen the futility of resisting him now, and in doing so quite possibly make things far worse than they _could_ be.

Not to mention, the deadly man was clever and powerful; I could not ignore this awed sense of … what was it? Reverence? Respect? Yes, the sensible choice was obvious.

I raised my head to meet his gaze, steel determination in my eyes. He smirked.

"A new age…?"

"A new age."

"Excellent," he hissed hungrily, triumph glowing in his face and stance, practically dripping from his voice. "But first … I have a gift for you."

My eyes narrowed. _A gift?_

"I gave a quite similar one to Uchiha a few months ago … but yours will be special. I've only recently developed this; you'll be the first to receive it." He formed the hand seal hitsuji. "Oh, and Neji-kun?"

"Yes … Orochimaru-sama?"

"Do try not to die."

His neck stretched impossibly, and in the next moment two fangs sank into my neck. My mouth fell open with a sharp intake of breath, and my eyes widened considerably. His head withdrew as his neck returned to normal length.

A strange sensation came over me, and my stunned eyes drifted questioningly to Orochimaru. _Wha–?_

"_AAAAAAHHHHHHH!!_"

The genjutsu from before was a paper cut in comparison to the very real pain now blazing through my body. Hands grasping at a point on my lower neck, I dropped to the ground as if struck on the back of the head. Teeth bared in a grimace, I forced an eye to open just enough to look up at him. "What … i-_is _thi–?" My neck throbbed; I cried out again, rolling onto my side as I writhed and shook in agony.

I pulled myself into a ball, gasping through my teeth, hands tearing at my hair. My bulging eyes vaguely noticed a silver-haired man in glasses now standing beside Orochimaru.

"You used _that _seal after all?" a distant sounding voice asked, amused even as I continued to suffer.

"Kukuku… It can never hurt … to have a backup…"

Before I could begin to wonder what these words meant, a stabbing pain pulsed through me. My body uncurled sharply as I rolled onto my back, eyes snapping shut and mouth flying open as I howled once more.

Another wave of pain hit me.

When the scream faded, I found a horrible laugh echoing in my ears as the world turned Dark.

* * *

**ナルト** / **リー** / **ヒナタ** \ **ハ****ナ****ビ** \ **ネジ**

End Chapter Two

Muahaha! Neji's fallen even further into the darkness!

"Snake in the Leaf" was the first title I thought of for the chapter. Then I thought of naming it "Dawn" while I was typing, for the changes in Konoha and Neji's life, and the resolutions (hope that's the right word) made by Hanabi and Naruto, Hinata, and Lee. But then that would probably mislead that the chapter had something to do with Akatsuki, so I changed it back.

How was the chapter? Was the action scene good or hard to follow? Was everyone (but I'd be especially interested to know how well I did Neji and Orochimaru) pretty much in character? Please tell me what you think! Also, could you let me know if the backtracking flashbacks are annoying or confusing at all? And are the chapters too long?

Thanks for your support!

:)Hinata0321:)


	3. Winds of Change

J3F\\\ Journey of the Three Failures

Chapter Three

Thanks for reviewing! A few notes:

-All the captured jounin and council members are alive, just in prisons.

-Gaara is alive (and still ... _confused_).

-Tsunade and Shizune … um … this crossed my mind, but I hoped no one would ask about it … We'll just say that it's rumored the last they were seen, they were somewhere really far away (like way west of Suna or something) and it's assumed they have no idea what's going on.

-I am NOT taking suggestions for pairings. I might put in bits of romance, but nothing major right now. I tend to stick to basic pairings, or whatever fits in the story.

-And finally, I'm not caught up with the manga. Call me a loser, but all I am caught up to is the English anime. I like the anime more, and don't like reading while I watch stuff, okay! All I've watched of part two is some of the earlier episodes in it.

**Disclaimer: **Believe it or not, I STILL don't own Naruto!

* * *

**Journey of the Three Failures**

**Three: Winds of Change**

**Hinata ****ヒナタ**

_**Neji-nii-san.**_

I froze – and a moment later found myself flat on my back.

Someone gasped. "Hinata-san! Are you alright?! I am so sorry!" Two people helped me to sit up. "Hinata, are you okay? Wha… Hey, Hinata!"

"Huh…?" I shook my head, staring forward blankly. "Sorry, I sort of zoned out," I murmured, somehow actually forgetting to stutter. My mind was focused somewhere else. The ominous feeling that had hit me was not unlike the gut-wrenching jolt I'd felt when Hanabi had broken a leg tree climbing two years ago; at the same time, this was something greater, stronger, far worse … and I was certain it did not concern my sister.

"Zoned out in the middle of a spar?" Naruto asked. "Hey … Hello?! Anybody home? No, seriously, snap out of it!" I started as I noticed a hand waving in front of my face.

"S-sorry," I said, blushing as I faced him. He sighed.

"Sheesh, Hinata-chan, you scared me for a second there. Anyways, you all right?"

I realized my nose hurt; putting a hand below it, I felt a small trickle of blood. Lee and I had been engaged in a light sparring match. Still recovering, I had only just begun very lightly training with the others. Lee was currently repeatedly apologizing, begging for forgiveness, promising to do six hundred squat jumps…

"I'm fine, Lee-kun, r-really…" I said, embarrassed, "It's not broken or a-anything…"

"Okay, but let's take a break now," Naruto said.

I looked nervously at him. _Should I tell them? _"A-actually … I think we should m-move on. We've been in one p-place too long…"

"You may be right," Lee agreed, "But you are injured. First let us take a short break, Hinata-san."

I was about to protest when I felt a wetness dripping from my chin; the bleeding was a bit worse than I'd thought. "Okay," I said. _And then we need to move. Something isn't right…_

* * *

**Neji ****ネジ**

"Excellent speech, Orochimaru-sama." Byakugan active, I was walking at a leisurely pace at the Godaime's right, Kabuto his left. Sasuke, Shino, Ino, and Tenten trailed to complete our formation. Of course he didn't require our protection, but I had been the one to propose we escort him from his speech nonetheless, for the image of willing loyalty and support it would give other villagers.

The sannin's meeting with Hi no Kuni's daimyo had gone well; though his takeover hostile, the feudal lord knew he could not afford losing the power and protection Konoha provided, and even admitted that the village had been growing alarmingly soft; he was also aware of how dangerous the snake sannin could be, and how readily he might do something drastic to the villagers for the sake of power. Thus, when all was said and done, Orochimaru had been officially accepted as Hokage.

As we passed villagers who were returning to their homes, several stopped their conversations to cast wary looks our way. I paid them no mind; I couldn't care less about how I looked in the eyes of those too foolish to accept the reality of Orochimaru-sama's rule.

"Thank you, Neji-kun," he said with a grin. Turning his head to glance over his shoulder, he added, "And what did you think of my inauguration address, Sasuke-kun?"

"Hn…" the Uchiha responded, not meeting his gaze.

Eyes narrowing, I slowed to fall into step beside him. "Is there a problem, Uchiha?"

He frowned, looking at me from the corner of his eye. "If it weren't for _him_," he whispered, "Naruto would still be here. Sandaime-sama would have protected him."

"Maybe so, but the Sandaime is dead. So is Uzumaki. There is nothing we can do to change that now; your unruly conduct will solve no problems."

He turned his head to glare, and I shot a look back. In a moment he broke his gaze away with a scowl, training sad and angered eyes on the ground. My gaze remained on him as I raised my nose in displeasure. _Pathetic…_

I gasped and raced forward. Ten yards ahead of the Hokage, I turned to face him, grabbed a kunai, drew the arm back behind me … and swatted an incoming kunai into the sky. Three exploding tags went off harmlessly above.

I put a hand on Kabuto's shoulder as he tried to rush past. "Please allow me, my lord," I said to Orochimaru, scowling as I watched the culprits flee.

The man smirked. "Friends of yours?"

I met his eyes. "No."

"Kukuku… Deal with them as you please…"

I nodded. "Shino! Tenten!" I barked, and took off in pursuit.

_This way…_ I thought, keeping watch on them with the Byakugan as the three of us raced over rooftops. _Idiots. They think they can escape…_

We were gaining rapidly; once we were close, I directed the others in hand signals. Tenten left our formation, while Shino released a swarm of kikaichuu. The four were in view, running down an alley.

_Now!_

The assailants halted as a dozen shuriken thudded into the ground ahead of them. At the same moment I dropped from the roof to the street directly between Inuzuka and Akimichi, driving palms into their chests as they turned to face me; Kiba hit one wall, and Chouji the other. Haruno was throwing a punch; her anger changed to fear as I swatted her forearm aside with a palm full of chakra, and I swiftly sealed four tenketsu on her body.

Then, as the three fell, I froze.

"Hard to keep an eye on shadows in a dark alley, isn't it?" Nara remarked with a small smirk.

"It is," I admitted nonchalantly as Tenten held a kunai to his neck.

His eyes widened a fraction. "Mendoukuse…" he groaned, releasing me. A hand chop to the back of the neck promptly sent him to his hands and knees.

The other Failures were getting up. "Stand down," I growled as Shino and Tenten appeared beside me, "You're completely surrounded by kikaichuu."

They gasped, shuddered, grumbled, and swore respectively upon noticing the parasitic insects that now blanketed the walls around them. I crossed my arms as I deactivated my kekkei genkai. "Hands on your heads. Now." They complied hesitantly to the stern order, all displaying their idiocy through looks of defiance.

"When will you learn?" I hissed, "Did you truly believe you could attempt to assassinate the Hokage and get away with it? Whether you like him or not, he _is_ Hokage now. I ought to arrest you…"

"Well, if it isn't the Geniuses turned traitors," Inuzuka spat through bared, sharp teeth, "Turn against the village for a little extra power and freedom, and suddenly you're top of the world, huh?"

"And why are you wearing those hitai-ate?" I said, ignoring him. "You should have received your new headbands yesterday morning. That makes two offenses, Failures."

"Ignoring me, are you?" he shot back, "Orochimaru's little personal guard is too good for us – that what you're saying, traitors?!"

"Kiba…" Shikamaru warned in an undertone.

I looked down at the dog-nin. "'Traitors?' Get with the program. In case you haven't noticed yet, a new age in Konoha has begun. As far as I'm concerned, _we _are government officers, and _you_ happen to be a rebel gang – of _traitors_."

"Like heck!" he barked, spitting at my feet.

"Insolent little –!" I drew back a foot, but Tenten and Shino were on me in a flash, shoving me back. "Neji…" Tenten whispered, while the Aburame looked away and shook his head. I sighed. "Impudent fools … we're _trying_ to help you. Had Yakushi-san come after you, he would have killed you without a second thought. I had hoped to let you off with a warning, but clearly such a merciful punishment could well spell the deaths of you. So instead I'm placing you under ar–,"

"Where…" Shino whispered. "Neji!" he gasped, "Your Byaku–!"

A grey blur shot out of the window beside us with a wild yell. It slammed into Tenten, driving her into me, me into Shino, and Shino – smack into the wall.

"Good boy!" A smoke grenade was flung to the ground, bursting into a thick, dark mist.

Coughing, I picked myself up from the ground. The smoke cleared, and the bunch of losers was nowhere to be seen. "They got away…"

Shino helped Tenten to her feet before examining one of his kikai. "Not dead … asleep. Clever … potent enough to affect insects, but not humans, thus permitting them to escape…" He waved an arm and they stirred, woken by his chakra. He recalled the beetles into his jacket sleeves. "Do we head after them?" he asked simply.

I shook my head. "Godaime-sama told me to deal with them however I wished; we gave them a beating and a warning. For now, that will suffice." I took to the rooftops, and they followed.

"Neji," Tenten said, "Do you think Kiba … could be right? I mean, Orochimaru's strong, I know. But still, to practically jump to loyally serve him … is it right to just give up on … on Konoha?"

I sighed wearily. "Tenten, we are still protecting our village. It just so happens that the only way we can protect it is to back down. Fighting back would only mean suffering, and death – which is why it is essential we do not fight back. No other option is available to us. Someday they'll thank us for protecting them from themselves … just not today."

* * *

**Naruto ****ナルト**

"So, are we getting close?" I asked, grabbing a tree branch and swinging off it to another. We'd been traveling around the Land of Fire the last few weeks, but had never left the country.

"Hai! According to the map we should reach the town in at most five minutes!" Lee was studying a map in his hands – and, bafflingly, tree jumping at the same time. He used only his feet, didn't appear to be looking, and still managed to maintain his balance and a pace I was barely keeping up with. "Hinata-san, you should put on your sunglasses now … huh?"

I looked to see Hinata beginning to fall behind; her face was flushed, and her breathing appeared labored with effort. "Hinata, you don't look so good!" I called, "Do you need a break?" _Just give a straightforward answer…_

"I'm f-f-fine, really, it's n-nothing–!"

Her foot met a branch … and slipped off.

"Hinata!" The branch I next reached was demolished by the chakra I released to launch myself back to the one she'd fallen from. My feet adhered to it and I swung upside down. I reached out, grazing her fingers – and despair clenched my heart as my outstretched hand just missed her own.

"NO!" I cried, changing plans and racing down a tree trunk. _I'm not going to make it…! _But I had to make it!

She was meters from the earth when a green blur scooped her out of the air.

I jumped to the ground beside Lee. Hinata was in his arms, eyes shut and face drawn tight with pain. "What's happening?" I whispered.

Lee gently laid two fingers on her neck. "She has fainted. Her pulse is weak … and rapid," he said, frowning with concern.

"That's right," I remembered, collapsing to a sitting position as though knocked down by the crushing wave of guilt that attacked me. "She's still injured from the chuunin exams… Shino was right. This _is_ my fault, isn't it?"

"Naruto-kun," Lee said firmly, "do not think that way. That day, Hinata-san fought with everything she had to stand up for her nindo, just as we would. But what is important now is that we get to the town. It must have a healer." He lied her down to remove his leg weights. "Please take these," he said, handing them to me.

The instant he released them in my arms, I was pulled to the ground. _Wait. What the heck?!_

Lee picked up Hinata and vanished with speed. I gawked. "You've got to be kidding me," I grunted, face red as I lifted the weights. Four steps later I gave up and dropped them; they buried themselves a half foot into the ground. I stared blankly into the holes.

"This is gonna take a while…"

After fifteen minutes of dragging the weights I finally abandoned them. Lee could come back for them later, but for now I couldn't bear it; I was going crazy worrying about Hinata. A persisting sense of dread was clawing at my gut. _No, _I scolded myself for even thinking it, _She will be alright! She has to!_

I sprinted into the small town, barely managing to restrain myself to a believable civilian speed as I bolted down the streets. My head swiveled frantically, searching for the healer's place. Frustrated, I darted into a dango shop.

I skidded to a halt at the counter, and the old man behind it eyed me suspiciously, no doubt suspecting a troublemaker. "Hey, hey!" I gasped, "Do you know where the town healer lives?"

"You don't look injured," he pointed out.

"No, I'm looking for my friends! Please, do you know where?!"

"Hm … that depends. Might you happen to be a paying customer?"

"Sure, old man, I am!"

His smirk vanished with annoyance, but he gave me directions nonetheless.

"Thanks a billion, Jii-san!" I said, gratefully shaking his hand in both of mine before taking off.

"Oi–!"

"I'll buy something later, promise!"

* * *

**Lee ****リー**

"Enter!"

I stopped pacing and slid the door open. Hinata was on a bed, her face no longer bearing a look of pain as she slept peacefully. I was struck for not the first time how utterly adorable the younger ninja looked. _Whatever the family issues, how Neji could hate – and harm – such a sweet and kind young flower is beyond me… _I shook my head. "How is she?" I asked the auburn-haired woman beside her.

"Your friend should be fine," she answered, "For the most part, her pulse has stabilized. She's no longer in danger at the moment."

I sighed softly. _Thank goodness… _"Arigatou gozaimasu, Haruka-san," I said.

"How-_ever_…" she began, eyes turning stern, "It might be helpful if I knew more about her condition. Care to share?"

_This is not good. She is suspicious… _It would mean trouble if we were discovered to be shinobi. Meanwhile, I did not know how much she had already deduced on Hinata's condition, but I had to act fast. "Well … heart problems run in Hikari-chan's family…"

"I see," Haruka said, and inside I did a victory dance – all too soon. "I also find your friend's eye color … interesting."

"She is blind," I said automatically.

"Hm..." she murmured, nodding. Her hard eyes never once left me. _Oh, no; she does not believe me..._

Haruka was just opening her mouth when Naruto burst into the room. "Tai-kun, Hikari-chan, you in here?!"

I forced myself not to grimace; at least he'd remembered to use the right names, but with Naruto here I couldn't help but feel the situation was soon to stoop from bad to worse. Of course, I showed no outward sign of my apprehension as I smiled and happily greeted him. "Ah, Kagemaru-kun! This is Haruka-san. She may have saved Hikari-chan's life!"

To say the very least, I was surprised when Naruto transformed from a loud, boisterous, silly knucklehead into a sincerely humble and polite young man. Power seemed to roll off him in waves; he exuded an aura so great that I felt I would _see_ it should I look hard enough. His fiercely blue eyes, usually playful, held within him both warmth and the utmost seriousness. He could not have been more imposing if he were ten feet tall.

_Is that … Naruto-kun? _I found myself wondering, almost awed.

He walked up to Haruka; though not in his path, I stepped back as he passed. Then, stopping before the healer, Naruto sank to his knees and lowered his head. His voice was soft but clear, his words born of honest gratitude.

"Arigatou gozaimasu, Haruka-sama." He paused a long moment before sniffling quietly. "Thank you … Thank you so much…"

There was no doubting that he meant every single word.

The healer was dumbstruck, as if she'd been bowed to by a… _By a Kage. _Indeed, maybe she felt as though she had, and couldn't understand quite _why_ she felt so. "…I … It was nothing, really," she said slowly.

I observed the exchange silently. _Naruto-kun … you continue to surprise me…_

In several moments a small murmur broke the silence. "Hikari-chan is awake," I said.

Naruto lifted his head and rose to his feet. A sleeve immediately went to his face; I glimpsed for only the shortest moment the sparkling droplets of water trailing down his cheeks before they were hurriedly wiped away. He turned toward the bed.

"Hikari-chan, how do you feel?" he asked softly.

Her eyes fluttered open slowly. "N-Kagemaru-kun…" she whispered.

I noticed Haruka walking quietly to the door. "I'll just step out a minute," she said, exiting and sliding the door shut.

I was wondering why when before my eyes, Naruto transformed once again, showing yet another side of himself entirely new to me. As his gentle hand tenderly grasped her own, her cheeks were tinted a light pink. Their eyes locked meaningfully for a long moment; this Naruto's eyes contained boundless sorrow, but also compassion, care, and … something else…

_Naruto… _I thought, blushing slightly myself as a theory crossed my mind. Just watching the two, touching hands, looking at each other like this… Could it be…?

"Hinata … I thought I'd lost you…"

_I think it is!! How beautiful! _I thought, fighting the urge to get emotional.

"You must hate me," he said, his gaze drifting to the floor.

"Wh-why would I hate you, Naruto-kun?"

"I know this is my fault. You don't have to pretend it's not."

"Don't say that, Naruto!" she said, quiet but firm, "It's my fault for pushing myself and not telling–!"

"That's not the _point_!" he said, shutting his eyes in shame. "You're precious – very precious to me, Hinata … But I _did_ this to you. If you suffer heart problems the rest of your life, I'll be to blame. How can I ever forgive myself?!" His eyes moistened, and finally spilled over.

"N-Naruto-kun…" Hinata carefully sat up before clasping her other hand over his. "Please … d-don't cry for m-me. I'll be fine…"

I knew how she felt. By nature, Naruto's courage and spirit could invigorate those around him. This was true for Hinata and me especially; as fellow "failures," it was all the more moving to see someone like Naruto – someone who fought to be strong and to be recognized, and could succeed on sheer immense confidence, determination, and willpower alone. The blond didn't realize now how painful it was for us to watch the faltering of his ever-present strength, to see him in such a terribly shaken, self-doubting state.

"Hinata-chan…" Naruto said.

"I'll recover, Naruto-kun. The doctors who examined me back in the village said I would in time … so please don't worry."

"So … so you're saying you'll be okay?"

"Hai."

Naruto sighed in relief before managing a grin; I saw his free hand move to gently stroke hers. "That's good," he said softly as their eyes, a mere twelve inches apart, locked again.

"Can I come in–?" Haruka slid the door open; her mouth formed a small "o" as she observed the scene. A shocked moment later, Naruto and Hinata, _both_ blushing, withdrew their interlaced hands as if burned. They turned away from each other.

"Am I interrupting something?" Haruka asked, a grin spreading across her face. The two responded … amusingly.

"_Wha–!_ Why do you say it like _that_?! No, you're _not_ interrupt– I mean, what is there _to_ interrupt – To suggest–! Nothing's going on to interrupt, so – yeah – hahahahahaa…"

"NO! I m-m-mean, n-no, of c-course n-n-not, n-nothing…"

Between Naruto's waving arms, Hinata's beet red face, and the unintelligible mess their sputtered denials tumbled out in, the scene was almost stupidly comical.

"Re-_lax!_" Haruka said once she got her laughter under control, "I was _kidding_."

"…Oh," said the two embarrassed teens in unison. They sweatdropped.

The healer giggled. "I can understand two good friends having an emotional reunion. Anyhow, back to the matter at hand – Kagemaru-san, would you mind telling me how Hikari-chan was injured?"

My eyes widened as I realized I had not filled them in on the story.

Naruto hesitated briefly and replied, "Er… we had a run-in with this rogue ninja a while back, and…"

He trailed off as Haruka smirked, a playful glint showing in her eyes. "_Really_…" Her face hardened. "So you're telling me three children are traveling together, even though one of them apparently suffers hereditary heart problems _and _was further injured by a rogue ninja – or is it one or the other, and we're having trouble _remembering_ which?" She waved her arm. "And despite being blind, her eyes managed to follow my hand."

"…"

"…"

"Pretty much," Naruto said, and I elbowed him sharply.

_Busted… _I thought, frowning. Then Haruka surprised us.

"Why the looks?" she said, taking a seat, "You look like a dog caught sleeping on the sofa. Sheesh, I'm not about to go tattling to the authorities."

"Y-you're not?" Hinata asked.

"Ninja or not, you're obviously not any ordinary brats. And to put it bluntly, you don't quite come off as the psychotic rogue type. I don't know what your stories are, but what can I say? I like you."

"Wow, well … thanks! You're cool!" Naruto exclaimed, smiling. He reached an arm back to rub his neck in one of his familiar gestures.

"Don't mention it. But what are you doing traveling around with that crazy crisis going on in the Leaf? Hi no Kuni's not so safe anymore…"

"_Crisis?!_" we gasped. Well, I gasped. Naruto shouted and Hinata squeaked.

Haruka blinked. "You mean you don't know?"

"About wha–?"

Someone rapped sharply on the front door. "Taxes!" a harsh voice called.

Haruka grimaced. "Oh, no…"

My companions and I exchanged looks. "Haruka-san, what is wrong?" I asked, concerned.

She shut her eyes, teeth clenched – not in anger, I realized, but fear. "It's them…" Whoever was outside continued pounding on the door, quickly growing impatient. "Open up already!" Haruka stood wordlessly and walked into the front room, sliding the door shut behind her.

I looked to Naruto. "Something is not right," I whispered. He nodded. "Hikari, you stay here." That he used the fake name indicated he was uneasy as well, as though he feared someone would hear the hushed whisper.

I slid the door open a crack and peeked through cautiously. "…paid a few days ago!" Haruka was saying to someone outside. I shifted a bit so I could see him, and stifled a gasp. His headband was adorned by an eighth note.

_Sound ninja?!_

"The tax went up again," he responded gruffly.

Haruka stubbornly crossed her arms in a huff. "Well, would you mind telling me where all my tax money is going?" she asked with well-concealed anger.

The Oto-nin frowned. "Actually, I would. Look, just pay up, lady."

"Well, I can't! All these taxes have sucked me dry!"

"How about that necklace, then?"

Her hand flew to cradle the trinket protectively. "It belonged to my mother."

"And I'm very sorry to hear that. Hand it over."

"No!"

He scowled. "You know what? I've just about had it with dealing with all you stupid civilians!" His hand flashed out to grab her shoulder, and I saw her recoil in pain. The shinobi drew back a fist.

_Not on my watch!!_ I thought, shooting from my hiding place to drive a fist into his chest. He crashed into the wall of a house across the street. "T…Tai?" Haruka gasped behind me, shocked. The shinobi looked at me, bewildered and dazed. "Who … who in the…?"

"Do you not know better than to strike civilians – and women, at that? I," I paused, and with great agony left out my introduction, "will NOT allow such conduct!!"

"Oi! Captain!" As the man slumped forward, unconscious, a second ninja came running down the street from another house. "You little runt!" he growled, charging with a kunai drawn.

I dashed toward him. "SENPUU!" I yelled, solidly sweeping a kick at his shins. As he went flying past me, his momentum brought his face straight into Naruto's striking fist. He flew past me once more. "Hope he's got a good dentist…" Naruto muttered, rubbing his knuckles as he looked ponderingly at the foreign shinobi. "Hey, are you okay?" He asked Haruka.

The woman was ghostly pale. "O-oh dear … you shouldn't have done that…" She sprang to her feet and ripped off a necklace. "Hurry! Steal something from them!" she said as she rushed inside to toss it under a loose floorboard.

"What? Why?"

"So that you weren't _helping_ me, you were _looting_ them!"

I understood and raced to snatch the leader's shuriken holster and kunai pouch. Naruto did the same and then rifled through a bag the younger Oto-ninja had, taking some supplies. His eyes widened a fraction, and then with a grin he held out a pair of scrolls. "Score! ...What?" he asked as I shot him a look. "They're Sound, might as well…" he said, and I sighed.

As I re-entered Haruka's house and went into the side room, a small paper bag was thrust into my arms.

"Medicine for Hikari-chan," the healer clarified.

I nodded. "Thank you," I said, and we quickly loaded the additional supplies into my backpack. _Especially because anyone else may have turned us in for a reward straight away…_

"Hey," Naruto asked, "what are you doing?" I zipped the bag shut and turned to see Haruka stir half a spoonful of powder into a glass of water.

"It'll put me to sleep for ten minutes," she explained. "You guys broke in through the back window, knocked us all unconscious, and then stole their supplies and my necklace." She winked.

"Smart," Naruto said as he helped Hinata up. She put an arm around his shoulders for support.

"Thank you again for everything," I said. Taking a few ryo notes from my pocket, I placed them on the counter. "For your taxes. It is the least we can do."

Haruka smiled. "Safe travels," she said, tipping her glass as if in a toast before downing the water. She set the glass down on the counter – and promptly collapsed. I caught her, carrying her to the front room and gently lying her down by the door. Returning to the side room, I hurriedly put on my backpack.

"Ready?" I asked the others.

Hinata nodded. "Let's go," Naruto said. I opened the window that we "broke in through" and jumped out. They followed, and we took off; a minute after leaving the town, we were moving through forests at high speed.

We would have liked to stay to hear about the crisis that was apparently devastating the Leaf, to learn then of the conspiracy that had overtaken our home; or to ask why on earth Sound ninja were collecting taxes in Fire Country towns. Though I did not know it at the moment, Hinata was wondering how it was possible that Haruka had utilized a basic medical ninjutsu to help her, and contemplating the theory that the sensation had merely been the imagination of her half-conscious mind.

_Had_ we been able to stay, we would have learned then of the death of Sandaime-sama and the rise of a tyrant; of the recent death of Haruka's husband at the hands of Sound shinobi tasked with neutralizing the threat of former Leaf ninja who had moved from the main village; and that Haruka herself knew a handful of simple medical ninja techniques, which she kept secret for fear of being found out, considered a ninja, and made to share her late husband's fate – which happened to be the source of her initial distrust toward us.

But for now, all of this was to remain, tormentingly, up to our imaginations. What we did know with all certainty was that we had to get away from there, and we had to do it fast.

* * *

**Neji ****ネジ**

"I-impossible…" the young, black-haired chuunin croaked. He looked up at me with an awed fear in his eyes. "How? How are you so st-strong…?"

"You haven't even begun to see the full extent of the power Orochimaru-sama has granted me. Even so, my strength pales infinitely in comparison to his own, a mere insignificant pebble at the foot of a great mountain. Do you not understand? At any moment, he could kill us all as he originally desired, but he has mercifully decided to rule us instead. I assure you – if you do not join, you will die."

He cringed; the remaining defiance in his eyes faltered, beginning to be overcome by fear. "But…" he began hesitantly, "But Konoha–,"

"Is dead. I am sorry to say that this is simple reality." _Ever simple, cold, and unforgiving… _"So … what is your choice?"

He looked away. "I don't understand … Wh-why? You were rookie of your year … the best new genin, a perfect ninja, the prodigy everyone was talking about. I thought you, of all people, were one of us…"

"I still am serving the village. As a shinobi of the village, I'm _trying_ to protect you. So … will you serve your comrades as well?" _Or keep fighting to get yourself and possibly others killed?_

He sighed in defeat and slowly got to his knees. "I give in…"

I smirked. "Wise man. Now take off that emblem of treason and run your kunai through it."

He reluctantly removed his hitai-ate. He gazed at it a long moment before, grimacing with self-resentment, he slashed through the leaf mark.

"Multiple times," I added, and he gave a look of such great disbelief that you would think I were requesting he stab himself. I raised an eyebrow – after all, what did a mere insignia matter?! "Do it with pride," I spat, quickly growing impatient.

He trembled with tortured dismay. Then, grinding his teeth, he ran his knife in a furious blur across the symbol five times more.

"I … I p-pledge –,"

"Louder," the order came out in a furious growl. _He's sounding like _Hinata_…_

"I pledge undying loyalty and allegiance to Godaime-sama," he said firmly, pale with fear. Judging from his reaction, my eyes must have changed again. I really had to work on that…

He handed over the ruined headband, and I stowed it away in the bag I'd been carrying all day; it clattered against other defaced hitai-ate. "And your friends…?" I asked, eyeing the two unconscious chuunin he'd ambushed me with. He calmed a bit, and I knew my eyes had returned to normal.

"I'm the one who talked them into it in the first place … They'll report to the tower to take the oath in the morning…"

"Very good," I said with a slight nod of approval. "Wear your new headband with pride." I activated my Byakugan and flickered away.

My penetrating gaze scanned buildings as I raced through the streets. _There, _I thought as I sighted six nervous-looking older genin – all wearing Konoha headbands – huddled around a table. They were probably another few of the unsure ones, holding onto their headbands and wavering on the decision of whether or not to turn them in, as had been requested by the Hokage a week ago. Unsurprisingly, only a small fraction of the village's ninja had complied since that request – so here I was now, tasked with gathering more support for the sannin.

Masking my presence, I halted before the door. _A good scare may be helpful… _However, I had just drawn in a leg to kick the door in when a hawk's cry pierced the silence of the village.

I looked up. _A summons... I guess it is getting late. I'll take care of them tomorrow…_

I headed for the Hokage tower.

* * *

Kabuto sat beside Orochimaru at the desk, in a spot not long ago frequently occupied by Umino Iruka. When I entered, the silver-haired man was examining the back of a slashed headband's metal plate – for a shinobi identification number, I knew. He rifled through a stack of papers, moved his finger down a page until he found the match, and checked off the ninja with a pen before discarding the forehead protector into a small pile on the floor.

"Orochimaru-sama," I greeted the Godaime with a nod as I approached. Turning to Kabuto, I dumped the contents of the bag I'd been carrying over my shoulder; dozens of mutilated Leaf headbands clattered onto the desk. The former spy gaped, muttering more in surprise than complaint, "Just when I thought I was almost done…"

"Excellent work," Orochimaru mused with a grin, "And here you are, completely unscathed…"

I bowed, and was about to turn to leave when Kabuto's hand rested on my shoulder. He lowered his head in sympathy, gazing at me over the rims of his glasses. "Hard day?" he asked with the slightest smirk.

"Not in the least, Yakushi-san. Why do you ask?"

"Amazing. Staying out the longest and collecting more than twice what the four others did combined… You sure take the overthrowing of your home village well – and killing what's left of it, too…"

Orochimaru chuckled. "You fear for his psychological health? I told you, Kabuto, our dear Neji-kun is a very special child… I'm not surprised to find he possesses natural talents for this…"

"I am happy to be of service to you, milord." My tone was controlled and respectful, but not at all greatly humble.

"They all gave in willingly, I presume…?"

"Of course, Godaime-sama."

"And the ones you couldn't break – did you kill them?"

I shook my head. "I did not," I answered bitterly, recalling fierce encounter with (unsuccessful ambush by) the Failures a few hours ago.

"It wasn't a reproach," he said with a grin. "You may deal with them in whatever way you wish."

"Yes, sir."

"Very well, then … you are dismissed."

* * *

**Hanabi ****ハ****ナ****ビ**

I kicked a pebble lazily as I continued to walk; it danced and skittered further down the walkway that ran along the buildings lining the courtyard. With Chichi-ue and Nee-chan gone, and everything that was going on in the village, I hardly left my room anymore, except for meals and other necessities. It didn't feel safe anymore; the rest of the Hyuuga had taken to glowering at me as I passed, and though I refused to show it, I couldn't help the unnerved sense of danger that pounded inside whenever I was out on the grounds. Whenever I was around them my breath became tight with nervousness, and I dreaded that they might attack me at the smallest provocation.

Still, confining myself to my room for so much of each day was maddening, not to mention physically unhealthy. For this reason I made an effort to finish dinner (which I did alone and in a far corner of the room, glancing about in unease as looks and harsh-sounding whispers were cast my way) quickly, so I could stroll the grounds in peace while most of the clan was still eating.

I felt very much alone. _I hope wherever she is, Nee-chan isn't alone…_

Entertaining the idea that by some microscopic chance my sister had indeed happened to run into some friends, I kicked the stone again – and a few moments later it returned to me. I looked up and scowled as I met the eyes of the _last _person I wanted to see.

"Hello, Hanabi," Neji said coolly.

An alarm went off in my head at the lack of the honorific. Nonetheless, I remained calm and gave a simple "Hello" before continuing to walk with my eyes trained past him.

"I haven't seen you around lately," he went on as I walked by him. I grunted, shrugging my shoulders in response. I was determined to avoid whatever confrontation he was surely intent on luring me into.

"I'm curious…" he began, and I could just barely hear his bare feet on the smooth wood as he turned around to face me. "Is it true that Hinata defeated you – or was that merely another strand among the lies that were woven into your clever little story?"

I stopped. "…Yes it's true."

I felt that were it not so wildly beyond his nature, he would be roaring with cold laughter. "_How_?"

"No Juuken, no tricks, nothing. Just one simple fist to the gut."

"Incredible. You must really be pathetic…"

"Maybe." I turned my head to look at him out of the corner of my eye. "Or perhaps Hinata-nee-chan was merely too strong. I think…" I said, continuing to walk, "she's stronger than we know."

_And stronger than _she_ knows._

I heard my cousin snort as I continued on my way. "Please. You know she's out there lying dead somewhere right now–."

With greater speed than I would have thought I was capable of, I closed the distance between us. He deflected the palm strike with his forearm. "Touchy, aren't we?" he remarked with a raised eyebrow.

"Take that back."

"No," he said with a smirk.

"I said _take it back_!"

My forehead was flicked sharply, and I jumped back with a yelp.

Neji expressionlessly held my glare of pure, unadulterated rage for a moment, and then tucked an arm behind his back. A malevolently playful smirk tugged at his lips as he beckoned with his left hand.

"Come."

Growling at the insult in his actions, all thoughts of avoiding confrontation were forgotten as I raced toward him.

He shifted to dodge my first palm strike, and again to avoid the second. At the third strike he swatted my forearm aside, and my other hand shot in. He was too fast: the one hand he was using flashed in in a fist, stinging my cheek.

The force spun me on heel; I landed on my front, facing away from him.

"Do you understand now? You are not superior. All of you are weak at heart because you cheat your strength from mere control over a curse seal…"

"Take it b-back…" I whispered, getting to my knees. "Nee-chan is alive… Take it _back_!!" My Byakugan activated as I launched myself at him. He stepped back quickly, and my palm met only air. I struck out as fast as I could in a blind rage, and he dodged and blocked easily, still wearing his wicked smirk. At one of my attacks he caught my wrist carelessly; with the captured hand I was able to grab his own arm as I quickly lunged forward with another strike. _Got you–!_

A heel sharply thrust itself into my belly, cleanly reversing my dash and knocking the wind out of me. My feet slid back a yard before I fell to my knees, curling over in pain.

"Did you forget I have feet?" he taunted as I coughed weakly.

"Sh-shut up…" I hissed, shakily forcing myself to my feet. "Nee-chan is alive, you'll see! She'll return someday, and when she does she'll be stronger than you!"

"Why can't you simply face reality? There's no way she will survive, and she was simply never destined to surpass me. If Hinata by some chance is not dead already, she is still ultimately doomed to fail."

"That's not true!" I cried, running at him.

Neji blurred with speed, and though my eyes kept up with him, my body could not. With a cry of "Wake _up_!" a palm connected with my sternum.

The fact that should have been obvious struck twice as hard as the blow: he had been toying with me before. My mouth fell open as I was sent flying to land several yards away.

It was at that point, I think, that we both realized the remarkable likeness the moment bore to a scene from weeks ago.

"Like older sister, like younger." Neji sighed. "I would not advise following in Hinata's footsteps, Hanabi. She is dead for a reason. Do not carry on her ways." Shaking his head in disdain, he turned and left.

A full minute later I rolled onto my side, stifling a gasp of pain. Wincing, I slowly got up … and grinned. _You're wrong there, dear Nii-san. You're wrong. Wherever she is, Nee-chan _is_ alive._

* * *

**Naruto ****ナルト**

The clone in front of me burst at a heavy strike. Drawing back a fist, I lunged through the smokescreen it had created, ducking under the arm that had destroyed the doppelganger. My opponent neatly dodged the punch and grabbed my arm; whirling, he flipped me over himself in a throwing move, preparing to slam my back against the ground.

As I passed above him, the hand of the arm he held stuck out two fingers. My other arm reached to it, swiftly completing a cross hand seal with two more fingers.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

The shadow clone appeared facing away, and in position to catch my ankles in the air to halt the throw. As I grabbed the opponent's arm with my free hand, the clone pulled me forward, and the enemy was pulled off his feet. Arcing my back backward as the clone crouched down and pulled me, I bent my knees; then, still in the clone's hold, I snapped my body forward with all my strength. I released my foe to hurl him at a tree.

He flipped expertly so that his feet met the trunk, and backflipped gracefully to the ground. The moment his feet met the snow-powdered earth, he whirled to face me, a kunai knife locking with my own with a sharp metallic clang.

A new clone, created in the split-second before the knives had met, held his replicated blade to the opponent's neck from behind.

"How was that?" I panted with a determined grin.

"Not bad," he said with a smirk of his own, barely winded. "You are getting faster."

I dispelled the clones, and Lee and I broke out of the knife lock. I slipped the blunted kunai back into my sleeve. "You almost had me beat plenty of times too, Bushy Brow."

"True, but each time you managed to improvise a timely and effective counterattack. Your taijutsu's improvement has truly been spectacular!!"

Saying my taijutsu had improved, I admit, wasn't saying much; I had never utilized any particular style, but in our three or so weeks together I had honed my usage of shadow clones so that they could effectively assist in my wild, freestyle approach.

"Congratulations, Naruto-kun," Hinata said with a small smile as she approached, as this marked my first victory over Lee in a spar.

"Do you need a break?" Lee asked me, since our four minute match had been particularly intense.

"No way!" I exclaimed, patting my chest with a fist. "I could keep at this pace for hours, believe it! Let's go on while I'm warmed up!"

The older genin smiled blindingly. "That is the spirit! How very youthful of you, Naruto-kun – it is great to hear you sounding like your old self again!" he said, flashing a thumbs-up before moving off to the side. Hinata and I faced off, she in her Gentle Fist stance and I with my knees bent, fingers already crossed in the seal.

"Ready?" I asked.

"Hai!"

"Alright – let's go!" I charged, immediately creating two shadow clones on either side of me. Already forming a plan, I substituted unnoticeably with the replication on my left, switching places with it…

Hinata went through three quick hand seals. _Why does that look so familiar…? _She raced toward me, and still nothing had happened. Then, when we were a stride each apart, more than a dozen copies sprang from her.

I jumped back with a startled cry, creating ten more clones on instinct. "Bunshin!" I realized as the clones stormed my shadow clones, launching pretend attacks to throw us off. "Find the real one!" I ordered.

"This one's fake!"

"She's an illusion, too!"

"This one, too!"

"I know! Which one is leaving footprints in the snow?!"

"Good idea!"

"What the…?"

"Hold up!"

"_None_ of them are real?!"

"Then where is she?"

Amid the chaos, a kage bunshin running past me a few yards away suddenly swept out its arm, without even looking. The blunt tip of a kunai bounced off my chest.

My jaw dropped. "What the – why…?!"

The traitor shadow clone was enveloped in a puff of smoke, and Hinata was left standing in its place. Her bloodline faded.

"Aw, I get it," I said as I dispelled the doppelgangers, "While we ran around confused, you used the transformation technique to disguise yourself as a shadow clone … that was really smart, Hinata-chan!"

Her cheeks reddened slightly, and she poked her fingers together. "Th-thank you, Naruto-kun," she mumbled with a smile.

Lee chuckled as he walked up. "It looks like you still cannot outsmart Hinata-san, huh Naruto?" he jeered good-naturedly. "In such a situation, it would have been wise to dispel your clones, or replace with your replications to keep the enemy guessing which was the real you; if you stand in one place giving orders, it becomes rather obvious. Using more clones than you can count at a glance can clearly have its disadvantages!"

"Yeah, yeah, I get it," I said as I retrieved Hinata's dulled practice kunai and handed it to her. "Just wait," I said, "Next time I'll win!"

She blushed again with a slight smile. "W-we'll see."

The sparring rotation we concluded our daily training with, the pointers and compliments, the lighthearted, competitive joking and jeering, was all routine by now. We weren't sure how much we could improve without a teacher, but so far we were doing pretty well considering.

I was about to move aside for Lee and Hinata, but the taijutsu specialist glanced at the sky and shook his head. "It is beginning to get dark. Let us call it a day!" He held Hinata and me around the shoulders before enthusiastically exclaiming, "We have progressed far today, my youthful friends! Can you feel it?! THIS is the springtime of YOUTH!!"

"Yeah, Bushy Brow, we feel it…"

"Excellent! Let us work THREE times as hard TOMORROW!!"

"Yeah, yea– _eh_?!"

"And why are we walking back to camp when we could be putting in some sprinting?!" He released us and was gone in a flash, almost immediately appearing in our light camp twenty yards away and waving.

"Is he for real?" I asked, sweatdropping.

Hinata shrugged. "Wait! We can't lose to him, r-right?"

As she took off sprinting as well, I mentally smacked myself. "Why didn't I think of that first?" I whined and followed as fast as I could.

* * *

I shuddered as a chilled breeze drifted in. I unwound a long scarf a few rounds from my neck, securing it instead around my bare forehead. "Man … I miss my hitai-ate," I grumbled. A few weeks ago I had worn it every waking hour with pride, but of course, being missing-nin, the three of us couldn't represent Konoha by wearing our hitai-ate. At the same time, I especially was appalled by the idea of slashing Iruka-sensei's headband – or any Leaf mark, for that matter – as was unofficial custom. Yes, I would much rather not wear the headband at all than scar it with the mark of rogue ninja. So, rather than symbolically breaking all ties to Konoha, we had simply stored our hitai-ate away in the bottom of Lee's backpack, leaving them unmarked with the promise that we remained loyal and would someday return.

After weeks away, we all looked different now. As we'd all fled the village at short notice, the only clothes in our possession were what had been on our backs when we'd left, the week's worth from Lee had quickly gathered, and what little we'd bought from towns with money from his "short notice mission backpack."

Hinata wore the grayish-black Hyuuga training outfit, a dark blue, gi-like shirt over it reaching to her mid-thighs. On our now rare stops in towns she donned a pair of sunglasses to conceal her white eyes. I had on a simple light brown jacket over a dingy white sweater, and light grey, almost white long pants; two square shaped bandages, just large enough to hide my whisker marks, adorned my cheeks. Lee was dressed in faded black pants and a hideous green turtleneck sweater. All three of us had wrapped our sandals in strips of cloth, both to keep cold from entering through the open toes of the shoes and to make them unrecognizable as ninja sandals. Our clothes were neither fancy nor stylish, but they served their purpose – we appeared not to be shinobi, but simply three poor young travelers.

Lee's hair had, slowly but surely, lost both its shine and bowl cut form he had once so carefully maintained, now hanging messy and slightly longer. His neglected eyebrows – which had been groomed as meticulously as his hair when he was in the village – were now untidy, pointing in all directions. Hinata's hair had also lost its gloss, while my own blond hair, the others said, was messier than usual.

Currently we were huddled together by our campfire, a blanket draped across our shoulders as we ate. Another breeze rolled by as I was about to take a bite, and I dropped my fish at the resulting shudder. "Dang it!" I protested, picking up the stick it was speared on. "Why'd we have to come here again?"

Lee sighed. "Remember, we are _missing_-nin? Gai-sensei taught my team that when being pursued, one should do what is least expected. If the village sends trackers after us, the last place they will expect to find us is the remote northernmost edges of Hi no Kuni, especially with winter coming on. Most Leaf shinobi, unaccustomed to it, hate cold weather–,"

"Ya think?"

"– and the snow may help to cover our trail as well."

I grumbled a bit, but I suppose in truth I agreed. The days were mild, the nights a bit harsher but bearable, and putting up with it was worth the safety.

We had just finished eating when a chilly wind blasted against our backs, killing the dying fire instantly. "L-looks like it's starting to s-snow again," I said through chattering teeth. We were soon hurrying into the small cave we were camping in.

* * *

**Neji ****ネジ**

"My brothers and sisters," I began, bowing my head a moment, "I take it you all know why I called you here?"

Many of the dozens of Hyuuga assembled in the large, candle-lit room exchanged uncertain glances. Hyuuga Hitode, a man four years my senior, spoke. "With all due respect, we know exactly what you're thinking. We're just … not so sure about it."

"What reason do we have not to? All but one member of the main house has been imprisoned. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity, the chance we've been waiting for; we must act now. What's wrong – scared to step out of line even in their absence? It would appear the main house has trained us well…"

"And how do you propose we go about breaking from their rule?" Hyuuga Haruna snapped, "Every powerful figure in the clan was captured at that false council meeting. Do you think we alone even know how to officially reform the clan? Besides, what good can come of refusing to serve the main family? They will surely be released at some point, and the minute they learn of it we will be punished severely. Why, if they even knew of this meeting, _never mind _the treacherous matter we're discussing, they would…"

Crossing my arms and shutting my eyes, I laughed softly. She trailed off, and an unnerved silence fell in the room. I bared my teeth in a grin as I continued to chuckle. "That's just it," I said as I opened my eyes. "The seal will not be a problem."

"What are you saying?" she asked as whispers of doubt arose.

"Orochimaru-sama is working on finding a way to remove my seal. Once he perfects it, he will remove all of your seals as well – so long as you swear loyalty to him as your Hokage. Then we can overpower the cowards with ease…"

"Neji!" the elderly Hiro barked, "You dare suggest that we betray Konoha?!"

I met his eyes squarely. "Yes."

His calloused fist thudded onto the floor in outrage. "That isn't an option! Have you no Hyuuga pride? We are the village's oldest and most honorable family! For generations our valor and strength has defended this place, through peacetime and crises!"

"Nothing good can come of fighting now," I said firmly. "You would prefer to die fighting, correct? Only a fool would wish for such. You tell me what's more important – dying a pointless death, or living to defend what remains of the village?"

The man looked away, gritting his teeth.

"The choice is simple. You want to serve the village? If we fight, we will die. If we die, we will be unable to protect the villagers – therefore becoming useless to the village, unable to carry out our duty."

"…Very well," he growled. "However, I do not approve of accepting Orochimaru's aid in our clan affairs. Doing so would be cowardly."

"Godaime-sama will neither fight our battle nor become involved in clan affairs. Don't you see? A new age will soon begin within Clan Hyuuga. He will merely spur it into motion, leveling the battlefield by relieving us of these wretched seals. Then … then, the fools will cower before us. We will create a new Hyuuga clan – a clan with no main house to oppress us."

"And I assume _you_ intend to be our leader?"

"Of course," I answered with a smirk. "I will lead with members of the Branch council as advisors. Then, on my sixteenth birthday, I will officially assume the role of clan leader."

"Hold on one second!" Hyuuga Hitori said angrily, standing, "Who said you could be leader? You think becoming that tyrant's loyal little puppydog makes you king of the world?"

I frowned. "I would think it only natural that the strongest remaining member of the clan leads it."

The room's inhabitants stared incredulously at my insinuation for a long moment. Then Hitori howled with laughter. "You're kidding me! Maybe I ought to knock some sense into you! Sure you're gifted…" His face became serious. "But do you honestly think _you're_ the strongest?"

Eyes closed, I stood, a sadistic smirk sliding across my face as I snickered softly once more.

"Is that a challenge?" I asked, opening my eyes. Hitori flinched, his breath catching as he took the full force of my gaze, and the entire room tensed. "Answer me, Hitori," I gently reminded the now pale-faced man.

"N-n-no, it's n-not – my ap-pologies, sir…"

I exposed my teeth with a grin. "For your sake … I am _very_ glad to hear that." I sat down. Trembling, the large man collapsed back to the ground, looking more or less like a fearful whipped dog.

"Ch … child," Hiro gasped, awestruck as all the Hyuuga who had witnessed, "Your _eyes_… What is the meaning of–?"

"The meaning of it is irrelevant. I have power – something the Branch can wield a great deal of very soon. So, will you serve me, and swear allegiance to Godaime-sama?" The shaken clansmen exchanged looks.

I grinned as, first one by one, and then several each moment, they all bowed to me. "You have our support, Lord Neji," a number of voices chorused in a murmer.

"Good," I said, nodding. "Now… remove your hitai-ate."

The shinobi passed around kunai, slashing their Konoha headbands. When finished, they all took the oath together; even the civilian members of the clan, though not required, swore their allegiance. As the ritual was completed, the large majority who had brought their new headbands as I'd requested donned them.

"In the morning I will go inform the imprisoned Branch Hyuuga of our revolt, and persuade them to pledge loyalty as well. When they do, they will be released."

Fifteen-year-old Hiyuki spoke hesitantly. "But … what about Hiashi-sa– _Hiashi_?" At my look, she left off the honorific with painful difficulty. "If he decides to take the oath, he will be freed as well. And if he learns of this before we lose our curse seals…"

"If Hiashi gets in my way … I will kill him."

If anyone felt at the moment even the slightest doubt I was capable of doing this, they didn't show it.

"Now," I said, "Someone please teach our little rat a lesson."

I activated my Byakugan as Hanabi jumped in surprise twenty meters away. As a few Hyuuga raced from the room, her mouth formed a very foul word indeed.

Must be something she picked up from Inuzuka…

* * *

**Hanabi ****ハ****ナ****ビ**

My body was racked with stifled sobs as I dragged my feet up to the doorstep. I raised a heavy arm, a trembling hand, and knocked. A dog started barking inside the house; a moment later I heard nails scrabbling at the other side of the door.

_Oh Kami … please … let him … answer … please…_

However hard I tried, I was helpless in the struggle to keep my mind off of it.

There was blood. _Blood_. So much. On me. On my _skin_. And. And some of it. It. The blood. It wasn't even. _Mine_.

My stomach lurched sickeningly, but it had already been emptied.

The dog had stopped scratching at the door. My legs gave, and I leaned into the door for support. Sniffling, I choked back a wail of distress and pain as I pounded the wood feebly, whimpering with a sob at every knock. I struck weaker and weaker, until eventually my shaking hand rested against the door. My fragile form shuddered as I bawled quietly in despair.

"_Okay_, I'm up already, Akama–!"

I fell as the door opened, and the boy caught me against himself.

"H… Hanabi-chan?!" he gasped, shocked.

"Kiba-san…" I whispered, and fainted.

* * *

**Hinata ****ヒナタ**

_Ninety-six…_

I forced my arms to straighten.

_Ninety-seven…_

I bent and straightened them again, pushing myself up.

_Ninety-eight…_

_Ninety-nine…_

I was bending my arms when it struck like a sledgehammer. Needless to say, I collapsed.

_**Imouto-chan.**_

"Hanabi," I whispered, getting up. Something had happened to Hanabi. Could I be imagining it? I wasn't sure…

I found myself staring at nothing in particular as I gazed at the starlit night sky to the south. I could feel it; there was something dark, ominous, that I could sense just by looking in the direction of the village. I wondered for far from the first time just what was happening to my former home…

I shook my head. Whatever it might be, whether I was imagining things or not, I was much too far away to do anything about it now. Still trying to shake a sense of dread, I continued training.

I had been sneaking away from camp almost every night for a while now; this evening, I had left when the wind and snow let up. First I would spend an hour doing various exercises and practicing Juuken forms, after which I would spend an hour meditating.

_Chakra is formed through a combination of the physical energy of the body and the spiritual energy from the mind. If I can work hard enough and focus on strengthening both, I should be able to build my chakra supply faster! _Though I could often outmaneuver Naruto, and sometimes even Lee in spars, I knew for a fact that I was the weakest of the three of us. My lack of stamina in comparison to the two of them was at the point of embarrassing. I didn't want to disappoint them or go back on any of our promises – which was why I was glad to do the extra work to try to improve my weak points.

I sat down in front of a tall pine tree, locked my gloved hands in a seal, closed my eyes, and focused.

I did not once open my eyes until my internal clock told me an hour had passed. I stood and stretched for a minute before moving on to the third and shortest part of my nightly training. I formed a cross with two fingers of each hand and closed my eyes to brace myself.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu…!"

The sensation of being ripped in two still hit me hard. I wobbled as exactly one half of my chakra was unpleasantly wrenched away, and the doppelganger that popped into existence steadied me. Even with practice, how Naruto could form dozens of shadow clones with ease and do it in the heat of battle was beyond me.

When I caught my breath, I faced off with the shadow clone. "When I use the j-jutsu, do all you c-can to defend," I said, activating my Byakugan. One might find it strange that I stuttered while addressing my own shadow clone, but even if it was a copy of myself – and perhaps for that very reason – I felt strange giving it orders.

The clone nodded, settling into a stance, and I attacked first. As my opponent's speed and skill were virtually equivalent to my own, it took a while to find an opening. Even so, after a minute I hooked her ankle with my own as we were exchanging strikes. I pulled her off-balance, and she stumbled back.

_There! _I swiftly dropped into a new stance; my feet spaced apart and arms spread wide, left hand near the ground at my lead foot and right in the air behind me.

"Hakke Sanjuu Nishou!" I declared, dashing forward.

"Two palms!" I cried, jabbing two points. _I can see it…!_

"Four palms!" _Just a bit, I can see the tenketsu!_

"Eight palms!" I continued the barrage.

"Sixteen palms!" I moved in a blur, forcing the clone back.

"Thirty-two palms!" I gasped, moving faster. _Can I do it? _I had to try.

"Sixty-f–!!" the clone ground her teeth and swatted my arm aside before sending the heel of her palm into my chest. I reeled two steps and saw the kage bunshin stagger back and begin to fall, coughing while vanishing in smoke.

The kage bunshin's memories rushed to me, and I sat down to think. _I see. There was no change in speed between thirty-two and sixty-four… _The speed increase with each level of the move was crucial to keep the opponent at bay; if a steady attack rhythm was dragged out long enough, any foe could escape with enough effort. From what the clone had felt, I had, if anything, gotten slower after completing thirty two strikes.

_To be unable to complete Hakke Rokujuu Yonshou… Is my stamina really so poor? _I wondered, unconsciously placing a hand over my still pounding heart. _No, _I realized, _It's hardly a stamina problem alone. Even at top condition I probably couldn't have done it. The main issue is that I simply haven't attained the level of speed required for the technique._

But how long would it take to overcome that?

I sighed. "It l-looks like I still have a long w-way to go…"

* * *

**Neji ****ネジ**

The two Oto chuunin stepped aside wordlessly as I approached, nodding in greeting. I opened the large door.

"Good morning, Orochimaru-sama. My apologies for arriving late."

"Hello, Neji-kun… And what might that be…?" he asked, eyeing the bag slung over my shoulder. I had a feeling that both he and Kabuto had an idea, but a touch of disbelief was visible even in the sannin's slitted eyes. I answered by dumping the bag; almost as many scarred hitai-ate as I'd collected yesterday tumbled onto the desk.

"Clan Hyuuga is ours," I declared, bowing my head.

"Wonderful," Orochimaru hissed, "What a pleasant surprise…"

Kabuto's mouth was hanging open as he stared at the pile of headbands. His gaze flew to me; his teeth clenched as his eyes widened ever so slightly as if in fearful suspicion. A sense of highly unnerved awe radiated from his face as he scrutinized my own. His eyes bored into mine, almost desperately _hoping_ to find some well-hidden trace of remorse, pain, self-loathing that quite simply wasn't there.

It took him only a moment to realize he wasn't about to find anything. Slightly shaken, he took a deep breath and collected himself. "You're not like the others."

I bowed slightly at the waist. "If you are just now learning this, Yakushi-san, I'm afraid you have sorely underestimated me."

He shook his head with a smirk. "You're so different from them it's almost disturbing. Just what kind of a Leaf ninja _were_ you?"

I grinned. "The kind that other Leaf ninja didn't like very much."

"Kukuku… Of course such weak fools failed to recognize your genius," Orochimaru said. "But I … _I_ see you as an invaluable shinobi. You truly have provided the best aid I could ask for in transforming this village."

"Again, milord, I am happy to be of service."

He stood, his hand resting on my shoulder as he smiled. "You're doing quite well, Neji-kun. Take today off and rest."

I would have preferred to continue yesterday's assignment, but I recognized an order. "Very well, Godaime-sama. Thank you. However, there is something important I've been meaning to take care of in the village…"

"Hm…?"

"I'd like to conduct an investigation of sorts…"

* * *

The walk there was uneventful. As usual, I kept an eye out for troublemakers, graffitists, ambushes and the like. Conversations were as always hushed as I passed, most villagers glowering warily. However, I was mildly surprised to find that some shinobi and civilians alike began (though ever wary) to nod and give a polite, brief greeting. I would nod back slightly as I continued on my way.

I reached my destination, and observed the pile of wreckage: a single demolished building amidst others in fairly good condition. It had once stood a two story house; now a broken second floor rested far closer to the first than it was ever designed to, crumbled and charred remains of roof tiles lying messily over it. Much scorched debris was still strewn about the former building, though most of it had been cleared away.

I scanned the area, and quickly a wire of nine ornate lanterns nearby caught my eye. I flickered up to one of the buildings it was strung between for a closer look. The line drooped downward more than was normal, as though much weight had pulled down on it. A large gap between lanterns showed that one was curiously missing near the middle. On closer inspection I found the wire was of high quality, strong and durable, yet it had been stretched and very nearly snapped. This was more than the work of wind.

I looked around, and in a moment my eyes landed on the security camera of a shop further down the street. Smirking at my luck, I jumped to land lightly on the ground.

My knuckles rapped above the CLOSED sign adorning the door. I crossed my arms as I waited.

The door opened. "Sorry, we don't open for fifteen…" He gasped, his eyes widening in surprise. "Oh, uh, Officer Hyuuga-san, sir, g-good morning, is there a problem?"

I raised an eyebrow. "In fact, no. Should there be a problem…?"

"What? No, no, n-not from me!" he said, forcing a smile. "I'm completely loyal to New – !"

"Save it. Whatever you're up to doesn't concern me now. I would like to see your security tapes from exactly twenty-nine days ago."

"O-of course, sir," the middle-aged man stammered, "Please, come in."

I entered, and waited as he went through another door. Promptly he returned to the room, carrying three tapes. "Um … any specific time frame…?"

"Between two and three AM – when that house was paper-bombed." I pointed at it through the glass windows.

He selected one of the video tapes and popped it into the VCR of a little-used old television set on a stand in one corner. I walked up to him.

"Tell me," I asked as he fiddled with the buttons on the ancient looking device, "do you ever look over these tapes?"

"Not n'less something's been stolen."

I nodded as a black and white picture lit up the screen. He stood and stepped back, smearing dusty fingers on his apron. The time, 12:00 AM, was displayed in one corner of the screen. I quickly found in the image the back of a two story house not far away. Closer, and near the top of the screen, hung a barely sloped wire of ten lanterns.

"Would you like a cup of tea, Hyuuga-san?" the shop owner asked hesitantly as my focused gaze examined the scene.

"Please," I answered, kneeling to push the Fast Forward button. Several minutes passed as I waited, watching the video speed through the night. Few villagers crossed the screen, and occasionally a dog or bird passed by. Knowing better than to really drink it, I pretended to sip my tea patiently, eyes not leaving the television.

Then, when the corner read 2:16 AM, Lee's house exploded.

My finger punched the Play button. I saw two figures in the air, suddenly joined by fourteen more to form a chain – the head of which grasped a line of wire, knocking a lantern off of it in the process. The human chain swung forward (dragging the wire down with weight), and the people came rapidly into focus. Then they shot upward to vanish into the top edge of the screen, leaving the camera's range before undoubtedly soaring over the shop. The shadow clones still on screen vanished.

I rewound the tape a moment, played it, and then paused the instant the ones at the end of the chain were nearest.

And there they were. Eyes big and mouths frozen open in screams of terrified thrill were my former teammate and the blond idiot. As I'd suspected, Hanabi had lied – Hinata wasn't with them.

The shopkeeper, standing beside me, leaned in while squinting his eyes. "Well I'll be…" he gasped, "That's the filthy demon-child and his friend!"

I nodded, a wickedly grim smile spreading across my face at my discovery as I ejected the tape. "Yes, it is…" The man paled as he found a kunai's steel edge resting at his throat. "And you saw nothing. Correct?"

"Y-yes sir…" he whimpered, unblinking.

In the next moment I had crushed the tape in my hand and left the shop. I raced for the Hokage Tower.

_So, they survived … and escaped…_

* * *

**Hinata ****ヒナタ**

"I've got you, Bushy Brow!"

"No, you do _not_!"

_Smat, thud–_

"Agh–!"

_POOF._

"What?!"

"Over here!"

_Fwoosh._

"KONOHA SENPUU!!"

_Thwack!_

"Wah! Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

My head snapped up, eyes wide, in time to see Naruto's collision with a tree broken by a shadow clone.

I sprang to my feet and ran up to them. "Naruto-kun! Lee-kun! We need to get out of here!"

They halted as they were about to attack again, their fierce faces becoming questioning. "What? Why?" Naruto asked, surprised.

I placed a hand on either of their shoulders as my voice rose, shrill with urgency. "Something's wrong, just help me pack up camp! Hurry!" My heart was racing as I ran to kick snow over the ashes of our campfire. I frantically stuffed supplies into Lee's bag as the other two collapsed the tent.

_We have to hurry! _It was as strong as what I'd felt that night I was training a week ago; I was certain, something wasn't right.

"Hinata-san, what is going on?" Lee asked in concern as he forced the tent into the pack as well.

"Don't you feel it?! Something's coming toward us, fast! Something powerful! We have to get away from here now!" _If we don't … we'll all die!_

Thankfully they trusted me. We took to the low treetops, and Naruto created fifteen clones to scatter in groups of three and throw off our tail. _Faster, we need to move faster! _I thought in a panic as we shot through the trees together. Who- or whatever it was was getting closer, gaining rapidly with each passing second. The chilling chakra signature, for a brief second, seemed almost familiar, but I was certain I had never in my life encountered one with such a dark, murderous energy. And the one brimming with this immense, wicked power was surging nearer.

I activated my Byakugan and gasped, disbelieving. _Ne–!_

Something flashed past us in a blur, and I just barely saw a hand smash through the next branch we were poised to land on. With the speed we were moving, we tumbled unceremoniously to the ground. My feet hit the snow, and I fell forward to slide a few yards with a grunt. On my left Naruto tumbled uncontrolled a few times, while on my right Lee flipped in the air to land hard in a crouch, frowning as he eyed the newcomer in front of us.

Trembling at the ominous aura, I pushed myself to my feet to look at the shinobi. His face was an emotionless mask as he turned toward us, and my jaw dropped as I stared on in fear. My eyes had not been deceived – it was him.

The young man seemed to be taller than when I last seen him, and his muscled figure eerily lithe, almost but certainly not quite to be described as gaunt, in a way that both wrapped a deadly look about him and gave him a stunning yet indescribably fear-inspiring beauty. He wore a very dark grey, almost black chuunin vest. Underneath it was a black body suit, the arms of which were rolled up to the elbow, and the legs cut off by bandaging tape running from mid-shin to his black ninja boots. What I could see of his right arm was bandaged to his fingers. A very familiar clan insignia decorated his left shoulder, and an unfamiliar mark his right.

A smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth. "Hyuuga Hinata, Rock Lee, and Uzumaki Naruto…" I tensed as he snickered uncharacteristically, lowering his head as his shoulders shook with contained laughter.

He uncrossed his arms and raised his head, and with a vicious burst of dark chakra it all happened.

The whites of his eyes had turned black, and his once pale lavender irises were empty pools of milky white. His long brown hair suddenly darkened until jet black, even as his skin paled until unnaturally white. Two thick black stripes that terminated in points etched themselves into each cheek, and two more ran from below his jaw to his chin; a similar inky marking encircled his pale neck, and another his visible left wrist. Sharp onyx claws flexed in anticipation at his sides. Finally, a web of dark veins flared up around his icy eyes.

The markings on the young man's body stood out in cruelly stark contrast to his sickly skin. And standing there, among the cold white world around us, he was now even more breathtakingly, horribly beautiful.

But almost as shocking as the sight of this young man I had once known and the transformation he'd undergone before our eyes was the mark that adorned his hitai-ate. Unlike the eighth note of Otogakure, he wore a symbol comprised of two eighth notes joined by a horizontal beam.

"In the name of New Oto … I'm placing you under arrest!"

Two small black fangs were exposed by a malevolent smile as his eyes locked with mine.

I flinched, Neji-nii-san's shoulder connected with my chest, and I was thrown bodily into the trees.

* * *

**ナルト** / **リー** / **ヒナタ** \ **ハ****ナ****ビ** \ **ネジ**

**End Chapter Three**

**Lee**: The form of Neji's mysterious curse seal emerges!! While Naruto-kun and I have our hands tied with our own battles, the Hyuuga cousins face off! Hinata has improved, but has she improved as much as Neji has? Just watch out, Hinata-san – there is definitely something off about my former teammate! And what in the world is a quasihemidemisemiquaver?!

As three failures are pushed to their limits, new skills and jutsu clash, and dark and tragic secrets of the past and present alike are revealed! Next time in: **Chapter Four: The Tracker Team**!

Yeah… had to get that little preview thing out of my system.

I seriously couldn't think of a good title for this chapter... Progress, Training, Change, The New Age... nothing sounded right. But I guess chapter titles aren't really that crucial :)

To me, this chapter seemed a little boring and all over the place... And I know it focused more on Hinata's training, but we'll see how Naruto and Lee have improved in the next chap. What do you think of the description of Neji's curse seal transformation? And earlier, did I explain Neji's logic well?

Chapter one, 9,000 words. Chapter two, 11,000 words. Chapter three, 13,000 words. Anyone else see a pattern? Seriously, if the chapters are getting annoyingly long, let me know. I know a lot of times I don't like sitting down and reading ultra-long chapters. Chapter 4 is like, ginormous action-drama-angst-suspense-y super-chapter, so I might end up splitting it into two parts because it's so huge. Please tell me what you think!

Even this author's note was all over the place...

Ja ne!

:o)Hinata0321:o)


	4. The Tracker Team

J3F\\\ Journey of the Three Failures

Chapter Four

I'm hurt! :( It looks like a lot of people didn't read my author's note (ramble) at the end of the last chapter, or even Lee's cute little preview, or you'd already know Neji didn't come alone! Nah, I'm just kidding, I don't care. But thanks if you did read it!

Thanks for reviewing, I really appreciate it! School's started (and I already have two projects), so expect slower updates.

Does anybody else HATE Hinata's English voice actor?! She sounds all whiny and bratty in the recent dub episodes. I think her voice was okay earlier in the series, but it seems like everyone's voice is just getting worse and worse. I know, I should just stop complaining and watch the Japanese version…

But anyways, let me stop rambling!

Whoops! Almost forgot again! **Disclaimer: **Do I _look_ like a manga artist named Kishimoto Masashi? Really, I promise I'm not. I don't own _NARUTO_!

* * *

**Journey of the Three Failures**

**Four: The Tracker Team**

**Part One: Hinata and Neji**

**Lee ****リー**

It happened in a flash; Neji blurred with movement, and then he and Hinata were gone. The sound of someone crashing through branches reached our ears.

"Hinata!" Naruto cried, starting after them. I gasped, sensing the presence of others.

"Naruto, hold on!" I grabbed his shoulder to stop him just as two more ninja flickered to the scene, barring our path. The onyx-eyed avenger and the weapons mistress both wore hitai-ate bearing the same new symbol as Neji's.

Tenten's brown eyes lit up with relief as she met my gaze, only to be soon replaced by anger. Uchiha Sasuke's own expression was unreadable as he glared daggers at a shocked Naruto.

"You…" Sasuke whispered. "You really are…" There was something unsettling within his voice as he trailed off, and that look in his eye… _It is almost like he is looking at a ghost…_

The tension in the air pressed down on us as the two boys formerly of cell seven stared each other down. Finally Naruto broke the silence.

"Er… Hi…?" he tried cautiously.

Sasuke's face became hostile with rage, the only warning before his fist met Naruto's jaw. "Dobe!" he roared, "Sakura and I thought you were _dead_!! How do you think that felt?!"

Naruto stumbled away shakily. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" he cried in a panic as Sasuke lunged forward. As I made a move to help, I heard my own former teammate draw a kunai. I turned to her, frowning.

"Just what is going on?"

"Sorry, Lee. I … I really can't express how … _happy_ I am to know you're okay. But…" She blinked away tears that were beginning to form, and her face became serious. "We're bringing you back home, and we'll do it by force if we have to."

"You claim you are bringing us back home? _What_ home – New Otogakure no Sato?!"

"You don't understand," she said quietly. "We're capturing you – before someone else does!"

She launched three shuriken with precision. I dodged them and charged.

* * *

**Neji ****ネジ**

My cousin's body crashed into several branches before she landed in a clearing. At first I frowned with displeasure as she laid face down and unmoving – surely that strike hadn't killed her? – but she promptly moaned and began to stir. I approached her at a walk as she began to get to her knees.

I stomped on her hand, and she flinched, lowering her head with a tiny whimper. I felt a small trickle of pleasure well inside me – but I would need more before I was content.

_Much_ more.

"Get up, you sorry excuse for a Hyuuga," I spat, stepping away. Hinata looked up at me, trembling like a frightened rabbit as her wide eyes took in the markings of the Blood Seal. Her face and clothes were scratched up from pine needles, and she bled from a scrape on her arm.

"Neji-nii-san, wh-what's happened t-to you?"

"This is the awesome power Godaime-sama has granted me…"

"Fifth?" she whispered to herself as she stood.

"Of course, I hardly _need_ this power to defeat or arrest you … but, rather unfortunately for you, I have something else in mind." With a small smile, I rushed her.

She gasped, activating her Byakugan as she struck out with a palm. I dodged with ease and clamped a firm hand onto her neck. Her teeth clenched, eyes wide and terrified.

It was incredibly easy to tighten my grip, I noted; I squeezed harder, and she shut an eye in pain.

"I could snap your neck," I said coolly. "It would be easy, Hinata-_sama_. I could even do it by accident. The briefest lapse in restraint, and…" My iron grip carefully contracted further, and her mouth opened as she tried desperately, uselessly to draw air.

"Your hands are free, Hinata-_sama_. Go on – why not activate this wretched seal?" I growled.

"_No_," she mouthed, for she could not speak.

"Activate it, or I snap your neck."

"_I … won't_," she answered, even as her face went blue. Her other eye closed.

I shook my head. "Pathetic. You're too weak to bring suffering on your enemy – the very enemy…"

I slowly tightened my hand and moved it down; Hinata bent slightly at the knees and leaned forward in reaction.

"… who would kill you…"

As I lowered my arm more I pressed harder against her windpipe; her Byakugan failed as she further bent at the waist.

"… in an _instant!_"

I released her.

She had only just begun to gasp in a breath when my foot swung up to slam her in the gut.

"_AUGH!_" I felt the air leave her sharply as she was lifted off the ground. I threw a fist at her face.

Hinata hit the ground and rolled several times before sliding to a stop on her side. She gasped with shortness of breath, and I waited for her to recover. To my surprise, she soon ground her teeth and began to stand. _So, you've finally learned to somewhat take a hit. Am I supposed to be impressed?_

Her eyes were frightened, yet at the same time determined. "T-tell me," she said softly, trying to hide her fear, "if you're clearly n-not aiming to arrest me, then what is y-your goal?"

"Hn. You mean it's not obvious?" I asked seriously.

"No, it's n-not. What do you want with me?"

I growled a single word. "Revenge."

Hinata frowned. "Revenge f-for what?"

I had an impulse to hit her – after all, I could clear the space between us easily – but managed to restrain myself. "Don't play dumb with me!" I shouted, pointing a finger and shaking in sudden rage. "You know what your family has taken from me! But now… Now you'll be punished. Before you die, you will _suffer_, just as I have!"

I expected her to be overcome by fear, perhaps begging for mercy or asking that I end it quickly. However, her face became empathetic. "Nii-san…" she whispered sadly, "please r-rethink this. I can understand your r-rage, and I truly am sorry a-about your father. I know you're … hurt and c-confused inside, but–,"

"I don't want your pity!" I screamed with a violent shudder, once again fighting to control myself. "And don't talk to me like you know everything about me! At least you _have_ a father! You have no _idea_ how much pain I've been through! How dare you suggest that you could possibly understand?!"

She looked to the ground. "So I d-don't know what it feels like … but s-still, anger and hatred c-can't be the answer. It hurts to see you like this, Nii-san!"

I frowned – of course, the desperate imploring of one who feared death. As if the Main House scum really cared… "It hurts you to see me like this, does it? Too bad. Unfortunately, even if you did care – and I doubt you really do – _I_ couldn't care less what you want."

"Please!" she cried, "Neji-nii-san, I d-do care! What ever h-happened – don't you remember all those years ago? We were … best _friends_!"

My breath caught.

* * *

_Two small children, holding hands, running, laughing. Smiling._

_The younger, on short and still clumsy legs. Stumbles. Begins to cry._

"_Little sister! Are you okay?" The boy, concerned. Carefully lifts her to her feet. Dusts her off. She brightens._

"_Mm-hm! Thank you, Nii-chan!" she exclaims with a smile, cheeks a soft pink._

_The boy gently wipes away her tears. "Don't cry! I'm never letting anything bad happen to you, Imouto-chan!"_

_The tiny girl grabs the boy in a hug._

"_Neji-nii!_

* * *

I grunted, a hand immediately flying to the mark on my neck.

"Neji-nii-san!" Hinata cried in concern.

I looked up, and froze as I was struck by how entirely she still resembled the sweet, adorable little cousin I had at one time been so naturally protective of. _H-Hinata…?_

My neck throbbed, and I shook my head vigorously as I held back a cry. My face twisted into a grimace. "Enough!" I hissed. "I've waited years for this day – for a chance to exact revenge! You're not about to convince me not to!"

She nodded, slowly, sorrowfully. "Then if there's n-no discouraging you … and if it will at all help ease the agony of your broken, restless soul…" Abandoning her stance to stand up straight, she spread her arms. "Please beat me until you are satisfied."

My eyes widened a fraction. _Trying to throw me with reverse psychology, are you?!_

"I'm not deceiving you, Nii-san. I won't fight back. All I ask is that you leave me alive... If you m-must kill me to be at peace, at least take me back to the village first. I need to see Hanabi-chan."

"Hanabi?" I said with a smirk. "Come to think of it… the last I saw of her, I was setting some branch Hyuuga on her after she spied on our meeting."

In an instant her face turned abruptly fierce, and it looked as though _she_ might actually be refraining from an impulse to attack me. "Neji, she's a child – barely an academy student!"

"An academy student who needed to be put in her place."

My cousin's eyes narrowed into dangerous slits, a perfect Hyuuga deathglare; anyone else would likely have cowered under her gaze. "This isn't like you, Brother…"

"Does this mean you're angry enough to fight back? Not that it matters. You're dying today, Hinata-sama, at my hands – hands that I once thought were bound to protect you and your life, even at the cost of my own. Ironic, is it not? Yet at the same time, truly befitting of your demise. You, the great heiress, will be destroyed by your own lowly servant, like the pitiful failure you are!"

I rushed toward her and swung a fist. She activated her dojutsu and dodged neatly, ducking back so that the strike passed in front of her face. I followed up with a chakra-less palm strike; she ducked under it and sent a sweeping kick at my shins. I leaned forward, hands meeting the powdery earth and feet momentarily leaving it to avoid the strike. As she spun to full height I pushed off with my hands and right foot, launching a kick for her gut with my left; she simultaneously leaned away and grabbed my ankle in both hands. As her shoulders hit the earth, she used my momentum to flip me over herself and try to slam me into the ground. I caught myself on my hands, and flipped to my feet a few yards away as she released me. Hinata sprang up as I turned to face her.

"You don't get it! I refuse to die here! I promised Imouto-chan I would return!"

"You mean _that's_ why she was so convinced you were alive? How touching – and all the more pleasing to finish you!"

"I will not fail my sister!"

"The choice isn't yours! What is it with you failures? Do you think by promising it, you can win by pure stubbornness alone, because you have no real strength to depend on?! I think you're the one who doesn't understand. I _will_ deal retribution for myself and my father – by making you suffer for me, and _die_ for him! And what better way to make you suffer in death, than for you to know you've left your little sister all alone, just as Father was forced to leave me?!"

She attacked with a sudden palm strike in response. I dodged easily and landed a sharp jab in her gut, amused by her attempts. "There we go!" I said as she soon continued to throw strike after strike. "It could be much more fun if you fight back! How long will it be before the futility sinks in, and you realize your own utter helplessness?!" I spotted an opening and struck savagely through it. A simple palm to the chest sent her crashing into a tree trunk ten yards away.

She slid to the ground. When her feet met it I was sure her knees would give, but instead she stumbled forward, narrowly catching herself before charging again.

I grabbed her wrist as she struck out. She was preparing to try with her other hand when I forced the captured wrist backward. Her teeth locked, stifling a scream as I slowly bent it to an unnatural angle. Eyes watering, she was brought to her knees; her free hand pounded the ground, but she refused to cry out, would not give me the pleasure.

"Aren't we the stubborn one?" I sneered, "Mind still not broken? We'll have to do something about that." I drew back a foot…

A stabbing pain pulsed through my body. I didn't realize I'd released her until her head rammed hard into my stomach; I stepped back, and the next moment a palm connected solidly with my chest.

I was thrown off my feet by the surprisingly forceful blow, and landed on my back. I held my neck with a grimace as I looked at my forearm, observing as a second black ring burned its way into it, an inch from the first. _The second stage, huh…? _I thought with fascinated curiosity as I felt similar rings being etched around the other arm, my ankles and my neck. When I had used the seal in the village, I had never pushed it this far. I shuddered at another flash of pain.

"Nii-san!" Hinata gasped out. I sat up, glaring venomous daggers at her worried face.

"Stop calling me that," I spat. "And just what type of Juuken blow was that, Hinata-_sama_?" I had felt only a feeble drizzle of chakra; I knew that even _she_ was capable of releasing an intense, damaging burst of energy in her strikes. I got to my feet, twitching as the seal pulsed again. "What are you … afraid you'll i-injure me? Are you t-truly that weak, and gentle, and hesitant?! You can hardly afford to pull your punches, filth! I'll make you scream in pain, howl for mercy!!"

She was cradling her wrist close to her body. Though her eyes had watered, her expression was clearly one of concern, not fear. "Neji-nii-san, you're not yourself! It's that mark on your neck… That seal is what's getting to you, isn't it?!"

"I–!" I loosed a hacking cough before I could retaliate. "You're wrong – _agh!_ I am stronger than the Blood Seal – it doesn't c-control me… I could deactivate it at any t-_time!_" The bursts of pain and wild energy subsided, and I got a grip on the new power.

"Could you really, Nii-san?" she demanded gently.

"I thought I told you to stop calling me that!!" I shouted, enraged. I sprinted at her; she struck out blindly, and I raked my black claws from her elbow up, slashing open an almost healed kunai wound in her shoulder.

As I skidded to a halt behind her, she threw back her head and screamed, clutching her shoulder with the opposite hand. The agonized scream, the smell of the blood on my hand, the blood of the one I loathed with such passion, sent my heart racing in the thrill of it all. I bared my teeth in a smile, and in a moment found myself planting a foot between her shoulder blades.

She crashed to the ground with a crunch of snow; her bleeding arm stained the white powder crimson.

As I walked up to her trembling form, I made no effort to conceal my smile. I could hardly contain the exhilaration rushing through me. I felt powerful, invincible – and most important of all, I was finally exacting my revenge. She had to be breaking inside…

"What's wrong, Hinata-_sama_? Giving up?" I stomped on her back, and a small whimper escaped her. "But I thought you don't quit, and you never go back on your word!" A nudge of my foot rolled her onto her side. After a moment of contemplation, I kicked her; as her mouth fell open, eyes wide in shock, my smile only widened. Her back met a tree trunk with a sharp thud.

"Do you understand now?! 'I don't quit, I don't run, I won't lose' – they're all just _words_, stupid, pointless words that don't mean _anything!_"

* * *

_A man. Smiles warmly, places a hand on a young boy's shoulder. White eyes that can be stern and cold. Now fond and loving, tears streaming freely from them._

"_Tou-san?" says the boy. The boy who will soon be made a caged bird._

"_Remember this, Neji… No matter how hard things may seem, I _will_ be here to protect you…"_

* * *

She tried to stand. I kicked her again.

As she went down, I grabbed the neck of her jacket in both hands, hoisting her from the ground and taking a step to slam her back against another tree.

"What is a promise even for?!" I screamed in her face. "It's _nothing_, do you hear me?! Foolish words doomed to fall before destiny – absolutely _meaningless!_"

For a moment we stared into each other's eyes.

"Neji-nii-san…" Hinata whispered hoarsely, that look of compassionate sorrow filling her eyes as she shed tears.

With a yell, I whirled and threw her to the ground. "You should hear your sister! 'Hinata-nee-chan is alive! She'll return someday, and when she does she'll be stronger than you!' All because she believes in your promise! But you won't be keeping your promise, Hinata! When I kill you, she'll learn how foolish she was, and she'll know to never again put faith in your so-called ninja way!"

As she began to get up, she turned her head to face me. "Nii-san … that s-seal is influencing you…"

"I'm in complete control of it! Do you mean to suggest this is the seal talking? I assure you, it's not – from the bottom of my heart, I _hate_ you!"

"I d-don't hate you…" she said as she shakily stood. "I love you, my brother… I always have–"

The back of my hand met her cheek, and several specks of red peppered the snow as she fell. "Liar!" I hissed, "How could you possibly expect me to believe that?!"

She wiped her mouth as she rose again. "Must you ask me, Brother?" she droned the grim sarcasm in a near monotone, "Or are not your eyes all-seeing…?"

I realized with as start that she was indeed not lying; her face betrayed not the slightest trace of deceit. "If you love me," I growled, "you're a fool!"

I swung a fist into my cousin's face, sending her spinning on heel away from me. I darted in front of her and, fingers pointing downward, forcefully shoved the heel of my hand into her stomach. I was behind her only an instant to jam two knuckles into a point on her spine, and then was beside her, sending a hard sweeping kick at her shins. As she fell forward I was suddenly before her, driving a crushing fist into the center of her chest.

_Are you dead yet? _I thought acidly as she lied unmoving on her back. Her open mouth closed in a brief grimace before she rolled onto her side with a groan, and then her front. She pushed herself up and spat. "H-how long…" she whispered as she struggled to pick herself up once more. She turned toward me, her face near void of emotion and impossible to read as she spoke in the same eerily blank tone as before. "How long can you strike someone who does not fight back, Nii-san? If you are able to continue, your heart must truly be dead…"

"You're wrong there, Hinata. My heart is not dead, because it has burned with hatred every miserable second for the last nine years of my cursed _life!_"

"So here you strike one who loves you, while I do not strike though you hate me. Even if your heart is not dead, through this you will kill it, Neji-nii-san."

"And I will do it gladly, if it means I can take my revenge. So long as I can end your life, I don't care what becomes of me afterward… And since you're dying today anyway, I suppose I can tell you. It just so happens that Orochimaru-sama – Godaime Hokage, the ruler of New Otogakure no Sato – fancies my body as a new vessel for his soul."

"Wh… What?" she whispered, shock overcoming her previously emotionless features.

"Meaning that," I continued, "in fourteen months, when he will need to transfer his soul, my own spirit and mind will be destroyed as my body is made his container. To sustain his immortality, my life will be cut short to in turn extend his own. And frankly, I couldn't care less. As long as I kill you first, Hinata, I will be content."

A host of expressions played out on Hinata's pale face in the briefest moment as appalled horror became a complex mix of fear, anger, and intense remorse. "You m-mean … you mean you would _willingly_ throw your life away?"

"Once I've taken yours, in a heartbeat."

She lowered her head and shook it slowly. "No…" she breathed, so faintly that I only just heard it. Shaking, she spoke barely louder. "If you despise me … hate me, to such an extent … if you've quietly been becoming so lost in darkness all this time…" Tears flowing freely, her fierce eyes met mine. "I've failed you, my brother."

I raised an eyebrow; there was a new air about her. "I've just revealed that I'm a possibly insane maniac hellbent on beating you to death and willing to give my life for the immortal rogue sannin who took over our village. I honestly expected you might finally try to run away."

"I will never run away again," she said firmly, glowering.

"And why do you refuse to run?"

"You're … very precious to me, Neji-nii-san, and yet I have failed you. You see, if I hadn't run away _that_ day, then maybe … maybe I could have saved you from this."

_That_ day. The same day that we had learned just how different we were – the day cold, unforgiving reality had taught it to us.

Yes, without her saying, I _knew_, immediately, what day she spoke of.

The day Nii-chan became Neji-nii-san…

And Imouto-chan became Hinata-sama.

* * *

_Two young children. One angry, one confused._

"_Stop following me," the boy says, coldly, as he walks._

"_Neji-nii, I don't understand… What did I do?"_

"_Just leave me alone!" He faces her, for the first time raising his voice at his cousin. The cousin once so precious to him. He turns to go._

"_Nii-chan!"_

_The girl grabs his hand to stop him._

_The boy's other hand flashes across her face._

_The girl falls to the ground, looks up at him. Stunned disbelief. Fear._

_The boy, shocked he has struck her. Immediately sorry. Far too angry to apologize._

"_Just go away, Hinata."_

_She sniffles, her lip trembling._

_She hesitates a moment. An instant. An eternity._

_Then she runs off in tears._

* * *

"That _moment_…" she whispered, shutting her eyes in remorse, "A hug, anything, and maybe I would have saved you before it got this bad!"

"If you hadn't run away, or if I hadn't shut you out … then maybe. But it's in the past now. Things turned out the way they were destined to, and there's no resolving them now."

"You're right," she said. "It's come too far – at this point, a hug won't make everything better, will it Nii-san?"

"I'm afraid not," I agreed, taking slow, deliberate steps toward her, "but at this point? Who says I want to be saved?"

She calmly wiped her mouth, staring straight ahead as I began to circle her. I knew she was focusing her senses to their limits, alert and ready to move as I was. "If you don't care about yourself, then this time I'll protect you, Neji-nii-san. That's a promise."

My mouth twitched, but I soon smirked. So, she was trying to irk me? "Let me get this straight," I sneered as I continued to walk, a cat circling a defenseless little mouse. "I'm fighting to kill you before I die, and thus you're fighting to save _your_ life for _my_ sake, aren't you?"

"That's right," she confirmed, nodding slightly. Her fiercely determined eyes did not follow me as I passed in front of her. "If I can't save you by snapping you out of this madness, I'll save you by not allowing you to kill me, but either way–,"

I was directly behind her, and chose this moment to strike. I swung a clawed hand…

In one move, my hand was grabbed and a fist flashed to my cheek.

I tasted iron.

"So, you've gotten serious at last…?"

"I WILL save you."

* * *

**Lee ****リー**

I darted behind a tree that was a second later impaled by a hail of senbon. I peeked out from behind my cover, and then leapt silently to the treetop. At top speed I moved across several trees around the edge of the clearing before launching myself into the clearing. The foe spotted me in time to hurl three kunai, and I drew my own to swat them aside. My former teammate hurriedly jumped away just as I landed, and my strike missed her by a hair's breadth. I wasn't given a chance to pursue with an attack, however, as I was forced to dodge six precise shuriken thrown in rapid succession.

My face-off with Tenten was practically at a standstill. We knew each other, and she knew she could not defeat me in close combat just as I knew I could not best her (and would run out of tools _far_ sooner) in a weapons clash.

Thus we both attempted to stick to our own specialties; Tenten stood at the advantage in the center of the clearing, while I tried to make surprise dashes from the safety of the treeline, each time repelled by her ranged attacks before I could land a hit. Meanwhile – because she of course did not intend to kill or even risk badly wounding me – Tenten could not unleash her more devastating techniques. As the minutes dragged on, we were both growing tired, but from the motion I was expending energy at a dangerously faster rate. The situation threatened that this could end badly.

And, quite unnervingly, not long ago a chilling scream had faintly reached us. While I was holding my own, and I had faith Naruto could match Sasuke, I feared Hinata may not be faring quite as well. It was a terrifying match-up; even I had never been able to best Neji.

If I had to, I would use my last resorts.

"I do not want to fight you, Tenten," I said as we stared each other down.

"Then surrender, and come back peacefully!" she cried. "What do you three think you'll accomplish with this?!"

"You do not understand–!"

"No, you don't understand! We're doing this to protect you!" she shot back. "As cruel as he is, Neji makes sense – this is the real world, Lee, and your life could be in danger!"

I frowned; I had a hunch I knew what sort of danger she spoke of. "Earlier, you said something akin to, 'We will capture you before someone else does.' What did you mean, and who exactly is 'we'?"

"You don't know … about the village, do you? Long story short, the rogue sannin Orochimaru took over and he's ruling with absolute power. As for who I meant by 'we'… remember the "war" that was going on when you left? It's … _escalated_."

There was something unsettling about her tone as she dragged out the word. "How much?"

"A lot. It's not some petty little pride-feud anymore, Lee. We're talking _civil_ _war_."

My jaw dropped. _How is that possible?! _"What do you mean? How…?"

"'We'…" She pointed to the simple crest on her shoulder, the badge also worn by Sasuke and Neji: a hissing white snake coiled against the background of an upward-pointing black leaf. "The five of us are a special branch of officers, unofficially called Orochimaru's personal guard – but we get called Team Orochimaru, the snake squad, and… plenty of other more unpleasant things. But to the Failures, we're still just the Geniuses. The Failures have been leading the resistance, secretively stirring rebellion wherever and whenever they can, and slowly pulling together what they mockingly call 'New Konoha.'"

"How can you betray the village?!" I cried accusingly, glaring with the same hostility I would direct at an enemy.

"It's not like that! We're _protecting_ the village! Orochimaru-sama has told us he wants his followers to join willingly or not at all. Our team has been serving Orochimaru under Neji's leadership to gather support and see that that goal is achieved. Godaime-sama hasn't said it outright, but Neji thinks that at some point, Orochimaru and his sound ninja will deal with the ones who refuse to give in – and when they do, they won't be as kind about it as we are. And… And the same goes for you three. If Sound jounin were to come after you, they wouldn't hesitate to kill you! Don't you see how hard Neji's fighting to help you? He's a hero!"

I shook my head. "Tenten," I said softly, "do you honestly believe that? Do you think Neji is doing this to _protect_ us, or because he despises and cannot stand people like us?"

She flinched, and I knew she herself had thought this over more than once before. She looked to the ground in defeat. "So maybe his heart's not in the right place," she conceded, "but even if Neji himself is fighting for his own personal reasons, the point remains that stopping you is the only way to save you now!"

"So, you _admit_ that Neji does not care for us…" My voice turned severe. "So you know as well as I do that Neji is trying to kill Hinata as we speak!"

She started in surprise. "Uh, um – I–,"

"Did you not think to try to stop him? We cannot allow our teammate to do this, Tenten!"

"Look, whatever's going on in the Hyuuga Clan, it's not our place to meddle in their affairs!"

I paused. "…He ordered you to hold us off…" I realized, "to keep us from interfering..."

"Neji is our squad leader. We had to follow his orders," she forced through her teeth.

She was unfazed as my glare intensified. "So you would _abandon_ a fellow Konoha ninja? _That_ is reason enough to turn your back on the unjust murder of a comrade?"

"Technically, she's a missing-nin. If our squad leader kills her, he's committing no crime."

"Then you are no better than _them_. I thought you were supposed to be heroes," I growled, voice shaking in rage, "who committed only charitable, virtuous acts of mercy and good will." I knelt down and slipped my hands into my leg warmers, retrieving two sets of weights. I stood and held my arms out to my sides.

Tenten's glare had promptly vanished. Her face paled, eyes wide and fearful as chakra began to dance around me.

"You claimed your sole intention … lied in saving the people of our village…"

"L-Lee…"

"But here your argument falls to the ground."

The weights crashed to the ground, and my heel crashed into Tenten's jaw. She was thrown into the air, and I was behind her in a flash.

"Shadow of the Dancing Leaf," I whispered, and she gasped.

I hardly needed the Sharingan to take a leaf out of Sasuke's book – in more ways than one.

"ULTIMATE HIGH-SPEED SHISHIRENDAN!!"

* * *

**Naruto ****ナルト**

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" I cried as I caught a fist with a palm. "We didn't know the village thought we were dead!"

"Baka!" Sasuke bellowed, throwing another wild punch, "Can you imagine how much suffering Sakura and I endured?! Do you have any idea what it felt like to lose someone _again?!_"

I just barely used the kawarimi in time; the kage bunshin that had recently been on my left flew fifteen yards at a kick to the chest before disappearing mid-air. I grimaced.

I grudgingly admit that it was kind of … _touching_ to learn that my cold teammate cared so much, but this was countered a bit by his apparent outrage in finding I was alive – and seemingly even more apparent intentions to change that.

The remaining shadow clone grabbed Sasuke's ankle before his foot returned to the ground, and I threw a punch at his face. He swiftly caught my wrist in one hand and slapped the other onto my shoulder for support as his other foot left the earth to smash into the doppelganger's face, destroying it instantly. _What if that had been the real me?!_

His hand left my shoulder and his feet met the ground. As his grip on my wrist jerked me toward him, his free hand curled into a fist.

_Shima–!_

POW.

I flipped head over heels before hitting the ground and rolling several times through the snow. I turned my head to spit before working my aching jaw carefully. Then, with a grunt, I opened my eyes … to see one enraged Uchiha dropping toward me from above.

I rolled far back on my shoulders, curling inward to raise my body from the ground. Sasuke's feet crashed down where my midsection would have been, and I sprang upward on my hands as I straightened my body. His downward momentum was shattered as my heel forcibly introduced itself to his jaw.

"Snap out of it already, you jerk!" I shouted as he staggered back. "What the heck's your problem?!"

"What's _my_ problem?! You moron – what's yours?!" He launched himself at me, hurling six shuriken; I created three shadow clones, one in front of me and two to the sides. The one in the lead deflected the throwing stars with a kunai before it was run through by Sasuke's own knife. I threw shuriken through the resulting cloud of smoke, and the shadow clones joined in.

He ducked to dodge and was suddenly before me. Recognizing the position in a split-second, I crossed my arms to shield my face, but his foot instead jammed itself into my stomach.

"Ugh!" I was thrown into the air, and a moment later felt two fingers on my back. _Not good!_

"Shishirendan!"

_Kawarimi no Jutsu! _

Before the first attack landed, I had secretly exchanged myself with one of the shadow clones on the ground. I quickly flickered behind a tree.

_Kuso! _I thought, peeking out to see the clone collide with the ground and dissipate under Sasuke's final blow. _I don't have time for this! Hinata could be in trouble! _Still, while Sasuke was interested in beating me senseless, he definitely wasn't fighting the way he usually did. His anger was getting the best of him, making him sloppy and slower; maybe if I could rile him up and take advantage of it, I could wrap this up quickly.

I formed the hand seal and firmly thought through a precise plan before whispering, "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu…!"

Ten copies appeared, each carefully coming into existence behind a tree, hidden from Sasuke's view. _Let's do this…_

A clone jumped out from its cover to throw a shuriken before darting back out of view. Sasuke dodged with ease. He was preparing to pursue when a different clone moved to do the same as the first; again he dodged, and as it hid another clone revealed itself for a quick attack – and then another, and another, all carefully coordinating movements so that more than one couldn't be seen at any one time. If we pulled this off well enough, it would create the illusion that there were no shadow clones. And then…

_Now!_

All at once, the ten replications charged toward Sasuke. Sweeping a look over them, his eyes narrowed.

"Fire Release: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!!" he shouted, hands blurring through seals before ten furious fireballs were shot into each clone with deadly precision and explosive force.

I swore silently.

"Come out! Naruto!"

An eleventh clone raced into the open, creating two more kage bunshin itself. Sasuke threw six shuriken – three from his right hand, and then three from his left – and the two flanking clones stacked in front of the "original." The first three throwing stars embedded themselves in the lead clone, the last three sliced through a puff of smoke and into the second clone, and Sasuke's fist shot into the face of the last clone.

_Think you've got the real me?! _I thought, grinning mischievously as I body flickered from my hiding spot in a treetop while he was distracted.

I was behind Sasuke just before the final doppelganger vanished. And _as_ the final doppelganger vanished, I was attacking.

He whirled just in time to catch my forearm on his, thrusting it upward as he threw a punch. As my other arm shunted the attack aside, a newly created shadow clone between us sent a shoulder into his unguarded stomach. Cringing, Sasuke stepped back before dropping a fisted hand toward the clone, but his attack threw him off balance as it dispelled itself first. As it vanished in smoke a new clone, coming into existence in the air before me, pushed a foot off my ready forearm to strike a knee into Sasuke's now unprotected face. It promptly dispelled itself as well as he was knocked back, but still another, appearing low to the ground, sent a foot into his back to kick him into the air before he fell. As it vanished, a new kage bunshin above dropped a heel onto his shoulder, throwing him to the ground.

With a grunt, he opened his eyes. "What the…?"

Two clones appeared seemingly spontaneously beside me, and all three of us dropped into a stance. "Surprised? I can use the shadow clone jutsu without hand seals now – and in just this month I've put together my own taijutsu style!"

He snorted as he got up. "Style? You mean that art of wild attacks and wide, clumsy motions?"

"Look who's talking, teme," I growled, and he sprinted toward me. _I have to focus, remember the training…!_

"And no–," I blocked an incoming fist. "That's not what I'm talking about!"

"Then what's your little style called?!" he asked as I continued to avoid his attacks without the clones' aid.

I smirked. "The Shadow Fist."

Suddenly I went on the offensive with a flying kick; Sasuke blocked with crossed arms, but as I had moved the shadow clone to my right had already begun lunging for the opening that would be created. The Uchiha grabbed my ankle and moved his arm to catch the kage bunshin's kick to his side, and then prepared to shove us away. Just before he did, I formed a new clone low to the ground – already poised to attack – beside him. It swept back its leg to hack Sasuke's feet from under him; as he fell and it disappeared, the clone that had been on my left the whole time drove in with a kick to send him flying.

He slid a good distance through the snow before stopping, and he gave a pained cough. Sitting up, he swore. "Lucky," he growled. "So, you make your shadow clones to strike through the openings you create…"

"That's right!" I boasted with a vigorous grin, certain I would triumph. "Normally it's tough for two or three people to fight one target with taijutsu together as effectively as they could, but," one of the clones picked up smoothly, "since we're the same person, we think alike and have no problem coordinating our attacks!"

"But how…" Sasuke began, "How can a kage bunshin be ready to attack the instant it's created?"

I chuckled. "Blown away by my progress, Sasuke-teme? All I have to do is visualize the place the clone will appear and the attack I want it to execute, and once it's formed it knows exactly where it is and what to do! Same deal with my trap earlier – as long as I run through my plan before I create kage bunshin, we can coordinate ourselves perfectly without a single word. What do you think? Pretty awesome, huh?"

"Shut up … you stupid loser!" He charged with a furious yell.

"I won't be much of a loser after I kick your sorry butt, now will I?" His attacks were wilder than ever; oddly, I was for once fighting in a far more precise and refined manner than he. Trading speed for power (something he may have been able to afford doing a month ago, but certainly couldn't get away with while fighting me now), he left more openings than ever, and twice more he quickly found himself on the ground.

"This can't … be happening!" He threw himself at me, but he was weakening fast; after a short exchange of blows I solidly put a fist in his stomach. He coughed a few drops of blood as he was knocked away, and fell onto his back.

My arm was still extended from the blow; in a moment I stood up straight and walked up to him, dispelling the two clones as I stopped at his feet.

"Are you ready to calm down and wake the heck up yet?" I asked seriously. "And how about telling me what's going on in the village while you're at it. What's the story on that headband?" I asked, eyeing what I could only assume to be the "New Oto" symbol on his forehead.

He grunted, baring locked teeth as he glared up at me with venom in his crimson eyes. "Even s-someone … as _lucky_ as you … has to run out of tricks sometimes!"

Before I could react he caught one of my legs with his and forcefully tripped me. As I fell back, I looked up to see Sasuke jump toward me, a fist drawn back to strike. A shadow replication quickly appearing behind me grabbed a fistful of my jacket, throwing me back before vanishing; Sasuke's swing just barely missed, and he continued his charge as I easily regained my footing.

"If you think I'm out of tricks," I said, forming hand seals as I jumped back to dodge again, "you don't know anything about me!"

_Uma, Tatsu, Tori, Saru, Inu, Hitsuji…!_

Then, I tripped onto my back.

As expected, Sasuke believed it to be an accident.

I inhaled deeply.

He leapt up and dropped toward me from above.

I emptied the air of my lungs into my mouth, tightly condensing it.

"You're FINISHED–!!"

_Wind Style: Air Bullet!_

My back was pushed further down against the snow as the chakra-loaded ball of compressed air was expelled from my mouth, barreling into Sasuke's face with tremendous force.

He flipped head over heels more than once as he was actually thrown upward, higher into the air, before tumbling to the earth. He met the ground on his front with a sickening crack.

_Crap! I think I overdid it!_

I approached him cautiously. "S… Sasuke? You all right?" I asked nervously. I reached a hand toward him, but paused with a gasp. Weird little black markings were sliding down his arms. _What _is_ that…? _

He began to move, and got to his knees.

"Sasuke?" I knelt down, reaching toward his shoulder. "Hey, Sa–?"

I was dumbfounded. I honestly didn't understand how it had happened. It just had – and I abruptly found myself pinned by neck to a tree, feet scrambling above the ground.

My eyes widened as his hand tightened dangerously. I grabbed his arm and struggled, seemingly with no effect, and was unable to avoid his murderous crimson gaze. His voice was wicked as he spoke.

"I will _never_ … lose to the likes of _you!_"

My struggles ceased as the two tomoe in each of his eyes revolved slowly, menacingly around the pupil. _What is this? Genjustsu? Kuso… I can't move…_

Though my now blurred vision was going fast, I watched as blue lightning sprang to life in his left hand. Sparks danced from it in a frenzy as he raised and drew back the deadly spear that was his arm.

_What? No… no! He's lost it! What's he doing?! Why…?_

"You're _done!_"

His hand plunged toward me, and a monstrous voice cried out.

'_**Gaki!!'**_

_I NEED HELP!!_

For the first time since that fateful match in that now insignificant-seeming chuunin selection exam tournament, a fierce and familiar chakra awakened.

And for the second time in my life, I felt my body fried from the inside out.

I saw a vicious, uncontrolled blast of red-orange crudely flare out in all directions.

...I was vaguely wondering where Sasuke had vanished off to when, as a baffling sensation of déjà vu throbbed in my head, the ground rushed to meet me.

* * *

"_Itai_…" I moaned perhaps two minutes later as my eyes opened. "What _happened?_" I stirred, and although my muscles passionately screamed their protest I managed to move.

_I'm freezing… Why is it so cold?! _I realized I'd been lying in water; my clothes were soaked from a neat puddle of snowmelt around me. I got to my feet, ignoring the stinging pain that pulsed through me at every movement, and blinked as I surveyed a blackened tree trunk behind me.

_That's right… stupid kitsune gave me way too much chakra. For some reason I couldn't harness it like I usually can… _The demonic chakra had rushed from the seal in one quick, intense burst; perhaps the Kyuubi had known this would happen, so thus had saved me in the only way it could by pushing its chakra out for only a brief instant before cutting off its power. I remembered the chakra shooting from my body, my gasping for breath as my neck was released, and Sasuke–

"Sasuke!"

I looked around and quickly spotted a tree ten yards off sporting a patch of broken branches; taking off in that direction, I soon found Sasuke twenty yards away. He sat on the ground, his back resting against the impact-splintered trunk of a tree, and though his head hung forward and his body seemed limp, he was just barely conscious. The strange pattern of black markings no longer decorated his skin. His clothes had been scorched and singed.

I grabbed him by the shoulders. "…Sasuke? Hey, Sasuke!"

Unfocused, eerily empty black eyes drifted up to face. I gulped nervously. Was he okay? Was he even back to normal?

His bloodied mouth moved, voicing hurt disbelief. "I … lost … to the _dobe_… How c-can this…?"

Yep, that was Sasuke. I carefully lied him down, saying as I did, "Now, now, Sasuke – big girls don't cry."

His eyes narrowed in annoyed frustration a moment. "I underestimated you – It won't happen again. But for now … I'll give you the information you want…"

"What?"

"You wanted to know about the village, right?" he asked. "I'll tell you all you want to know."

I was surprised by the offer, and by the calmness yet to be seen throughout our encounter.

"Oh yeah… Ok, thanks!"

* * *

**ナルト**/ **リー** / **ヒナタ** \ **ハナビ** \ **ネジ**

**Four, Part Two: Cousins**

**Hinata ****ヒナタ**

Gasping, I picked myself up off the ground. Neji, unnervingly, threw back his head and roared with thrilled laughter.

"What's the matter, Hinata-_sama?!_ Is this the best you can do?!"

_This is bad… _I thought. I was no match for him in his monstrous present state, and if he decided to use Juuken I would be finished. However small, though, I did have one piece of good fortune: he was apparently unable to sustain use of his Byakugan, and had deactivated it a few minutes ago.

He wasn't himself; one moment he was madly ecstatic, the next he was deathly serious, another he was yelling in a wild rage.

I reactivated my kekkei genkai and focused on the mark on his neck – three black diamonds. An incredibly immense amount of energy was focused between them, and that dark chakra pulsed from it and through his body in waves. In my hopes of one day finding a way to remove the Hyuuga seal, I had read dozens of complex books in Konoha on different types of seals and sealing jutsu. It was because of this that I knew that some types of curse seal could have many favorable and adverse affects, on both the body _and_ the mind...

_He's letting hatred and anger blind him… Does he even know what he's talking about with this crazy plan, or is that the mark's influence? Either way, it's getting to him fast, and he doesn't realize it or doesn't care. But maybe if I could… _Yes, that could work…

I took a deep breath and knelt down. Neji watched in mild amusement as I lifted the bottom of my pants legs to remove two hidden sets of weights.

He smirked, further exposing his two black fangs. "Well, isn't this hilarious," he said in an un-amused tone. "I don't know what's funnier – that you've picked up my teammate's moronic training method, or that you still think you have a chance. Tell me – why did Lee even have an extra set of weights with him?"

"They were in his short notice mission bag, with paper seals that lessened their weight for travel," I said, lying down the weights before standing. "He said it w-was … so that if he ever had to remove his weights in combat and couldn't return for them l-later, he w-would have a spare set to put on afterward." Of course, we had removed a large amount of weight from them – I wasn't close to Lee's level. After explaining it was of utmost importance, Lee had coached me each day in my transition – from with the weights to without – until I had honed it to perfection.

"You think _that_ will really make a difference?" Neji barked. Then he was before me.

I caught a punch and dodged another before jumping away. "Not quite!" he declared behind me. I ducked his attack and planted an elbow in his belly. With greater speed than I would have been capable of before, I spun to the side and lowered myself in a sharp motion as I launched a familiar move.

"Konoha Senpuu!" I declared as my leg caught Neji across the shins – just as he was lunging forward to strike where I'd recently been standing. He toppled to the ground, caught himself on his hands, and rolled forward onto his feet.

_Now! _I focused my chakra to move faster still as I raced for him, drawing back a palm. When he turned toward me, I was near immediately on the opposite side of him in a crouch, again facing his back. I felt lighter than air as I sprang forward, lashing out with two fingers.

I was inches away when Neji turned his head, gasping as he realized my target.

The mark.

His face turned fierce.

Something crashed painfully across my attacking hand's forearm. The next thing I knew, something I saw made me instinctively shift to the left; my eyes widened as a hand shot past in a ferocious blur, opening three slashes on my right cheek. A second blur followed, tearing open my side.

Stunned with pain, I was beginning to curl forward when my back was slashed across diagonally. As I dropped to my knees my cousin appeared five yards away, standing up straight and casually lapping at the blood on his claws as he looked down at me.

The sight and the pain made my stomach lurch, but I ground my teeth and shoved off the ground, crossing two fingers of each hand in a seal. I flinched at the sensation of being ripped in two, and before I could recover found a fist in my middle. I gagged and bent double, dropping again to the ground.

Despite my pain, however, I turned my head and opened an eye to look up at Neji; with the same type of grin Naruto wore when he deceived an opponent, I laughed weakly.

"What's so funny?" he said, walking up to me. A foot pushed me onto my side.

_Success, _I thought, still smirking, _Without his Byakugan, he didn't detect the drop in chakra…_

He drew back a foot, and in an instant I was thirty yards away – after replacing with my hidden shadow clone.

My own Byakugan failed with pain as I cringed, pressing a hand to my side. Shakily sitting down, I hurriedly stripped of my jacket and cut a bit off with a kunai to serve as padding. I withdrew a roll of bandage from my kunai pouch and swiftly wrapped it a few times around my waist to secure the pad to the wound.

I got to my feet and began running. I needed to get to a clearing; with his superior speed and agility, if Neji found me here I would be at a disadvantage.

_The kage bunshin's been destroyed!_

I could see an opening in the trees twenty yards away … fifteen … eight … _five_…

He materialized before me in an instant, his pale face inches from my own, and shot a ferociously animalistic growl through his sharp, bared teeth as grey-black veins flared menacingly around his eyes.

With a shriek, I clutched my heart and keeled over. He sidestepped to let me fall.

I grimaced, clamping my eyes shut and trembling as my heart pounded rapidly, fitfully. I cracked an eye open and raised my head an inch to look up at my cousin.

"Oops," he said in false concern as he smiled laughingly, his dojutsu fading. "That's right – You're supposed to be refraining from any heavy exercise, training, or other strenuous activity as well as avoiding situations that may induce shock, surprise, intense thrill, stress, or fear until you're all better. Guess I forgot, Hinata-sama."

One hand still on my chest, I pushed myself up with the other, though my back remained hunched in pain. _That was … almost word for word from the medical report for my last checkup in the village…_

The thought was cut short along with my labored breathing as my eyes widened. I lurched forward again as a warm substance sprayed past my lips.

_Oh, no… _I thought, coughing weakly as I observed the red splotches in the snow – my fears confirmed.

_Blood… I haven't healed yet…_

"Plan on giving up yet?" a snide voice asked, suggesting all certainty I would be giving up sooner or later.

I shook my head slowly, struggling to get up. He waited patiently as I stood over several seconds with much effort.

"Finally," he said when I faced him. I couldn't even give a questioning look before a palm met my chest.

In the instant of contact, a furious surge of chakra tore through my body and out my back, before I was sent flying, skipping, tumbling, rolling into the clearing. I was heaving out more blood when I sensed a presence behind me.

I rolled away before his foot slammed down, and coughed again as he smirked. "You still think you can defeat me, even _now?_"

"I … have t-to…" Despite this, I knew for a fact that his Juuken strike could spell a time bomb, especially in my case. How long would my body hold out? At any time, my heart could…

_But maybe it won't! Either way, this … it just means I have to hurry and find some way to beat him!_

Of course, I could not use the seal to stop him. It could defeat him without taking his life, true; but if I used the Hyuuga seal to claim victory, he would never be saved from this path…

Neji vanished suddenly, and I looked to see him directly above me. I rolled to my feet, dodging; his palm made a small crater in the ground as well as lifting a fine mist of powdery snow that sparkled around him as it settled. "Heh…" he said with a grin, and instantly he was in front of me.

_If I take another palm…! _I avoided the palm thrust with a backwards roll, and then deflected another, caught a punch on a forearm, ducked a kick, blocked three quick jabs, dodged a palm, swatted away two fingers, stepped back from a claw swipe, leaned away from a straight punch–

My back had met a tree.

I ducked with a yelp, and a fist flashed over my head. I heard a great crashing, crackling noise as I rolled past Neji, getting to my feet and whirling to take the Juuken stance behind him. I shuddered as I watched the tree fall; the few feet of the trunk that remained cut off in a jagged, splintered edge.

He turned to face me, a mad glint in his black and white eyes. "Careful, Hinata. If I get caught up in the rush of the moment, I might just accidentally take off your head." The gruesome words were spoken with disturbing ease.

_He's gone mad–!_

"Look at you." I froze in shock as he placed a hand on my wounded shoulder from behind. "Trembling like a leaf…" I felt as something warm lapped slowly across the bleeding slashes on my cheek, and I shivered harder. "You're hurting, aren't you?" he whispered in my ear, "You're forcing yourself to even remain standing. It's hopeless, and you know it. You're going to die." Tears quietly slid down my face as he continued, taking a step back and clutching my shoulder painfully. His other hand rested a moment on the center of my back, and then pulled away. "But don't feel bad. After all … this was destined."

And I could hear a palm buzzing with energy cut through the still air, aimed for my back, where it would hit and shove chakra through my spine, my heart, and kill me.

–"_I will return … I promise."–_

–"_To never go back on our word – Believe it!"–_

–"_Who says I want to be saved?"–_

–"…_this time I'll protect you, Neji-nii-san. That's a promise."–_

My eyes snapped open, Byakugan blazing.

_I won't fail you!_

With all my strength, I jerked a heel back into his shin as I leaned forward and smacked his forearm upward with my elbow. He let out a yell, and the same elbow slammed into his ribcage. His grip on my shoulder faltered, and I pulled free to turn and face him.

He chuckled as I took my stance. "You … _idiot!_ Do you honestly think you have a chance?! You're not destined to win – why do you not see that yet?"

"No matter what, I have to stop you!"

He snorted. "It's all up to fate to decide. If you think you can prove me wrong, and you have what it takes to bring me down … please do try!"

I crossed my arms to block a punch; he continued a barrage of blows, punishing my forearms as I shifted them to catch each strike. A heavy kick to the center of my forearm sent my feet skidding back. Neji closed in, and I drew and quickly raised a kunai as I regained my balance; our knives locked at the handles. He smirked.

"Too bad," he said, forcing me downward with alarming ease. I was almost on my knees when I coughed, and a foot flashed toward my belly. I spun out of the knife lock to dodge, and as he fell past me I lunged in, piercing his shoulder with my kunai.

His eyes widened with surprise … then narrowed with malice.

With a wild cry, his fist slammed into my hastily crossed arms to send me skidding back again. Glaring, he pulled the weapon out of his shoulder.

I gasped as something thudded into a tree behind me, and I noticed a few strands of hair falling to the ground. Neji took a step toward me.

"You _little–!!_"

His eyes grew, his mouth twisting suddenly into a grimace, before be fell to his knees with a howl of pain.

"Nii-san!" I screamed in concern, running up to my cousin and kneeling down in front of him, hands on his shoulders. Eyes tightly shut, he shuddered before hacking a black substance onto the ground. I blanched in horror as I realized it was blood.

He vomited more black blood. I moved closer and reached a hand under his arm to pat him on the back as he continued to cough and choke uncontrollably. "Neji-nii-san, what's happening? Are you okay? Nii-s–_!!_"

"Get _AWAY from me!!_"

_**THUD!**_

"_Urk…_ GAH!!"

I could hardly even register the crushing blow landing beneath my ribcage before my gut tightened sickeningly, my bloodline failed instantly, and my vision flickered so that my wide eyes just barely saw the spray of crimson leaving my mouth as I was thrown into the air.

My back crunched into the snow, and I slid a few feet. I stiffly and slowly rolled onto my side, gasping and coughing shallowly. Unblinking, I pulled my hurting body into a trembling little ball; with a grunt, I closed my eyes in pain a long moment, and then cracked them open again.

_He's not thinking straight anymore… _

But how much? How much had he lost it before that seal took over?

I felt him step on the side of my head. "Scum," he snapped, grinding his foot against me and pressing harder. The pressure sent a throbbing pain searing through me. "How dare you lay your hands on me?!"

Still wheezing slightly through clenched teeth, I whispered, barely audible, "You w-were … ch-choking … I was-s … trying t-to help y–,"

"Who says I need your help?!" he screamed in a roar. I was relieved of my headache as he raised the foot, and I realized what was coming.

_Kawarimi!_

Twenty yards away, I heard the sharp crackling of an unfortunate log being crushed. Then … a roar, as if of pain. "I'LL KILL YOU!!"

_He's growing more feral as this goes on! I have to do something! _At this point having recovered my breath, I leaned against the tree behind me and formed a hand seal.

"Look at you, Hinata … shivering in fear, hiding like a coward," he called, indicating both he was using his Byakugan and had somewhat cooled down for the moment. "Come out! Stand up, and face me like a Hyuuga!"

_Ushi, Tori, I, Mi, Tatsu, Tora, U, Hitsuji–!! _

"Too slow!" Neji said as he appeared before me. I jumped aside with a shriek as his palm splintered the tree bark. Clumsily stumbling to my feet, I ran as hard as my legs would carry me before leaping to the treetops. In a few seconds I broke the edge of the trees, jumping into a wide, open field of snow. To the north and west stood a massive, rocky cliff side, and the trees I'd just left were the east; very far to the south stood more forest.

My feet skidded a good distance along the surprisingly slippery ground, and then I ran twenty yards further before I turned to face my opponent, who remained near the treeline.

A wet cough painfully tore from me, and I clasped a hand over my heart. _It's getting worse…_

"You're not feeling so well, are you?" Neji taunted, and charged.

Grinding my teeth, I ran through a new string of seals, focusing almost all the chakra I had left. It was risky, but I had to try. It could be my only chance.

"Mi, Hitsuji, Saru, Ne, Uma, Tora!" _Please work…! _I thought, and inhaled.

"_Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu!_" I cried, spewing a stream of blazing chakra from my mouth just as Neji landed before me.

He jumped back with impossible speed and power just before the massive fireball that formed could touch him. As he flew back and the blaze shot after him, his hands flashed through over forty seals in seconds, almost too quickly for my eyes to track. I could just barely read the impossibly rapid hand motions with my Byakugan.

_Ushi-Saru-U-Ne-I-Tori-Ushi-Uma-Tori-Ne-Tora-Inu-Tora-Mi-Ushi-Hitsuji-Mi-I-Hitsuji-Ne-Jin-Saru-Tori-Tatsu-Tori-Ushi-Uma-Hitsuji-Tora-Mi-Ne-Saru-U-I-Tatsu-Hitsuji-Ne-Ushi-Saru-Tori-Jin-Ne-I-Tori–!_

Chakra blazed from him as he exclaimed, "Suition: Suiryudan no Jutsu!"

Holding the sign of the bird, he landed in a crouch as, with a deafening crack, a pillar of water wider than he was tall erupted through the ground behind him.

This wasn't a field of snow at all, but a frozen lake.

The spiraling column of liquid arced down and flew past Neji to blast through the fireball. As it raced toward me, the head of the massive spear formed into the face of a vicious-looking dragon, demonic slits of gleaming yellow for eyes. It soared upward before coming plunging down with a monstrous cry.

I dodged to the side with a sharp burst of chakra from my feet, and the water dragon missile crashed through the thick ice with unreal force. I landed and staggered as the ice crackled and shifted sharply when the dragon emerged twenty yards away, rocketing from the ice before diving and leveling as it homed in on me once more. _Get wet, and I'll freeze! _That is, if the impact didn't kill me…

I rose to my feet, spun my body, focused my chakra…

"Hakkeshou Kaiten!" I shoved chakra out in all directions, and saw with my Byakugan as a weak, uneven dome of chakra energy formed around me.

The water dragon's head burst on contact with the flimsy bubble, which immediately began to give under its strength. I prepared to jump away, but the instant my rotation ceased a firm hand locked onto my arm. Then, with an animalistic cry, Neji flung me into the air.

My injured shoulder seared with pain, and then down was up, and up was down, and I lost all sense of direction, and my head rang, and I didn't know whether I was rising or falling, and I wanted to vomit, and a dragon was rushing at me…

And then a wall of iciness slammed against me, propelling me back, and I gasped and gagged and gurgled, and I couldn't breathe, and my skin felt like it was burning, and my back hit something hard, and I was held in place while more blazing cold liquid shredded and pounded against me, and then it ended, and I was moving, falling, freezing, and then my front met something solid…

And then the ground and several of my ribs cracked.

* * *

**Neji ****ネジ**

I watched with a satisfied smirk as my water dragon scooped her spinning, falling form from the air to drive her into the cliff side. When the length of the water missile had finished crashing against her, she fell from the depression that had been formed. I observed as my cousin's petite form tumbled to the earth, landing face down to send a spiderweb of cracks racing through the ice.

I flickered to Hinata's side. "You dead yet?" I asked, gathering a fistful of the neck of her shirt to lift her by. She cracked open dazed eyes and groaned in protest.

"You're a bloody mess," I noted, looking over her soaked clothes, the red scratches littering her shivering body, the way her legs hung limp beneath her and her head lolled to the side, eyes weakly glaring at nothing in particular, and the trails of blood and … water? … leaking past bluish lips, as well as from a clearly broken nose, and down her pale face.

She shut her eyes a moment and turned her head groggily, shaking it in a lethargic movement as she tried to blink away stars.

Curious, I asked, "How many fingers am I holding up?"

Her unfocused white eyes squinted in bewilderment at the single finger in front of her, and then widened as she blanched and heaved a large amount of water onto me.

_Lovely… _I thought with a scowl as she coughed and sputtered. "Still, having taken in so much ice water, it's a wonder you're even still alive…" I shoved her away, and she staggered backward dizzily, holding her head in pain and lack of balance. Reaching the tree line, she found support against a trunk.

"What'll it be, Hinata-sama? Will you drag out this fight and prolong your suffering until your heart fails or you die of the cold, or will you sit still and allow me to finish you off now?"

She spat blood, training fierce but still dazed eyes on me. "Neither… I w-will stop y-y-you…"

I laughed. "I can see the anguish and weariness in your eyes. Your entire body is tense with the cold. I'm sure more than one of your ribs has been broken. It's taking everything you have to think through the pain, isn't it? And every ounce of that beloved willpower of yours to move despite the numbness that's sinking in. But whether you admit it or not, all people have their limits. Your reaction speed will be slower than normal. Now… I am going to move to kill you, and you will be unable to dodge fast enough."

She shook her head in dismay, teeth bared. "No…"

"Yes. Here in the end your promise and your desire to fulfill it doesn't matter anymore, does it?" I bent my knees. "Farewell, Hinata."

I shot toward her…

And found my hand buried in tree trunk, Hinata's head a centimeter away.

_She dodged – how?!_

"Hakke Nishou!" she shouted as her Byakugan awakened, and I felt two quick jabs.

_What the – Oh no!!_

* * *

**Hinata ****ヒナタ**

"Yonshou!" I hit four more of Neji's chakra points.

"Hachishou!" Now eight…

"Juurokushou!" _Focus!_

"Sanjuu Nishou!" _And now, as fast as I can…!_

"_Rokujuu Yon–!!_"

As my right hand was shooting in for another rapid-fire strike, I jerked it back and in front of my face.

Four deep gouges opened across the back of the forearm – and four distinct blades of chakra sliced through the arm far deeper, and twice as painful.

For a moment, everything seemed to be still and silent. I began to fall back, wide-eyed in shock. Neji's arm was extended from the brutal strike, his claws still blazing with a thick black energy. A spray of blood was flying from my arm in the direction of the swing.

Then the pain registered, and I screamed. I sank to my knees, holding my arm; Neji laughed, seemingly unaffected by my attack.

"A correctly executed Sixty-Four Palms, and you might have actually had me. But you still can't see chakra points very clearly, can you? Obviously not well enough to target them accurately in battle – half of your strikes missed. Also, I assume your Byakugan is so poor that you can't distinguish at a glance whether a tenketsu is open or closed, because you struck at several more than once. It's useless to waste a hit on a tenketsu that's already closed, Hinata."

I swore, shutting my watering eyes. My arm was blazing with an unbelievable level of pain.

"Then, with your lack of speed, I was easily able to counter your technique. Now, how is it that you aren't freezing?"

I explained as I slowly got up. "I'm g-good with fire chakra. I learned from a scroll that Naruto-kun… _found_, a simple technique to make my chakra w-warmer…"

"So, the very energy flowing through your keirakukei keeps you warm from the inside… Pretty useful out here, isn't it? But still, you must be running low on chakra. That technique will fail soon, won't it?"

I ground my teeth. _He's right. Even with the little chakra this jutsu expends, I can't keep it up much longer. It's already weakening… I feel so cold… _"But … but it doesn't matter! I'm not letting you do this to yourself for some deranged traitor!"

"What do you know about Orochimaru-sama?!" he demanded.

"I know that he's using you! You're walking into his trap, Nii-san!! That seal had blinded you!"

He was furious. "Orochimaru-sama is misunderstood! He's a revolutionary man, a genius! And it was he who gave me the power to challenge the Main House!"

"Aren't you the one who always said you were destined to serve the Main House for eternity?"

"I thought I was – but it's quite clear now the Main House was always destined to fall. The "destiny" I once thought I was bound to – that was a miscalculation on my part, for I never could have imagined someone as great as Orochimaru-sama would come to the village and help me overthrow your family. But he changed _everything!_ My caged bird seal will be removed, and until my death I will rule the Hyuuga Clan! Even if only for a year, I will be leader, show the head family its foolishness, and set in motion this grand new age in Clan Hyuuga that was always destined to come about! Can't you see – it will be for the better!"

"Neji-nii-san … that's terrible! I always wanted to change the clan, but this is _not_ the way to do it! We should _unite_ the Hyuuga, not destroy one of its houses!"

"Well, it's too late now, isn't it, Hinata?! The Branch is done waiting for change. Now that we've been given this opportunity, and fate has granted me this power, the Main House will pay for its ways. And I'll readily kill anyone who gets in my way, even if it means slaughtering you and the entire Main House myself!!"

I shook my head, nearing tears. "Nii-san, you have to stop this… It's not our place to kill each other over clan politics! We're just kids!"

"Feh. It's time you started growing up, Hinata-_sama!_"

Neji sped toward me, and just as I hastily crossed my arms in defense – he vanished.

A cruel fist hit the center of my back.

I crashed smack into a tree trunk with a solid thud that rang in my ears. Then I fell back to the ground, and a large amount of snow previously resting on the thick needles and branches above fell on top of me.

I felt my technique fail, and the pain in my ribs and the sting in my arm faded as my wet body grew comfortably numb. For a second, the idea of taking a nap seemed strikingly appealing…

_Wait… No… I can't breathe… I have to move!_

When I found I couldn't move, I almost panicked, fearing I was either paralyzed or lacked the strength to free myself, and would soon freeze to death. Then I distinguished through the numbness a pressure on my forehead.

_He's holding me down… but I doubt I could move if he wasn't…_

But even if I couldn't move, I _could_ mould chakra.

Reaching deep inside myself, I drew out the last measly drop of chakra I could muster. I dispersed it to as many tenketsu as I could, as though preparing for the kaiten technique. Then, improvising, I converted it to fire chakra … and forced it away.

A wave of warm chakra ignited as it left my body, the flare of energy melting all the snow as well as forcing Neji's foot off my forehead. As he stumbled back, I gasped in a deep breath of air.

Panting, I rolled over and got back to my feet quickly as I could. _Okay… I'm completely out now…_

"Hn. Not a bad trick, but you're suffering chakra exhaustion, aren't you? You're swaying, and from how hard you're shivering, I'd say that jutsu of yours has stopped working."

"Y-you're right… I don't have enough left f-for a decent Juuken strike. But I made a p-promise, so I have to keep trying to the end!"

I ran at him, lunging forward and turning my body to strike out with my right palm…

Neji flickered with movement, and a firm grip caught my wrist and wrenched, hard, in a clockwise motion. Before my wrist could snap, I turned the arm with it and jerked backwards by reflex, bending so that my upper body was almost parallel to the ground.

I got only an instant to take in Neji's position: left hand on my wrist, right foot on the ground, left foot oddly pointed at the sky above me.

Then, in a decisive blow of terrific force, his heel dropped squarely into my gut.

* * *

**Neji ****ネジ**

I drove down with all my strength. Drops of crimson spurted past her lips, and her wide eyes promptly rolled back in her head as she went limp, dropping like a stone.

I eyed the bloody mess splayed on the ground before me, and then nudged her with a foot. "Out cold," I remarked.

I knelt down, looking at her face a moment before laying a hand over her struggling heart. "My poor, pitiful little cousin…" I said tonelessly, stroking her cheek with my other hand. "You've brought about your own demise…" I brushed a few strands of hair from her pale face.

"You will look down and thank me … for putting you out of your misery."

I raised my palm from her chest. The hand lit up, glowing with darkness, blazing with the icy black fire of death.

"Die, Hinata."

The hand plunged down, cutting through the air, twelve inches from her prone form, ten, five inches from her chest, two inches to fall before the palm struck, and obliterated her defiant heart, and killed her, and surely fulfilled my purpose, and spilled her blood, and made me complete at last, one inch, half…

"_NO!!"_

The force of a wrecking ball threw me twenty yards in an instant; a tree trunk crackled noisily in protest behind me. I stared a moment at the furious face of the one pinning me to the tree.

"Hello, Lee." A fist bloodied my mouth. "Nice to see you, too."

"What were you just doing, Neji?!" he screamed. "What is _wrong_ with you?!"

I spat blood at his face. "Well, I've never known you to lose your temper."

I was thrown back the way we'd come, and tossed every which way by a hail of lightning blows.

"You – were – prepared – to – kill – her!!" he raged, striking at each word.

I caught a fist. "So what?" I caught another. "You're slow. You've been using the gates, haven't you?" I head butted him hard, and he stumbled back with a cry. "Get in the way, and I'll kill you."

This only served to further enrage him. "What has happened to you?!"

We launched ourselves at each other, and thunder rang out through the clearing as the one-sided pounding became an even trade of rapid blows.

Then, growing bored, I stopped holding back.

Twenty seconds later found a gasping Lee leaning against a tree for support, face contorted in pain. I felt no pity. I _had_ warned him.

"I am NOT done yet!!" he said, stepping toward me.

"You people…" I shook my head. Unfortunately, it would seem Lee refused to be helped; in that case, I had no choice. _I've been wanting to test this out anyways…_

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.

"Sorry, Lee, but you're in range…" I lowered into a stance, activating my Byakugan. "So prepare yourself … for the Dance of the Quasihemidemisemiquaver! Juuken-Oto Ninpou: Storm of Heaven's Orchestra!"

I closed in at top speed.

Lee's eyes widened.

He tried to move.

He wasn't fast enough.

I drew back a palm.

And just as I landed the initiating strike, fire coursed through my veins as my brain was set ablaze.

* * *

**Hinata ****ヒナタ**

I watched in horror as he screamed in agony and went down, tearing madly at his hitai-ate. _I… I s-swore I would never…_

I hadn't had time to think about it; I had just _acted_.

Unable to believe I'd actually done it, I abandoned the one-handed seal with a start as Neji began to writhe wildly in pain.

His screams ceased. Chest heaving for air, he lied unmoving a moment. Then he spotted me, and his face maddened.

"I'll KILL you!!" he cried, shoving toward me – but halfway he crumpled abruptly, voice cracking as he screamed at the top of his lungs. "_Okay!_" he screeched, tormented, "Please – make it _stop!!_"

I was taken aback. "I'm not doing anything, I already d-deactivated–!"

"Kami, _MAKE IT STOP!!_" he bellowed desperately, miserably, furiously at the sky. Agitated birds for some distance took to the air in fear.

_What have I done – what have I done?! _I thought, crawling to his now shuddering form. I knelt down before him, a hand on his shoulder as he retched out a mouthful of blood.

"Nii-san, don't die on me!"

"_My_… my _NECK!!_"

Trying not to panic, I sat him up and looked through the neck of his chuunin vest and the black turtleneck underneath it; sure enough, the three black diamonds blazed with an angry black energy, visibly loosing surges of chakra in waves. _This seal … somehow, it's reacting to the Hyuuga curse mark!_

"Listen, Nii-san! The seal on your neck is killing you! Fight back! Try to deactivate it!"

He shook his head feebly, eyes big with terror. "It's t-too strong … too strong–!" he whimpered, before grabbing at his hair and screaming bloody murder. I shuddered at the cry of anguish. I coughed, and I hardly noticed. I couldn't care less about the blood that had just left my mouth.

I watched him continue to suffer. _I'm … helpless… I can't s-save him…_

My breath caught as he clung to me in a painful embrace. "I don't want to _die!_" he wailed as he shuddered again, holding onto me as though for dear life.

_H… He's crying…_

I wrapped my arms around him as another series of shudders racked his body.

There was a faraway look in his eyes as he whimpered three words.

"Imouto-chan, I'm scared!"

My jaw dropped. _He's high off the pain – thinking in the past!_

As my fourteen-year-old cousin wailed out like a small child, I cupped his head in a hand, holding him close and attempting to comfort him. I rubbed his back soothingly. "_Sshhh_… It'll be okay, Nii-chan."

But I knew it wouldn't. I was freezing. My heart was failing. A violent reaction of curse seals was destroying him. We were dying together.

"Imouto-chan…" he croaked, voice tight with pain as his hug strengthened, causing me to gasp. Whimpering, he rested his head on my shoulder. I coughed again. We rocked slightly, slowly, back and forth together. "Imouto-ch-chan…" he repeated. "I can't take i-it – _AAAAHHH!!_" He screamed out in pure agony, and I held him tighter.

"I'm here for you, Neji-nii – just stay with me!"

"I can't!" he bawled, "Everything _hurts! _Please, make it end – _make it end!!_"

"No!" I cried as I realized just what he was requesting. "Listen to me! You _will_ survive!"

…_I'm lying, _I realized in despair, _We're both dying here…_

"H-Hina-chan," he squeaked with a hiccup, nuzzling his nose against my neck.

"Promise me you'll survive!"

"I… I _wanted_ to ap-pologize… I d-did," he said, his strained voice weakening. He was going, fast. "I w-was scared… I thought y-y-you'd be m-mad at me … after I h-hit you the other day… You d-don't hate me, Hina-chan?"

I was shocked into silence. I found myself quickly in tears. "No… no, _no!_ I could _never_ hate you, Neji-nii! I forgive you!" I cried, sobbing.

He pulled away a moment to give a small, weak smile that should have looked very out of place on his pale, marking-decorated face, but he soon cringed and cried out, pulling in close once more. "So you re-really do care, I-Imouto-chan…?" he asked weakly in a moment, nose nestling into my neck.

"Yes! Whatever it takes, I want you to _live!_ You have to!"

What next happened was possibly the last thing I could have expected. With Neji in such a state, I can't imagine I was quite sure what I was expecting, but it certainly wasn't this.

My jaw dropped with a sharp intake of breath, eyes widening considerably, as I felt his fangs sink into my neck.

Then a staggering bolt of energy blazed through my body.

And then there was pain. We screamed together.

* * *

**Naruto ****ナルト**

"_Lee!_" I called, weaving swiftly around trees, "_Hinata!_ Where are you?!" _Kuso! They have to be close! Why don't they answer?!_

I had been finishing tying up Sasuke and Tenten in a cave when the screams had first reached me. The cries were anguished, tortured... and horrifying. First they had been in one voice, then another had joined it; a minute ago, all had fallen silent.

I didn't know if that sign was good or bad.

I saw more light up ahead, and soon the trees thinned until I emerged from the forest into an open area. To the north was a cliff, and nearby much of a large frozen lake with a few gaping holes in it had been reduced to cracked, broken ice.

When I came upon the scene, first to catch my eye was a hideous green sweater, and I saw Lee, bruised and battered, leaning unconscious against a tree trunk a few yards away; a trail of red was peculiarly running from his ear.

Then I saw the girl.

Her back was to me, so I could not see her face. She was knelt down and perfectly still, and her head was inclined in such a way that if she was indeed conscious, she was looking down at one now very normal-looking and peacefully sleeping Hyuuga Neji held gently in her arms. There were three slash marks running diagonally across her back, and a deeper claw injury on her shoulder – and I wasn't sure if my eyes were deceiving me, but the blood that stained her arm appeared to be much lighter in color than the dark, fresher blood near the wound. The raven-haired girl's skin was deathly pale, and her neck was encircled by an inch-thick band of black.

_Who in the…?_

Then the motionless girl stiffened as the tattoo on her neck vanished, and her short jet hair became a deep blue, and recognition blindsided me as she gave a tiny, soft-voiced moan and fainted.

* * *

**ナルト **/ **リー** / **ヒナタ** \ **ハナビ** \ **ネジ**

**End chapter Four**

Ya didn't see that coming! ;)

**Naruto: **As we all learn what's happened to Konoha and our friends and teammates, the three of us realize what we have to do. This time we weren't ready, but next time we'll be prepared! Alright! This just means we have to work harder than ever, and do whatever we can to protect the village and even that jerk Neji! But how will the three of us fare when new obstacles arise? It's tough, but together we'll get through it somehow – you can count on that!

**Lee: **So be ready for more insane action…

**Hinata: **More grueling challenges…

**Naruto: **And more… _NINJA WARRIOR!!_

**Lee/Hinata: **…??

**Hanabi: **Someone hit him…

**Neji: **FROSTED FLAKES!!

**Naruto: **Wtf?!

**Lee: **Ahem. _Anyways_… Next time! **Chapter Five: Dawn of the Red Moon**!

Yeah… just had to lighten the mood. I don't own Ninja Warrior or Frosted Flakes either!

Who knows what a quasihemidemisemiquaver is? ;)

Yes, I _am_ such a dork that I have the Water Dragon Jutsu hand seals memorized. I can run through the signs in sixteen seconds!

Sorry for the long chap! I know it doesn't show much how Lee has improved, but he will later. How were the battle scenes, and the drama? Was the Naruto vs. Sasuke action good? Was Sasuke OOC? I just thought that's how he would probably react.

Also! It is NOT NaruSasu or NejiHina! Naruto and Sasuke are just friends/rivals with brotherly love like in the series, and Neji and Hinata … well, pretty one-sided cousinly love. (No red line! Apparently cousinly is a word!)

How was the chapter? Sad, angst-y, suspenseful, exciting? Please review and tell me what you thought of it!

Until next time!

:o)Hinata0321:o)


	5. Missing Ninja

J3F\\\ Journey of the Three Failures

Chapter Five

Yo!

I know I said this one would be "Dawn of the Red Moon," but by the time I'd written out the ideas things had stretched on way longer than I thought they would. So I cut this chapter in half (really this time, instead of cutting it halfway down the page into part 1 and part 2). I will tell you I originally planned for Akatsuki to appear at the end of this chapter, but now it will be at the end of the next chapter. So if you were looking forward to Akatsuki, sorry!

A few notes:

-I was fleshing out the outline when I thought of something, and I think Tsunade will play a role in the story after all.

-I DO NOT know anything about how Itachi is innocent or whatever! (And please don't tell me!) I try to avoid reading spoilers. Sorry, but he'll be a villain when he appears.

Congrats to Datubaman, the first (and almost only) person who answered what a quasihemidemisemiquaver is! It's a 1/128th note in music. I read that it's usually called a 1/128th note in America, but that wouldn't sound as cool! ;)

And finally, thank you for reading and reviewing! A huge thanks to elongation for a huge and helpful review! I'm not saying I don't appreciate the shorter reviews – I appreciate all of them – but someone who actually answered all my questions from the AN at the end just had to be mentioned! Thanks all!

**Disclaimer: **Yep, I own _NARUTO_. What? No, of course I don't own _NARUTO_! Where'd you get that idea? What, you mean you actually believed me? (rolls eyes)

* * *

**Journey of the Three Failures**

**Chapter Five: Missing Ninja**

**Hanabi ****ハナビ**

"So then, just gather up your chakra, concentrate on where you're going, and…" I saw in the corner of my eye as the pink-haired kunoichi materialized beside me with a pop. "Of course, it'll start to come naturally with enough practice… Hanabi-chan?"

Kiba sighed. "But it _looks_ like all Hanabi feels like focusing on is the Land of Snow." His puppy whined in agreement.

_No… not nearly _that_ far north… _I somehow knew.

Something plopped onto my shoulder. "Huh? Oh, hey Aka-chan," I said, removing my gaze from… What _was_ I looking at? Generally the sky to the north. The little dog began licking my cheek.

"Don't scare us like that," Sakura berated gently.

"I guess I sort of … zoned out…" I said as I glanced again in the direction. An abrupt wave of dread chilled me, and my mouth fell open as a breeze rolled through the wasteland.

"Woah, let's not start this again!" Kiba said, waving a hand in front of my face. I shook my head, and he continued, "What's wrong? If your chakra's running low, tell us."

"No, it's not that…" Shaking my head again, I formed a hand seal. "I'll try the jutsu again. I'm sure I can get it right…"

"It'll be dark soon. We can keep working on it maybe another twenty minutes, but then we've got to head in for curfew," Sakura said. "Remember that it's a chuunin level technique, Hanabi-chan. You've got good chakra control, but when Shikamaru taught it to us even we couldn't all get it in one day."

"I have to try, though," I said. "I don't want to go one more day as the only one who can't shunshin!" I focused my chakra. _I don't want to just sit here. I want to be able to help them..._

* * *

/I was alive. But I didn't know how. Had I activated seals? Had I… _killed? _It was all a mysterious little blank spot, a blur. All I knew was that there was blood. _Blood_. So much…

The steady sound of sandals striking against the street was barely audible as he swore and muttered under his breath. I opened my eyes. "K-Kiba-san…"

He looked down at me. "Don't worry. You're okay now."

At this, somehow, I felt kind of safe. Safer than I'd felt… since Nee-chan left.

I managed a small, grateful smile as the dark world blackened again.

I next woke on a bed in an unfamiliar room, waking to the sound of quiet talking. The smell of blood no longer plagued my lungs and nauseated me; my hair and body felt clean. I was clothed in a slightly too-big pair of pajamas. Moonlight streamed through an open window, and I could see in the gentle glow two people, one seated at the edge of the bed, and another near the wall.

"Thankfully she didn't have any serious injuries," a girl's voice whispered, "but I don't see why she's fainted."

"She wasn't hurt badly," Kiba agreed, "I think she's hemophobic."

"How awful… she must be traumatized…" She turned her head and gasped.

"Hey, you're awake!" Kiba said.

"How are you feeling, Hanabi-chan? Are you comfy?" the girl – Sakura, I remembered, as how could one forget? – asked sweetly.

"Mm-hm," I answered quietly, giving a slight nod.

Kiba (making no effort to speak softly, as Sakura had) demanded, "Who did this to you?! If it was that _Neji_, I swear–!"

"_Kiba_," Sakura intervened, "Obviously she's been through a lot; let her rest."

"I'm f-fine now," I said, finding my voice shook. "A-and, it wasn't exactly d-done by Onii-san… He took over the cl-clan, and sent some Branch Hyuuga after me…"

"Kuso! The dirty coward! When I get my claws on that teme–!"

"Quiet down!" Sakura urged before looking back to me. "Now Hanabi-chan, if there's anything we can do for you…"

"Well…" I sat up, wincing slightly. "There is one thing. You could let me join your group."

Kiba shook his head. "Hanabi-chan, for the last time, I'm not letting you get involved in this!"

"Too bad – it looks like Neji thinks I'm already a part of it, which means now I need your protection as much as you need each other's. But if you train me, I won't be so much of a liability… Or are you going to send me back to the Hyuuga?"

"You go looking for trouble or what…" he sighed, shaking his head. "Little brat's right. We leave her alone now, there's no telling what could happen to her…"\\\

* * *

I worked my chakra to move in the way Sakura's had. _Gather my chakra… concentrate on where I want to go… and now–_

There was wind in my ears, and the distance jumped instantly nearer. I almost stumbled, disoriented, as I found myself standing on a fallen tree. I blinked, and then whirled to see the two dumbstruck genin standing twenty yards away.

I beamed, waving happily as I called out. "Sakura! Kiba! Told you I could do it!"

* * *

**Lee ****リー**

"I'll bet with Orochimaru's takeover, those five were the first to bow down," he finished with a scowl.

"I see..." I said, poking at the wood in our fire with a stick as I mulled over what Naruto had learned; after Naruto had defeated him, Sasuke had for some reason offered to tell him all he knew about the village, and brought a shadow clone as up-to-date as he could on all that was happening. A short while after Hinata had woken, he'd started recounting what he'd learned. The shocking news had left us all silently contemplating.

_This… it changes everything, _I concluded finally. "At least, we are quite fortunate to have left the village when we did."

"Why's that?" Naruto grumbled snappishly, "Our friends are getting ready to fight in a civil war that _we_ helped start, and meanwhile we're hiding out here in the middle of nowhere."

I frowned at his tone. "I did not mean it that way. 'Sandaime-sama's' very presence protected us; it was due only to his inactivity that things became so out of hand, to the point that we were beaten and eventually paper-bombed. Just imagine what would have happened if we had been in the village when the sannin revealed the Hokage to be dead. You _probably _would have been sought out and done away with at the first opportunity."

"I… I guess you're right. Sorry…"

I nodded. "For now, we must determine our next move. It seems that the Land of Fire is no longer the safest place we could be… Still, we must do anything we can to help the village. What do you make of it, Hinata-san?"

She looked up, startled; she had been gazing at the fire, a slight look of perplexed wonder on her face barely discernable in the waning sunlight. She shook her head. "Naruto-kun, Lee-kun… First, there's something I have to tell you – something I'm not sure even Sasuke-san knows about."

"What is it?" Naruto asked curiously.

Her face was grim as she gazed down into the crackling fire, all but glaring at it. "Neji-nii-san told me… that in a little over a year, he will allow Orochimaru to take over his body and u-use it as a vessel for his soul. He said it would … sustain Orochimaru's immortality."

"That's sick!" Naruto shouted, while my mouth fell open in disbelief.

"You say he plans to allow the monster to do this…?"

Her hands curled into fists, clasping the knees of her pants as she lowered her head. "Yes," she hissed through her teeth, "and I tried to talk sense into him … I tried to defeat him … I _tried_. I'm at the strongest I've ever been. I f-fought harder than I ever have before, and still I was no match for him. He was _toying_ with me the entire time, beating me to a bloody pulp without even _trying_…"

"But you lasted on your own against him, and are not even badly wounded," I pointed out, "That must count for someth–,"

"I can't make any sense of it," she said, that mystified expression again crossing her face. She put an arm across her body, gingerly laying the hand over her ribs. "I know several of my ribs were broken three hours ago, but they only ache badly now. My side was bleeding heavily, and my shoulder was torn almost to the muscle, but most of the wounds have already visibly begun healing, and I don't even feel like I've lost any blood–!" A terrified expression had begun crossing her face as she tumbled over the words; she stopped abruptly, as though fearing she had said too much. "What I'm saying is I was mortally wounded; by all rights I should be… But that's not the point! I was virtually powerless – helpless to stop him!"

"Hinata-san, you have improved greatly in just this short time…"

"But in the time I have, he's improved _more_!" she cried, looking up with tears in her eyes; whether of sadness or anger I could not be sure. "It's starting to look even more like I'll never catch up! And here you talk about helping the village, but what the heck can the three of us do?! Neji was right all along, and I was an _idiot_ to fight it, a complete idiot blinded by hope!! We're not destined to ever be anything more than three _failures_–!!"

In a sudden move Naruto was standing before her, holding her up by a fistful of the neck of her shirt. A fist was held threateningly close to her face. "Don't you _ever_ start talking like that!"

"Naruto!!" I reprimanded sharply, standing. He shot me a look as Hinata glowered at him, her teary white eyes narrowed in an eerie, seething stare.

"There's nothing we can do," she growled slowly. "We're three stupid failures who deluded ourselves into thinking we would ever be anything different. We're in over our heads–"

_SMACK!!_

I could see the bruise already forming on her cheek as she turned her head back to him, stunned.

"So what do you plan to do, Hinata? Cry and mope and prove that guy right? The minute you start thinking that way is the minute you'll lose _everything_. Have you forgotten? We made three promises when we came together – the three things we stand for and believe in, and swore we'd all live by. To quit now, just 'cause it's tough… to quit now would be to tear down our nindo for good. If we live up to the name _failure _now, we'll never be able to succeed at anything else ever again!"

"…N…Naruto-kun…" Her pale eyes closed a few seconds, and her teeth ground together. Then she stepped forward and threw her arms around him as she bawled into his chest. "I'm s-sorry! I was b-being f-foolish!"

"No, you weren't," Naruto said when he recovered his voice, and he soon returned the embrace as I walked up, laying a gentle hand on Hinata's shoulder. "I know this must have been hard on you. I'm the one who should be apologizing; that was way out of line…"

"Naruto-kun, Lee-kun … can you…?"

"We have already forgiven you, Hinata-san. I believe what is most important is that you have not lost sight of your way. Right?"

"Right," Naruto agreed with a grin.

The two separated, and she smiled slightly, nodding.

I looked to Naruto. "But… there is one thing that has been bothering me."

"Huh?"

"Just think – I defeated Tenten, and you Sasuke, and I am positive that had not Neji's power been artificially enhanced by … whatever that was," I turned my head to Hinata, "you and I would certainly have fared better against him."

"What do you mean?" Hinata asked.

"If we could go toe to toe with them, what exactly _is_ it that makes them "geniuses" and us "failures?" What makes them so supposedly superior to us?"

"I can't believe you haven't figured it out yet. Isn't it obvious?" Naruto began. "Being as strong as them isn't enough. We started at the bottom and never had any natural talent; things never came easy to us, and they probably never will. We're failures – and to escape that label we'll have to work twice as hard as anyone else – until we're twice as strong!"

I smiled. "It takes a true genius of a failure to become as great a ninja as any other! We shall work to be the very best ninja we can be, so we can return and help our village!"

Naruto nodded. "And Hinata-chan's going to take her clan back from that jerk – after she kicks his a–!"

"Naruto!" I snapped.

Hinata blushed and nodded, but her face was still troubled. "But … you do realize _I _have a t-time limit now, d-don't you?"

"Time limit?"

She sighed. "My little sister, Hanabi, has never thought very much of the idea of being clan leader. Still, I couldn't bear the thought of her receiving the Branch Family seal. Before, my plan was to return a leader who could be followed – a leader who could finally banish the curse seal forever – or not at all. But all of this changes everything. I don't have nine years to become stronger before Hanabi-chan is made leader; I don't even have three years before Neji-nii-san is old enough. I … I refuse to lose him to Orochimaru – so all I have now is _one year_ to become strong enough to defeat him … just one…"

"And what happens then?" Naruto asked.

"Th-then… Then, I'll officially challenge h-him … for the position of h-heir and temporary leader of our c-clan…"

She was uncertain; her eyes were big and fearful with anxiousness.

"Hinata-chan," Naruto said, "Relax! You won't have to return by yourself, you know!"

"That is right!" I assured her, "We will be right there with you! Maybe then we can even meet up with Sakura-san, Shikamaru-kun and the others!"

"Th-thank you both…" she whispered.

"Okay!" Naruto said, "We have a new plan!" He turned and walked over to where my backpack lied open on the ground, and began rummaging through it.

"Naruto-kun?" I asked. "What…?"

He swept out his arm; something glinted in the firelight, and I snatched my reddish Leaf headband from the air as Hinata caught her own. Naruto was tying his hitai-ate around his forehead as he turned around and walked toward us.

"Our village has been taken over. Have you two realized it yet? If what Sasuke said is really true, then the three of us might be the _only_ free, loyal Leaf shinobi left. I'm done hiding; it's not my style anyways. We have to show that Konoha is still alive, and we'll need to locate the prisons where they're keeping the jounin and Ero-sennin and bust them out! Then we'll take back the village – and Hinata'll take back the Hyuuga Clan and save her cousin!" He held a hand out in front of him. "Sound like a plan?" he asked with a grin.

Hinata and I smiled, both putting on our headbands before placing our hands over his.

_We will work hard, never give up, never go back on our word… and save Konoha!_

* * *

**Naruto ****ナルト**

Exhausted and sleepy, we soon prepared to turn in for the night. Hinata changed into night clothes in the tent, while Lee and I changed outside.

"Hey, Bushy Brow?" I whispered when we were alone.

"What?"

I took his shoulder and steered him away from the tent. I glanced back a moment before asking, "Does it seem like Hinata's been acting a little strange since she woke up?"

"Strange how?"

"I don't know, just sort of … _off_, anxious, preoccupied, y'know?"

"Well, I believe she has gone through quite a traumatic ordeal today… I highly doubt what she told us was close to the whole story, but I am positive that whatever happened, it was by far more physically and mentally trying than our battles."

"You're probably right there," I said frowning. "Man, I don't even know why she cares about saving that creep. I don't like it. He got her doubting herself, questioning her own nindo… She was so shaken and uncertain…"

"Neji has definitely changed, but Hinata-san knows him better than either of us. If she thinks he is worth saving, we should trust her judgment."

"I guess… But something else is bothering me, too. See, when I found you guys and Neji…" I described what I'd seen, and when I finished Lee was eyeing me oddly. Suddenly I found a hand on my forehead. "What?"

"Perhaps you took a rather hard blow to the head, Naruto-kun."

"Wha– I'm serious, I'm sure I saw it!" I argued quietly – though in fact I really was considering that perhaps my eyes had deceived me. "What about her injuries?" I'd been able to quickly wake Lee; as he had put a blanket around Neji and tied him to a tree, I had a shadow clone check Hinata for serious injuries, administer first aid, and, of course, well… change her into dry clothes. After the doppelganger had reported the extent of her wounds, it dispelled itself, and out of respect for the kunoichi I had hurriedly shoved its memories away. Then, after carefully bundling Hinata in a warm blanket, Lee and I (both fairly beaten up as well) had taken turns carrying her as we spent the next two hours distancing ourselves from the tracker team.

Then, oddly enough, she had woken as we were taking a break, slowly sat up, and complained only about a strong sleepiness and several bad aches.

The kage bunshin had reported cracked ribs, a badly slashed shoulder and forearm, claw wounds in her left side and across her back, a broken nose, a fractured wrist, and countless scratches and bruises.

So why had her most serious injuries apparently begun mending within a few hours of rest, leaving her able to stand, and even walk short distances, independently?

"This probably has something to do with how she healed so fast, I'm sure of it…"

Lee nodded. "So it would seem she has not told us everything. Whatever it is, we should not question her; if she wants to, Hinata will tell us if and when she is ready."

"I guess you're right," I agreed.

"I'm d-done!" Hinata called in her soft tone. We soon finished changing and entered the tent.

* * *

Warm inside my sleeping bag, I lied awake for several minutes. Lee's breathing was soft and steady, meaning he had fallen asleep; I could hear that Hinata on the other hand was breathing fast, turning over every once in a while. _Maybe she's having a nightmare? _I considered waking her, but eventually decided to let her sleep.

_Stop getting distracted,_ I berated myself, closing my eyes again._ Come on now … focus._

* * *

"You called, overgrown fox?"

"Stupid rat…" the demon snarled, glowing red eyes narrowed as its massive claws shot angrily through the bars of its prison. I was unfazed by this; I knew it couldn't reach me. Our greetings aside, Kyuubi got right to business. "I must tell you what happened earlier. Listen carefully, if you are able to focus long enough…"

I had to bite back the automatic witty retort; scowling at the kitsune, I crossed my arms. "I'm listening."

"When you fought the Hyuuga boy, he disrupted your chakra flow. Do you remember what happened to you afterward, brat?"

"How could I forget… So, the same thing happened again today?"

"Not quite… When my chakra first went out of control with the sudden absence of your own – and of the protection it provided you – both your chakra network and the seal binding me within you were badly damaged…"

"The seal?!" I shouted, taking a step back, "You mean–?!"

"Believe me, mortal brat, if I could have escaped from this place I would have long before now, and I wouldn't bother waiting to consult you beforehand… The seal is currently weakened to a point that I could likely take over your very being at this moment if I so pleased… but your keirakukei is also currently damaged to a point that should I do so, my chakra would quickly kill you. Your chakra network and the seal were further injured today, when I was forced to save your wretched life... With the seal in this state, I can no longer control the chakra I lend you; with your chakra network in its damaged state, I fear that my power, used again, would most certainly prove lethal to your vulnerable, fragile body…"

"Okay… So what do we do to fix this? What now?"

"Both will heal in time … but until you recover entirely on your own, my chakra can only harm you. For the time being I must sever our link – cut off all my power from you. I'll be sitting in darkness and silence for a while, so I won't enjoy this any more than you will… Try to stay alive without my help for the next month or so, will you…?"

I snorted. "I never need your help," I declared. "You don't have to waste your time worrying about me."

"I should hope so… I have no intentions of dying any time soon. So … farewell for now, boy…"

"Yeah. See you later."

* * *

I woke up in my sleeping bag – and found myself crushed under a breathtaking wave of fatigue.

_Sleepy… _I thought, and my eyes dropped shut.

I was out so immediately that I didn't have time to notice one of the tent's occupants was mysteriously absent.

* * *

**Hinata ****ヒナタ**

My throat burned, my lungs burned. I kept running, fearfully, tirelessly, _compulsively_. Why, I wasn't sure; to where, I didn't know. Somewhere, anywhere. _Away_.

_Yes, _away_! Away from _them_! Fast, faster, hurry! Can't stop! Running out of time!_

Something bad was about to happen.

Fire shot up my legs at each rapid, fleeting footfall. Left, and right, and left, and right, hitting the earth, again and again and again. I barreled through the forest, trees flashed past in a blur of dark, murky color, impossible speeds. My hands, they were changing. My whole body was changing.

My foot, caught on gnarled roots. I tumbled to the ground, rolled once, kept running.

It ghosted across the back of my mind that I was now on all fours. Did that even make sense? Was it called running anymore? As with several other things, I didn't know, didn't care at the moment.

Pain. I fell abruptly, and arm reaching across myself to grasp at a point on my neck. My knees and elbows, my forehead crashing to the earth, my back arching as a strangled, alien cry left my throat. I grunted and rolled onto my back as my neck throbbed.

Breath leaving my mouth in short, frosty gasps, my eyes grew as they took in the full moon glowing above. A terrifying energy surged from the two black diamonds on my neck, and my mouth flew open in a scream.

* * *

**Neji ****ネジ**

"_AAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!"_

"Get a hold of yourself!"

"_Let go of me!!_"

"_Ack_–! Kuso, can't you move any faster?!"

"I'm trying!"

"_Get off!!_"

"NO! Hurry, Tenten – I can't hold him forever!"

"I can't find it!"

"Curse it – he's starting to transform! Look harder–!"

"_Get AWAY!!_"

"_Oof!_"

"Are you okay?!"

"Just find the medicine!"

"H – here it is!"

"Speed it up! I can't hold him down!"

"_LET GO!!"_

"Darn it, sit still, Hyuuga! Here, hold his mouth open!"

"_WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO ME?!"_

"He won't stop thrashing!"

"Calm the heck down! We're trying to help you!"

"Stop yelling at him!"

"_RRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!_"

"Just give him the stupid pill!"

My mouth was forced open. Something small landed near the back of my throat.

_Ulp._

"…Well? What's happening?"

"I think he's calmed down… Yeah, you can let go of him. The transformation's reversed."

"Hey, Hyuuga…? How do you feel?"

"…I………"

"Catch him, he's gonna–!"

**THUD.**

* * *

**Hinata ****ヒナタ**

I woke with a start, covered in cold sweat. Puzzled, I stared for a long moment at the sky above.

_It's dawn…_

When, check. As for where…

I sat up, blinking slowly. "What hap–?" I froze, unable to make sense of what I was seeing. I sprang to my feet and swept my eyes in disbelief over my surroundings.

Countless fallen trees littered the area, some of which appeared to have been violently, angrily demolished, reduced to the jagged, broken wood that was strewn about everywhere. I trembled as I recognized claw markings in some trees.

Shivering, I activated my Byakugan.

"AUGH!"

Trees-destruction-stream-rocks-sun-birds-rabbit-snow-wolf-blood-earth-insects-mountain–

_TOO MUCH! _my mind screamed as my Byakugan failed painfully. Holding my head as the world flickered, I staggered a few steps and regained my balance. It had flooded me with far more insight than I was accustomed to, overwhelming my senses.

Among the chaos I had glimpsed a random trail of focused destruction and devastation, but that was the least of my concerns. I looked down at myself in shock. My clothes, my nails, my hands, I could feel it even on my face. My skin further paled at the foul taste in my mouth.

Blood. Except I was quite uninjured.

And most horrifying of all, it smelled. _Good_.

My teeth began vibrating uncontrollably. The overpowering stench filled my nose at each breath – why was my nose so _sharp_?! My neck throbbed, and my hand flew to hold the curse mark, the seal that had somehow been contracted from my cousin. My breath came in short, terrified little gasps as I began to walk forward. I wanted to be away from here.

Crimson in the corner of my vision caught my eye. Quickly starting to feel very ill, I turned toward it and hesitated; then, unblinking with dread, I started toward it. I soon wished I hadn't.

_Oh my – _

I grimaced, clutching at my stomach and taking a sudden step back. I tore my eyes from the motionless hare and began to turn away, only to crash to my knees and vomit helplessly.

I stood shakily after panting for several moments. I thought to bury it, but in one glance I knew I couldn't take it. I ran sobbing from there as fast as I could.

Stopping at a stream, I first furiously cleansed my mouth, and then cleaned myself up. Then I continued toward camp, where the others would be waking up soon.

…_Thank goodness … I was nowhere near… Naruto-kun and Lee-kun…_

I didn't know what had happened to me, but I realized I had some explaining to do within the next month. Next full moon, I would have to ask them to bind my hands and feet, tie me to a tree, _something_, to keep this from happening again.

* * *

**Neji ****ネジ**

"…Then, I prepared to take Lee's life; however, in an extremely unanticipated move, Hinata activated the Hyuuga curse seal to interrupt the attack and immediately incapacitate me," I continued, staring at the floor in thought.

"And then…?" Lord Orochimaru asked, though more curious than impatient.

I frowned. Indeed, what then? It was like there was a gaping hole, a curious blank spot in my memory. I knew the nothingness was there – I knew _something_ was missing – but no matter how hard I tried, no matter how long I prodded at the hole until I gave myself a headache, I couldn't draw anything new out of it. I hadn't been unconscious; I had been awake, in _pain_, been speaking to someone, but I knew little else.

"I think… She deactivated the seal almost immediately. But the Blood Seal somehow reacted to the caged bird seal, and tried to kill me…"

"You make it sound as though the seal has a will of its own," Orochimaru drawled, raising an eyebrow.

"It did," I answered automatically, "I can't explain it… That force, the pain… Maybe not the seal itself, but something was intent on ending my life." It was unnerving, it was illogical, but I knew it was true. I looked up at the Hokage; his face was fierce, mind racing behind his golden eyes.

_Something … or someone._

"Orochimaru-sama…?"

"Impossible…" he whispered to himself, dismayed, "Could it be that _it_ actually holds some degree of influence over…?" He trailed off and shook his head. "Please continue…"

My eyes narrowed a moment, but I answered, "I can't remember much of what happened next…"

The man's hands, resting on his lap, lazily met in a seal. "Take your time…"

Things I already knew were resurfaced by whatever jutsu he was using. Excruciating pain. Talking to someone – though about what, I couldn't begin to fathom.

"I was in pain … and certain I would die soon…"

A fragment of emotion – it was so powerful I couldn't comprehend how I had let it slip away. Whatever had been said, something in it had made me feel at ease. For the briefest moment – a moment that had been reality and not a dream – I had felt happy. Truly, deeply, _happy_. What was it…?

–"_I forgive you!"–_

There!

Gone.

_No… What was it? Whose voice… Kuso! I let it slip away!_

"I think I spoke to someone … but I don't know who."

My life, fading. Sight, darkening. Voice, weakening. Body, numbing. But still, the seal attacked me – furiously, relentlessly. I had screamed. And…

I closed my eyes in concentration.

And at some point, I had smelled the blood, very close, very near my nose. Blood that smelled very like my own, but also different. The strong scent was overpowering, irresistible.

Then, miraculously, a burst of inspiration had struck me. Suddenly and without warning – the way to save both our lives. I didn't know how I knew it, I didn't know where it had come from, I didn't know how I knew it wouldn't kill her too. I simply _knew_.

Before I could think twice I had bitten hard into her neck. An escape from the pain, a way to ensure we both lived. It was the most important thing – my life was important to her, hers the world to me.

When the burden was cut, I pulled free from the seal's weakened hold.

…_Wait. 'Her?' Who am I even talking abou–?_

Gone.

_Not again! Darn it, focus!_

My eyes snapped open. "I bit _Hinata_," I whispered in a moment. "On the neck – and I _gave_ her some of the Blood Seal…" _I guess that would explain this lonely black diamond on my neck… _But… but it didn't make any _sense_! Why would I have felt a need to protect _her_ wretched life?! I shook my head.

"You're certain of this…?" Orochimaru asked, his expression unreadable.

"Not at all sure. I can hardly remember any of it clearly."

"Hmm… To think it may be possible for it to be passed between two of the same blood," he muttered to himself with a look that said he was lost in thought. "How unanticipated…"

"Orochimaru-sama?" I said quietly, frowning.

"How interesting it's becoming… this curse mark I created with the blood of a demon…"

"Milord," I interrupted his musing, "Your words suggest you are amused by these discoveries. Do you mean to say I am a mere test subject?"

"Kukuku… And what, Neji-kun, might you be planning to do should I answer the affirmative…?"

_He's testing me! _I realized, cursing my rashness.

"…Nothing," I answered, lowering my head. It wasn't as though I would be able to do anything about it.

He chuckled again. "The seal has been tested before… I simply never imagined what you've described was possible. It was unexpected, I will admit… but you need not fear, as I have no intentions of allowing you to die now. Remember, Neji-kun, I need you."

I bowed my head.

"Now, finish your report."

I had woken to find myself being carried by Sasuke, who had promptly dropped me none too gently and accused me of causing the mission's failure; he claimed if I hadn't taken my time 'messing around' we could have captured the three easily. I had silenced him by asking, if he had the power to bring suffering on the one on whom he sought revenge, what would he do? He had answered in biting sarcasm that it was perfectly easy to believe that 'that shy little dork with the stutter' had indeed horribly wronged me in the past. I'd shot back that he didn't know anything about it, and after several seconds of glaring he'd turned his back and opted that we make camp for the night.

And, still silently fuming over the confrontation, I had managed to forget that it was the night of the full moon. Sasuke and Tenten told me the next morning of how I'd gone berserk in the middle of the night, and they'd had to force me to take the pill I'd quite completely forgotten about…

A startling thought occurred to me. If my cousin truly did have perhaps two-thirds of my curse seal, then…?

I didn't have time to think about that right now. "By the time I woke up, it was dark and we were within Oto no Kuni. We were quickly found and given medical treatment at a base. The rest I believe you already know; we stayed the night and two more days to rest and recover before setting out for home. The rest of the trip was uneventful."

"I see… And I presume nothing of significance happened on the night of the full moon…?"

"I took the pill that Yakushi-san prepared, as you instructed. I was restless, but no transformation occurred."

I didn't know what possessed me to lie to him. Could it be that I didn't quite trust Lord Orochimaru? Would he be amused to know the _reason_ for the bandages on Sasuke's fingers? Would the knowledge that I, so cool and controlled, had fallen before his mark and utterly lost my senses – that in another minute, I could have killed my teammates – prove entertaining to the man?

…Was the Hokage hoping I realized how dependent I was on the pill he would provide me with once a month – the pill that kept this mark's most fearsome power at bay?

"Neji-kun…"

"Sir?"

"You would do well to work on your lying… the next time you intend to hide something from me."

I gasped.

The door behind me slammed open with a thud.

I closed my eyes. "...You don't know how to knock, Uchiha?"

Hands in his pockets, my raven-haired subordinate walked in and stopped beside and a bit behind me. He didn't bother bowing to the Hokage, as he never did. His persistent scowl was present as he half glared at Orochimaru, something blazing behind his dark eyes.

I glanced over his posture, his face, reading him with the most minimal of efforts. _Just as I thought._

Orochimaru chuckled, seeing it as well. "Ah, Sasuke-kun… What brings you?"

The genin's eyes shifted to me a moment, and then back to the sannin. "I'm here to take you up on your offer."

I stood, turning to face him. "Oh? I thought you'd decided you didn't need Orochimaru-sama's aid."

He glared dangerously at me, and I gave the slightest of smirks. _I suppose I really must thank you, Uzumaki … for knocking some sense into him._

"So, you're absolutely sure now? There will be no turning away or backing out. Think very carefully, Uchiha, before you tell me you're ready to go through with it."

He didn't hesitate.

"I am. I'm ready."

Orochimaru snickered a moment, a grin just barely revealing his teeth. "Excellent," he hissed viciously as his golden yellow eyes sparkled with excitement. "So, after I reincarnate myself into Neji, his body shall serve as my container while I train _you_, Sasuke, into the ultimate vessel. And then, once you have killed _Itachi_ … I can have you."

Hatred blazed in his Dark eyes as Sasuke slowly nodded.

* * *

**Hinata ****ヒナタ**

One week had passed. It was time to continue training.

I struck the tree with a simple palm. Left, then right.

The gash in my side, healed. A partially dislocated shoulder, incredibly, healed. Claw cuts on my cheek, three pale, barely visible lines. Numerous scratches, bruises, fractures – gone. My shoulder, torn to the muscle, mending nicely. Several cracked ribs and a broken nose, remarkably near complete recovery. My heart, not giving me any trouble – though I wasn't about to risk pushing it.

Left… Righ– pain, a small sting.

Four parallel slashes across the back of my forearm – very unhealed, and frequently aching.

Left… _Right_.

With an enormous and steady flowing of energy, much of the healing had occurred within a day of my receiving the mark – after which, it seemed, an appropriate level of weariness had come smashing into me. At first I had hardly been able to walk, and not at all for a good distance, but slowly my strength had returned.

Left… _Right_. I winced slightly.

I couldn't just sit around any longer; I had to do something, even this light exercise. After all, I had a mission now.

I added chakra to the strikes, an action that came naturally with years of practice. I flowed through the movements.

Left… Right.

I blinked.

…Right.

I panicked.

Right.

I went into _denial_.

Right.

_No. No, maybe with more chakra–_

Ri– Sting.

From the beating I'd taken, I was not most impeded by broken bones, or even greatly impaired by renewed heart issues, which would heal completely in time so long as I was careful.

I struck again, trying a bit more chakra, rewarded a bit more pain.

_No. No, seriously. _Moisture spilled from my eyes. _It can't…_

No, the most permanent and debilitating of the punishments that resulted was the severing of my chakra network to my right arm.

_NO! _I struck harder–

"_AAAAAAAHHH!!_"

–And fell to the ground as my knees gave out, clutching my arm close to my body and writhing and kicking madly.

I had lost the use of my dominant arm in Juuken.

"_Naruto-kun!! Lee-kun!! HELP!!"_

"Hinata!"

"H-Hinata-san, what–?!"

"_It BURNS!!_"

I could no longer channel chakra to one of my limbs.

…_Sniffle… Gasp, sniff. _My eyes closing, teeth grinding. "Wh-wh-_why_…?"

"Shh… There, it'll be okay, _shh_…"

"………"

As far as a shinobi career went, I had effectively been rendered a cripple.

"…_KUSO!!_"

* * *

A jumble of severed chakra lines rearranged into a tangled in a mess – I suppose that was a good way to sum up what I was looking at. I closed my eyes with a sigh as I let my Byakugan fade.

"…So?" Naruto asked in a moment, fearing he may sound rude.

I shook my head, my gaze intent on the ground. "It's l-like … as if my chakra network's been cut off by a blade, literally burned and scarred. There are f-four distinct, thin severing lines that cut across my arm, but one would have been enough. My chakra can't get past the first c-cut; it's acting almost as if a barrier…"

"Hm… So the chakra lines have already reconnected themselves?" Lee inquired.

I nodded.

"What does that mean?" Naruto asked.

Holding my arm in front of me, I pulled the jacket sleeve to my elbow to expose the four dark claw lines. I stared a moment at the scars, the first of which lied at about a third down the back of my forearm, and the last one very near my wrist. I placed a finger near my elbow.

"…Normally, a chakra line here would run down the forearm, run a course through the hand … and then double back on itself, running back up the arm and to the body." I traced the route with a finger as I spoke. "But now, the same chakra passages that w-would go to my hand have been severed, along with the lines that would return chakra from the hand. So…" I moved my finger from elbow to hand, "when these lines were blocked, unable to send the energy they received from the body…" I traced from hand to elbow, "and these lines emptying as they suddenly stopped receiving chakra…"

He understood. "So the chakra built up, spilled over, and was picked up by the lines that bring it back to the rest of the body, right…?"

"Right," I said – except 'spilled over' and 'picked up' made it sound too neat. That burning I'd felt after Neji slashed my arm, though I hadn't known it then, had probably been chakra building up behind the sudden blockage until it ruptured the keirakukei lines, bursting from its designed passageways in places it wasn't meant to; the lines had started reconnecting within a minute of being severed as the loose chakra was drawn to the 'returning' chakra lines, allowing the circulation to resume.

_At least they reformed quickly… _I thought.

The explanation had been perhaps the best and the worst thing for me at the moment; while a mundane speech on something referring to the workings of the keirakukei, something I had an extensive deal of background knowledge on, was something that required just enough thought to take my mind off of my new handicap, it didn't quite help that I was describing the very injury to a point that clarified how near hopeless its recovery was.

After explaining, it only left it all the fresher in my mind. As far as chakra usage went … my arm was a stump.

"Hinata-san?"

I'd been silent too long. Standing, I walked ten yards to a nearby tree. "…I want to give it another shot."

"A – Are you sure that's a good idea?"

_I have to try… _Clearly attempting a quick burst of chakra had been a mistake; I would feed the chakra slowly instead. One inch – that was all I wanted. If my chakra could travel an inch past the first scar, then there was _hope_.

I rested my palm against the trunk – for stability if nothing else – and focused a long moment. Then I pushed my chakra against the invisible barrier.

It was immediately met with resistance; the chakra was stopped, as if by a firm wall. An uncomfortable tingling sensation resulted as I pushed against this wall.

_Come on… Focus…_

I channeled more chakra to the damaged lines. It began to seep through the wall, finally passing through it.

A sharp pain stabbed up my arm, and I flinched. My left hand flew to cover the scar.

_F-focus…_

Slow and steady, I sent more chakra down my arm to push it into the old passageways. It began to burn.

I grunted as I felt my chakra passing through the barrier at a crawl. The pain sharpened.

"Hinata-san, maybe you should not…"

"Just a … l-little _more_…" Perhaps an eighth of an inch remained. My eyes moistened.

The two were standing now, and had moved slightly closer.

"Stop it!" Naruto said suddenly, "Don't try to force it – you'll just hurt yourself more–!" He was silenced by Lee's hand on his shoulder as the older boy shook his head.

Sweat dripped from my chin as I took in shuddering gasps of air. I realized I was shaking.

_Almost… there–! _My chakra flared unexpectedly.

Pain.

The world flashed blindingly white, and by the time the glaring nothingness faded I was crashing face first to the ground.

And they were beside me again, Naruto helping me up and, after a moment of uncertainty, holding me close to himself in an effort to comfort me. Letting all the misery out, I sobbed into Naruto's shoulder as he whispered and consoled, and Lee patted my back softly.

"I-it's n-not f-f-_fair_…"

"I know it's not. But we're here for you."

_Naruto-kun, Lee-kun… You…_

The clan, my father – how would my own family have reacted? First and foremost, it would be my own fault for allowing myself to be injured. Then I would be looked at with piercing white eyes full of contempt and disgust as I was told of how pitiful a failure I was, how I'd finally doomed the clan for certain, how I would never be strong – and then left on the cold, hard ground to cry alone, suffering in isolation, my misery heard by few, cared for by fewer.

But these two – two I'd hardly spoken a few words to in my life until seven weeks before – did nothing but believe in me. These two, who were so different from each other and myself, yet so similar in regards to what we shared. The two so often headfirst and vigorous to the end had shown their gentle sides to me without hesitation. These two, more than anyone else, could wholly and completely understand.

_Thank you…_

* * *

"I-I'm sorry," I said softly as we began to head back to where we'd made camp. A first-quarter moon hung in the night sky; I'd spent the last hour trying to cry out all the despair and frustration. "I made s-such a big f-fuss, and you…"

"Don't worry about it, Hinata-chan," Naruto said, "It was okay to take all the time you needed to. It's not healthy to keep all that bottled up inside you, y'know?" Lee nodded in agreement.

_Indeed, it's not… _I looked down at the thought of my cousin, so angry and confused that he could soon become unsalvageable, beyond my reach, too lost in darkness for the brightest light to find him. I realized that all these years _he_ had never had a shoulder to cry on. Or wanted one.

"Well, I'm beat. I think I'll turn in–,"

Lee suddenly barred Naruto's way into the tent. "_Not_ without washing up, Naruto-kun," he berated. "Nice try."

Grumbling, Naruto set out through the trees toward a nearby small lake. I couldn't help a small giggle at his stubborn pout.

I was about to enter the tent to wait when Lee stopped me. "Hinata-san," he said, and I turned to face him. He wore a serious expression. "Please forgive me."

"F-for what, Lee-kun?"

"I kept Naruto-kun from stopping you before, because I knew you would need to see it for yourself before you could ever begin to accept it. I knew that in your position … either of us would probably have done exactly the same."

"I understand, Lee-kun."

"So then, Hinata-san … you do understand that your arm will most likely _never_ be healed completely, if at all…?"

I didn't respond for a long moment. "…Yes," I said quietly.

"Please, do not look so down," he said with a sympathetic smile. "Honestly, I think you are looking at this the wrong way."

"What do you m-mean?"

His tone grew more serious, and he held up a finger. "There _is_ something you can still be very grateful for. Your arm – aside from the chakra network, it still has complete functionality and mobility, correct?"

"I… I guess it does…"

"Right. You still have your arm – make good use of it. Now listen to me, Hinata-san. A true genius is the shinobi who weathers all obstacles that come his way, and does it smiling. Do you see? If you never stop believing in yourself and do all you can with what you _do_ still have, you may just be able to turn this disadvantage into a blessing!"

"L… Lee-kun…"

"Then the joke will be on them, will it not?!" he exclaimed, closing his eyes and flashing a thumbs-up as he gave a gleaming smile.

"Lee-kun…"

"I have faith that you CAN find a way through this! Will you do it, Hinata-san? Will you look up and forge your path onward into a brighter tomorrow, embracing the blazing springtime of your youth?!"

"…L-Lee-k-k-kun…" I sniffled, my head down as my shoulders began to tremble.

"Uh… I – I am sorry. I did not mean to–,"

I grabbed him in a hug, which he returned after a moment of surprise. "Thanks, Lee-kun," I whispered.

After several seconds we separated, and after a few exchanged words (and another thumbs-up) he left to join Naruto.

_That meant more to me … than you'll ever know._

Hope – that was all I needed right now.

* * *

**Hanabi ****ハナビ**

I stayed a bit in front of Kiba as we walked. He would not permit me to follow behind him, preferring I remained entirely in his line of sight at all times. After all, he'd teased – though we both knew it to be true – he couldn't be too careful with the easiest potential target.

Beside me, I knew Shikamaru remained as passively alert as the dog-nin beneath his bored demeanor. Though he wasn't outwardly attentive, I knew better than to think any detail within the small building could go unnoticed by our chuunin "squad leader."

Leading our formation was Sakura, hiding her unease and fear (for I knew even _they_ had to be uneasy) as expertly as the others. I made an effort to look as calm and cool as them, to be just as simultaneously relaxed-and-cautious as the three, but I felt both foolish and certain I wasn't quite pulling it off.

Kiba grabbed my hand; I looked up at his slight scowl, and then followed his eyes to the silent Oto-nin standing in a corner not far away. The smirking man was leaning against the wall, arms crossed. His gaze shifted from Kiba to me, and after a moment of leering the man sharply produced a dry, harsh growl of a barking hiss from his throat, in imitation of some sort of monster or demon I guessed little kids were supposed to be afraid of. The jounin only gave another toothy smirk as I was unfazed, but Kiba shifted his posture slightly. Twin growls of warning issued from the throats of the boy and the puppy riding atop his head.

Shikamaru, having seen the exchange, put a hand on Kiba's shoulder. At a curt shake of the former chuunin's head, Kiba steered me by my shoulder to slowly continue after Sakura. He glared to kill at the man another moment even as we walked, and then looked ahead again as Sakura selected a few potatoes and put them into a small basket.

"We almost done yet…?" Shikamaru drawled, even his voice casually masked in the utmost boredom.

The girl nodded. "Yes, this should be enough."

We walked to the check out counter; the friendly shopkeeper was, well … _vibrating_, I noticed, but I couldn't figure why. He pretended to just see us when Sakura began emptying the basket onto the counter.

"Uh-um, h-hello, how may I help you k-kids?"

Sakura looked at him oddly. "How much will this be?" she asked in a polite voice.

He studied each of our faces an overly long moment in turn, before a trembling had pulled a paper from his apron. After spending another moment of scrutiny on it, he flipped the paper in his hand to allow us to see it – or at least, he attempted to, as the flyer slipped from his fumbling fingers. The hand stiffly smacked down onto the paper in a flash as he smiled nervously. The paper was caught face up on the counter to reveal some familiar faces, each captioned with a name. Dozens of other names were listed in the bottom portion of the page: 'Suspected Resistance.'

In an instant, I saw the shopkeeper's eyes flicker to the corner of the room.

Sweating now, he forced through his tense, fake grin, "I'm afraid I must ask y-you to l-leave immediately. I am not per-mitted to sell to you s-scoundrels."

"What?" Kiba asked, disbelieving, "Old man Ringo, not you t–!"

Shikamaru's elbow jerked into Kiba's stomach so sharply that he grunted. As I understood, I realized his interruption had come too late.

I looked back to see the jounin in the corner grinning merrily, his shoulders shaking. The shopkeeper, now in an all-out panic, looked wide eyed at the man in pure terror, which only served to further entertain him. Smiling broadly, he closed his eyes and shuddered with suppressed snickers. "Never sold to 'em in your life, huh?!" he shouted as he burst out howling in a sick laughter.

The old man whimpered and shrunk away, and appeared to be clinging to the countertop for support. "J-just go aw-way, please go away…" he said in a small voice.

Kiba was shocked. "Old man, I – I'm sorry–,"

"Get _out!!_" Ringo screamed at him, and we hastily complied, bolting through the shop door. I activated my Byakugan with a few seals as we ran, scanning around us as well as I could with my still developing range.

"Is anyone following us?" Shikamaru asked as we sped down an empty alley.

Kiba sniffed at the air a moment. "Not that I can smell–_!!_"

The Nara abruptly turned, and in the next instant had slammed Kiba's back against a wall.

"Are you trying to get us all killed or what?!" he demanded furiously.

Pinned against the wall, the Inuzuka stared at the normally impassive boy. "I–,"

"_Growling_ at a Sound _jounin_?! What the heck were you thinking?! Before we could blink, he may have killed one of us on a whim!!"

"But–,"

"I don't care if he was taunting you! We're on thin enough ice as it is, so do us all a favor and stop being so frickin' impulsive!!" he screamed, shoving Kiba away. He stumbled a few steps, but stayed on his feet; Shikamaru turned away. "…Let's go."

We took off again, running in silence.

…_Poor Shikamaru-san is already starting to crack under the pressure. The Oto ninja haven't been openly hostile toward us yet, and even though the five of us never have been caught or witnessed doing anything suggesting of rebellion, I'm sure they know good and well what we're doing. So if they're not arresting us for it … we're probably examples. And that means that they're aiming to break us … s-slowly and painfully._

* * *

**Hinata ****ヒナタ**

"And … there," I said as I finished wrapping my right arm in the fashion Lee had taught me. I looked over my work with a contented nod; I'd finally gotten it down, and it had taken only a few minutes to bandage my arm from mid-finger to the elbow, neither too tight nor too loose.

I looked up with a start as someone began banging excitedly on the door that went to the room the boys were sharing. I got up and opened it, and Naruto's hands were immediately on my shoulders – causing my cheeks to warm considerably.

"Today's finally the day, believe it!" he exclaimed. Even struggling with his first cold – yes, _ever_ – couldn't put a damper on his mood.

I processed the words in a moment. "You mean…?"

"Yes," Lee confirmed, securing his headband around his waist as he came up behind Naruto, "the man has been spotted heading toward the town, and is expected to reach it within the next ten minutes. Are you ready, Hinata-san?"

I smiled back. "Hai!"

"Okay – _Achoof!_ – Let's go!"

We left the inn we were staying in, and led by a young man down quiet streets, streets that had recently and hastily been emptied, to the point the missing-nin was expected to arrive. Our escort, who looked to be Lee's age, watched in fascination as we quickly set up a simple trap that was meant to be more distracting than damaging. Naruto and Lee talked enthusiastically, pumped up and eager to test their strength against the rogue chuunin thief.

It had been over two weeks now since the encounter with Neji and the others, and the three of us had spent the time mostly resting and recovering, as well as gathering what little information we could on Konoha. Lee had been to first to realize that if we were no longer going to make any special effort to hide our identities, our "poor, wandering orphans" disguise could be discarded – meaning we didn't have to be cautious about buying ninja supplies, and could get better clothes and shoes than what we'd been wearing the last few weeks. But to get supplies and clothes we needed money, something we were running low on.

Bounty hunting had been Naruto's idea.

We'd been in luck to come across this large border town. Upon our arrival three days ago, a number of things had happened. First we were halted by a group of armed men. After they learned we were Konoha ninja, we'd been quickly welcomed and soon found ourselves presented before the town leaders. Their situation had been explained, and we accepted an offer to capture a chuunin-level Iwa rogue, a nukenin, who had been terrorizing and stealing from the town. We were provided a free stay in the inn, and would be given a reward when we succeeded in detaining the criminal.

Easy enough; Lee for certain was well above genin level already. The three of us against one chuunin would make for a quick win, a 'piece of cake' as Naruto had called it.

So here we were, lying in wait for one Kozue Kuri.

We had most definitely _not_ planned to lie in wait for one Kozue Kuri and two dozen bandits.

"Are you certain?!" Lee gasped, staring at the approaching mob of specks on the horizon.

I nodded, flinching as my Byakugan failed suddenly; the other two were too focused on the group in the distance to notice. "Hai, I counted at least twenty."

"No, seriously!" Naruto said, whirling to point a finger at the young man, "You guys didn't feel any need to tell us this?!"

The boy smiled sheepishly. "Oh, you mean no one mentioned it to you?"

Naruto sighed, hanging his head. "I thought the reward was high for one chuunin… Actually it kind of sucks for one chuunin and twenty bandits…"

"Please help us – we need you, courageous Leaf shinobi! You're not going to abandon us, are you…? You're the only hope we've got!"

"Yeah, yeah, save your sweet talk. We're not going anywhere."

Lee ordered the boy to go somewhere safe. After we quickly altered our plan, I jumped to a rooftop and lied down to hide. Naruto, a few yards from the road that lead into the town, curled into a ball and transformed into a rock, while two kage bunshin did the same on the other side. Lee hid atop a building across the street from me.

In another few minutes the bandits were coming into clear view. In the lead walked a tall man who appeared to be seventeen or eighteen, and walked with a cocky air about him and a laid back grin on his features. One side of his face had a mess of scars running down it, and a patch covered the eye. A light stubble covered the man's chin, and short, spiky black hair stood on his head. He wore a long sleeveless black coat open over a white shirt, dark blue pants, black fingerless gloves, and two long, sheathed swords strapped across his back. Finally, the bandana around his neck bore a metal plate; a slash ran through the insignia of two overlapped stones engraved into it.

I gulped. _S-so, that's our missing-nin. Kozue Kuri. From looks alone … he s-seems pretty rough… _I shook my head as the man and his gang – consisting mostly of archers and other weapon users who were older than their shinobi leader – moved into position, oblivious to Naruto and his clones. My trembling hands formed a seal. _He's nearing the tripwire. If we're going to time this perfectly, I'd better start–_

"_Achoo!!_"

…………

"Did that rock just–?"

_IToriTatsuInuHitsuji! _I rushed, _Genjutsu: Imprison!!_

The bandits looked around in confusion, and began pressing their hands against invisible walls around them like mimes. Terrified, they panicked and started shouting out all at once.

"What is this?!"

"Where'd you all go?!"

"Let me out!!"

"Can anyone here me?!"

"What's going on?!"

Kuri had turned, inches from springing the trap. "Oi, what's happened to you?!" he demanded. He formed a sign. "K–!"

He whirled to block Lee's flying Konoha Senpuu, and at the same time three large rocks exploded into their true forms to start taking down the sitting ducks.

_Genjutsu: Imprison, _I thought, sweating in concentration as I held the hand seal. _A simple illusory art, like almost all genjutsu it's most effective against someone who's never been exposed to one or taught to detect one. Even so, sheer numbers…! _The seal throbbed faintly, as if offering its assistance. I harshly declined. _Hurry, you two!_

I chanced a look at Lee and Kozue to glimpse them in heated combat; Lee was on the defensive from the man's swords, which were now mere blurs of flashing silver.

_He's easily pushing Lee-kun! Such speed… This man's no chuunin–!_

"Well, well," a voice said next to me. "Someone thinks she's a clever little…"

I shoved back and to my feet, avoiding the large katana that plunged into the roof. A foot flashed up, and pain exploded across my face.

I bounced once, tried to grab at the roof's edge, slipped and fell to the ground.

* * *

**Lee ****リー**

I winced, holding the cut in my arm. _That was too close. If I had not moved in time…_

"You are good," I conceded, eyes narrowed.

Kozue chuckled. "I'll admit you're the best workout I've had in a while, but I've gotta say I'm disappointed. I was so excited when I thought I was getting ambushed by some tough rogues, but it turns out they're hardly rogue ninja at all. Nothing but a bunch of wet-nosed brats."

"We will see about that. You would not do well to underestimate me, or either of my comrades for that matter," I declared boldly, taking my stance.

"Oh I wouldn't, would I?"

The world flickered, and I found myself bent over a large fist in my abdomen, struggling to breathe.

"That's _funny_," a voice whispered in my ear, "'Cause the way I see it, you're nothing but a funny-looking little kid playing at ninja. You three thought you could take me out, did ya?"

My jaw – pain. More whiteness. Lying on my back.

"Brat, do me a favor, will ya? Don't insult me by calling yourself a missing-nin! It's an embarrassment just to share the category with weaklings like you!"

I felt a pressure on my chest, restricting my breathing.

"Let me tell you something. A _real_ missing-ninja exists to fight and to kill. Those seconds of combat, the blinding speed where anything can happen – that rush, that thrill, is what we _LIVE_ for!!"

_STOMP!!_

"AGH!"

"But a rogue ninja who can't act in an instant, who can't keep up with that rush, never lives very long. The truth is, whenever one missing-nin crosses paths with another he either kills … or gets killed!"

"N-no…" I croaked. "I am not dying h-here… You cannot defeat me…"

"Hate to break it to you, kid, but you're already defeated." He raised his sword. "I guess you could call this the way of the nukenin. So, for the coup de grace…"

"LEE!!" Naruto screamed. I turned my head, and could see Naruto trying to fight his way toward me; but, try as he might, there were too many enemies, and they looked to be tougher than your everyday thugs.

_Hinata's genjutsu… Was it interrupted? What happened to her?_

"Hinata-san…"

"Hm? Worried about your little friends even now? A missing-nin only worries about watching his own back, little man. Those bandits? Nothing but disposable pawns. In this world a "friend" weak enough to get killed doesn't deserve to be your friend."

"N-no…" I whispered.

"But you don't have to worry – I'll see to it personally that you're reunited soon enough!"

"I will not … let it end like this."

The katana plunged down.

And pierced the earth an inch from my left side. A kunai in my right hand had diverted the blade.

"We are not ready to die now!" The kunai slammed deep into his ankle. Roaring an obscenity, he stepped away to release me; I grabbed the hilt of the sword next to me for support, pushed off the ground with my feet, and launched a heavy kick at his face. The blow landed solidly, throwing him several yards.

Back on my feet, I whirled as I pulled the sword from the earth, twirling it in a hand a few times before tossing it to the other hand.

"You will NOT hurt my FRIENDS!!" I growled angrily, testing the katana's weight with a quick practice slash at the air as I assumed the Goken stance, blade in hand. "I will not let you!!"

* * *

**Hinata ****ヒナタ**

"You're kidding me, right?!" Kozue Kuri demanded as I backpedalled, parrying and blocking his sword with a pair of kunai. I crossed the knives above my head to catch a downward, one-handed strike, and grunted in effort as I held the sword off.

"When you think of a missing-nin, you think of someone deadly and menacing!" he taunted, swiftly drawing his second sword with his free hand and stabbing for my unguarded abdomen. I jumped away into an attempted backflip, but my handspring came off unbalanced as I accidentally used chakra in my left hand, while I could not with my right. I twisted awkwardly, managing to land on my feet, and stepped away from a fierce slash with no time to spare as I drew two more kunai knives. With blinding speed the tip of his sword poked through the loop at the end of one of the kunai and flicked it away, before the katana's hilt sharply hacked at the other knife to disarm me.

He'd at some point put away his left hand sword, and his now free hand grabbed my right wrist. His right hand moved across his body, and he flipped the sword around so that his thumb was on the opposite side from the blade. My eyes widened as I thought him prepared to impale me.

"Please – you're not even worth wasting my blade on!" he shouted as he slashed my kunai pouch to spill its contents onto the ground, flipped the katana again as he pulled the sword away, pulled on my captured wrist – and thrust the hilt hard into the side of my ribcage, a few inches below the underarm.

My body shuddered violently and twisted away in reaction as he released me. I flinched as the heel of his foot punched into a point on the top of my foot, and was neither able to retreat nor defend myself against a series of rapid fist jabs to my abdomen and sides.

The blows suddenly became more varied. A hit to the windpipe. A kick in the shin. A fist to my right cheek. A fist to the left. A hand on my back – a crushing knee in the stomach.

Stunned and winded, I was beginning to fold double when Kuri lifted me by the neck of my jacket. I closed my eyes.

_He's too fast … too strong…_

The mark pulsed. For a moment I was actually tempted. The milky eyes of a motionless hare crossed my mind. I shoved the disgusting energy away.

I felt a hand on my chin; he turned my head one way, and then the other, as if in observation. "What a joke," he growled, "So you think you're a rogue ninja? You're a bit too tiny and cute and cuddly to be any kind of ninja, little girl. You should be at home playing with dolls."

He dropped me, but I fell only a moment before a large foot slammed into my midriff.

My back connected with a wall fifteen yards away. My knees thudded to the earth, and I fell boneless to the ground as my senses started to desert me.

"So, they thought they'd hire some little weakling ninja brats to take me out," the missing-nin said as I heard him walking toward me.

_I've got to do something … quick… _I was on the ground, lying half on my right side, my shoulder, with my arms in front of me. From the sound of his voice, he was approaching somewhat from behind me. For a moment I wiggled my fingers, my toes; I could move.

"They won't make that mistake twice," he went on. He was less than ten yards away.

I moved my arms closer to my body; from where he stood, it would probably appear I'd folded them across myself in pain. In actuality, I was removing my hands from his view.

_Mi … Hitsuji … Saru … Ne … Uma … Tora._

"When they see your corpses, they'll know not to pull something pitiful as this again!"

_Now!! _Byakugan blazing, I rolled left to face him, pushing off the ground and unleashing the technique in the same motion.

_Fireball Jutsu!_

Kuri's eyes widened – then he was engulfed in flame.

The fireball wasn't half as powerful as I would have liked, but close range alone allowed it to somewhat damage him, stunning the man if nothing else. Before he could begin to recover, my left hand flashed to his shoulder and jabbed with two fingers. As he gasped at the tenketsu's closing, I struck out again.

"Juuken!" I cried as my palm raced for his chest. His eyes closed as he tried to back away, teeth gritted as he braced himself for pain.

THUD.

……………

My heart plummeted into my stomach.

_That's the…_

…_wrong hand…_

"Stupid brat!" Kuri roared, raising his sword.

My mouth fell open, eyes wettening in terror. I froze up as the blade sliced through the air, falling toward me.

The katana was _gone_ abruptly, and I saw it flipping through the air behind him before it clattered to the ground.

Kuri blinked. "What the f–?!"

"TAKE THIS!!" screamed a blond haired blur as it shot past me, driving its shoulder into the large man's gut.

He landed in front of me as Kuri staggered back. "N-Naruto-kun," I whispered, eyes big as a gentle pinkness dusted over my cheeks.

"Leave it to me!" he growled, glaring at the Iwa rogue as he formed a seal. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

Easily one hundred solid copies appeared – then I watched in confusion as Naruto dropped gracelessly into the dirt. All around shadow clones swayed, staggered, or stumbled before all at once popping out of existence.

"Naruto-kun!" I cried, instantly at his side and helping him to sit up. His face had turned a sickly pale, and his wide eyes were beginning to glaze as he gasped weakly.

"I u-used … t-too much-ch chak-ra…" he rasped out, sweating profusely and trembling at odd intervals. He was going into shock.

"Well, sucks for you," Kuri said, and I looked to see the ruthless rogue towering above us with a smirk, his katana in hand and rising above his head, glinting in sunlight.

The sword flashed down.

I pulled Naruto in close, turned my back, and put my body between my friend and my enemy.

* * *

**Lee ****リー**

I advanced at full speed, swinging the sword at Kozue Kuri before he had a chance to remove the kunai firmly lodged in his ankle. Teeth grinding, he blocked the heavy strike with his own blade. An instant later I was attacking again; his eyes widened the smallest degree as his blade barely diverted the stab in time.

_Faster! I must move still FASTER!! _

I forced him onto the defensive, and he backpedalled clumsily as he blocked a number of rapid-fire attacks, his one visible eye squinting at the pain in his ankle. My heart pounded in the rush, the insane speed of it all. I feinted, and observed his reacting in an instant. Here it was. The battle was mine for the taking.

I slammed at his left with all my strength. I _felt_ his arm shatter under the flat of the blade.

He backed away. I was on him in an instant.

As he blocked a swing from his right, he pushed the blade away as he turned his own sword and stabbed toward me. My empty right hand moved as if to block the incoming sword, and without thinking about it I found the sword leaving my left hand, my right catching the hilt. I thrust hard to the right, deflecting his attack with enough force to thrust his arm across his body, and at the same time my left foot connected with his side.

A grunt of pain was escaping his lips as my foot returned to the ground, and my right shot up to follow through with a tremendous kick to his face. I turned again as my right foot landed, and with blinding speed my left's heel crashed sharply into his right wrist as he threw a desperate stab. The kick smacked his arm high, leaving him wide open and off-balance.

_NOW!_

The moment my foot touched earth, I stepped into a jump. I swept the sword in my hand left, cleanly hacking Kuri's katana free of his weakened grip.

His weapon went flipping through the air.

I returned to the ground, sliding smoothly into a crouch, right arm still extended across my body.

Kozue stared wide eyed after his flying sword – almost appeared to be _reaching_ for it – in disbelief that he'd been disarmed.

I twirled the sword in my hand, so that the blade now pointed opposite of my thumb.

His eyes began to drift toward me.

My left hand clapped onto the end of the hilt as I lunged forward.

Kozue Kuri's katana plunged into the earth.

My katana plunged into Kozue Kuri.

* * *

**Naruto ****ナルト**

"_Uhn–!!_"

A grunt of surprise, of pain, a sharp exhalation – then she went limp against me.

"H-Hinata?"

Had she just…?

She had moved so suddenly, cupped my head in her hand, pulled me in close to cradle me against herself.

_She shielded me … w-with her own body…?_

"Hinata! Say something! Please!"

She didn't respond. I turned my hazy, blurred sight on the one responsible, glowering as hard as I could at Kozue Kuri, only to be met with a surprise.

Standing above us was a human shaped block of stone. The right arm was down, extended across the body; in that hand was a cracked rock shaped like the hilt of a sword, cut off at only an inch of "blade."

"Earth clone…?" I gasped as it crackled and crumbled to the ground.

"_Uuuhh… Itai…_"

"Hinata?" I said, looking at the girl in my arms.

"Stop crying … Naruto-kun… 'm still h-here…" she mumbled weakly, her words a bit slurred. "Just a l-little woozy, is all…"

"Crying? Who?" I said, managing the smallest smile. "So you're a-alright?"

"Something heavy just broke across m-my back … but other than that, I'm g-good…"

"That's a relief…" I said softly as my vision blurred up a bit more. Quickly losing the ability to sit up, I found myself falling back.

I noted that my head was not on the ground, but rather resting on something; a hand, I realized. And a warmness lying across my body … her arm.

_Hinata-chan is very near…_

_I don't think I mind actually… it _is_ pretty cool out here…_

Yes… _maybe_ that was why I felt so comfortable…

My eyes drooped shut.

_So Bushy Brow was fighting the real guy… For the iwa bunshin to revert … he must've taken 'm down… We made it through after all…_

This established, I sighed and finally let unconsciousness claim me.

* * *

**Lee ****リー**

Kozue Kuri, former jounin of Iwagakure, stared for several moments at the katana hilt protruding from his stomach.

"_Kuso…_" he gasped, unblinking in shock. "And here you told me_ … _not to under_ … estimate…_"

The man crashed to his knees, spewing out so much blood that I shuddered. _H… He is not getting up… _I realized, and something, something terribly cold, and hard, and heavy, seemed to drop into my gut.

He chuckled weakly. "Y-you should see the stupid … look on your face… What's the matter, kid? Am I your first?"

I gulped, shivering slightly; I felt very cold. I nodded numbly and tried to find my voice. "H-h-hai."

"Heh… Guess I knew I'd be s-stopped someday … just never thought it w-would be at the hands of some amateur b-brat…" He coughed, the chilling, hacking sound of something tearing apart. "…You took my sword and made it your own, and with my very blade have stained m-my blood and taken my life…"

Glazed eyes blinked slowly, continuing to lose focus as his bloody mouth slowly moved.

"…They're yours now, kid… Don't … embarrass … me…"

With that, Kozue Kuri fell and died.

I stared for a long and noiseless minute. Then I lowered my head in prayer.

* * *

I sighed dejectedly, frowning as I looked at the cross constructed of wood that stood in the ground. The town had refused to have the Iwa missing-nin who'd terrorized them buried in the cemetery where so many of his victims lied.

A cool zephyr washed over the small hill as nightfall continued to approach, rustling leaves in the chestnut tree above and causing the long grass to sway and roll like a sea of gentle green waves.

"Let us be heading back now…" I said quietly to the two. We each sported our own collection of fresh bandages, as we'd been gladly tended to for our fairly minor injuries.

"Lee…" began Naruto, whose arm was draped across my shoulders for support.

"Hm?" I mumbled.

"How many push-ups did you do today?"

"I lost count around four thousand…"

"And how many squat jumps?"

"Two thousand six hundred and–,"

"And how many hours did you spend beating up that tree?"

"Perhaps four…"

"And how long are you planning on sulking?"

There was Naruto, brutally straightforward as ever. "Naruto-kun…" Hinata said quietly.

"I've taken a _life_, Naruto-kun. Kozue Kuri was an awful person. He took advantage of the Leaf crisis and took pleasure in using his abilities to raid a defenseless border town full of civilians. Even so, I have done something horrible… What if those things he said turn out to be true? What if … What if I end up like _him_?"

"You're not the same as him," Naruto said firmly. "He was a coward who killed innocent people for enjoyment, and you killed him to protect us _and_ that entire town."

"That does not make it okay to kill!" I looked down. "And … I am scared. What if it is only a matter of time before we, too, fall to this so-called 'way of the missing-nin' in order to survive? Could _that_ be the price of growing stronger? As we become more powerful … will we forget all about our village, and eventually begin to distrust and fear one another?" My knees were shaking harder than they had in a long time. "You two – y-you are like a younger brother and sister to me now, but can we be sure we will feel the same about each other in the future?! I – I am beginning to wonder if we can handle this!"

"That's about the stupidest thing I've ever heard," was Naruto's blunt reply. "What are you, starting to believe in Neji's destiny talk or something? We could _never_ turn our backs on Konoha. We're three of a kind, after all – I think it's a _pretty_ safe guess to say we'd no sooner turn against each other than we would the village…"

"How can you think that so easily? How is it that you can be so assured of yourself?"

"Because the three of us already have our own nindo. 'Nukenindo?'" He snorted. "We have our own road to follow, and I'd like to follow it without wondering where fate _wants_ us to go. For all I care, fate can go sit down and shut up."

"Naruto…" I said, and then looked again at the grave as we fell silent.

"…Lee, you only did what you knew you had to do," he said eventually, and paused. "…And if you'd done it a second later, th-then…"

I felt a small shiver, and in the corner of my eye saw his head turn slightly toward Hinata. After a timid moment she hesitantly slipped her hand into his, gently caressing it to comfort the shaken boy.

The Hyuuga girl's soft lavender eyes shifted up to me. "I think Naruto-kun is right – you have nothing to be ashamed of. That you're tearing yourself up so much over this should be proof enough that you're nothing like Kozue, and you never will be."

"…I guess you are right," I gave in, seeing there was some truth in the words. We remained silent for several minutes more.

"Hinata-san," I said finally, "will you help Naruto-kun?"

"U-um, s-s-sure," she stuttered softly. She took his arm around her shoulders to support the boy, still weak with chakra exhaustion.

I held the two large katana by the black leather straps on their sheaths; I had intended to leave them at their owner's grave, but…

My hand slowly moved to the hilt of one of them, the fingers closing around it and pulling to expose a few inches of the blade; it shone brilliantly in the light of the setting sun.

_These swords… they have taken many lives, and have no doubt been bathed in the blood of countless innocents… Still…_

I lowered the katana back into its sheath, and in a moment arranged them so that they were strapped in an X across my back.

"Lee-kun…?"

"Lee, what're you doing?"

"…I am…"

_From now on, these blades will not kill unless absolutely necessary. I will learn to wield them effectively, but in my hands they shall no longer take innocent lives._

"I am honoring Kozue Kuri's final words. These blades … belong to me now."

* * *

**ナルト ****/ ****リー ****/ ****ヒナタ ****\ ****ハナビ ****\ ****ネジ**

**End Chapter Five**

**Naruto: **Alright! Now that we've rested and recovered, it's really time to get in gear for some high quality training! Let's go, team! Time to give it everything we've got! But while we're at it … where to now?

**Hinata: **It's… _calling_ me…

**Naruto: **Did you say something, Hinata?

**Hinata: **Huh? N-no, nothing…

**Lee:** Next time, our bond grows still stronger as we continue in our travels! Hinata-san is lured by a mysterious force?! Naruto-kun _reads_ a _book!! _(WHAP!) Ouch!

**Hinata: **W-wait! Who are these shinobi, and what do they want with Naruto-kun?

**Naruto: **Whoever they are … they look deadly.

**Lee: **Next time for real! **Chapter Five: D**–!

**Neji: **(screams and jumps behind Naruto) HELP!

**Naruto: **What the…? Hey, butt out of our preview!

**Neji: **The readers want to kill me!!

**Naruto: **Yeah? (rolls up sleeve) Well not only the readers! We're the last people you should be hiding behind!

**Neji: **Gasp! E-even my own costar?!

**Lee: **(punches his hand) Co-STARS!!

**Hinata: **Hey, come on … c-calm down you guys…

**Hanabi: **Well, now that we've all completely screwed up the preview _and_ the fourth wall… Next time! **Chapter Six: Dawn of the Red Moon**!

Finally broke the pattern! This chapter _is_ shorter than the one before it!

Originally, the battle was going to be a fairly short, basically filler scene against a random missing-nin. But obviously that idea got changed a tad bit…

I hope I had you on edge wondering which was the real missing-nin and which was a clone ;)! Did the frequent use of 'right' and 'left' in Lee's battle get annoying, or did it help visualize what was happening? Or did I totally lose you in that last fight scene?

I know I probably got a lot of people annoyed that I pretty much had Hinata "magically heal" in a few days, but it will be explained how that happened (probably in chapter seven). There have also been a few hints about the curse seal in this chapter, but it'll go more in depth later.

There were several questions about how Neji could give Hinata the curse seal; I hope this chapter clarified that he didn't inflict the seal normally, but instead more like infected her with it. _Why_ he did it will probably also be detailed in chapter seven.

How was the chapter? What was good, what was bad? Please let me know what you thought!

Laters!

:o)Hinata0321:o)


	6. Dawn of the Red Moon

J3F \\\ Journey of the Three Failures

Chapter Six

Hello! It's been a while, but finally here it is! Thanks so much for reading and reviewing!

I read over the last chapter and some others and found tons of mistakes; I read over chapters before I post them, but it seems like every time I only catch mistakes afterward. For example, I called Shikamaru a "former chuunin," except from where the story started he was never a chuunin to begin with, and I called the Land of Rice the Land of Sound, I had one of the seals in Fireball Jutsu wrong, I misspelled Suiton, I forgot Leaf Hurricane and Leaf Whirlwind are two different moves, I mixed up here and hear…

Real quick – funny conversation in Spanish II class!

Guy sitting next to me to get answers off my paper: "So, are you a sophomore, junior…?"

(I start giggling)

"Senior?"

Me: "Freshman."

"You're a freshman?!"

"Yeah, I'm fourteen."

"You're fourteen?!" (Turns around to face his friend) "Hey, she's fourteen!"

The guy's friend: "What?!"

Someone else: "Wait, you're fourteen?!"

And it went on and on. And on. _And, _I had a similar conversation in Geometry. Lol, I am kind of taller than average. Anyways!

**Disclaimer: **Gawsh, lyk know, eye do'nt one _NARUTO _or teh character's. An arnt' u glad i dont tyep liek this?

:D I couldn't resist. I don't own _NARUTO!_

* * *

**Journey of the Three Failures**

**Six: Dawn of the Red Moon**

**Lee ****リー**

"Please, Lee-kun?"

"No, thank you. I am sorry, but I must decline."

"Can't you at l-least try it on?"

"I have a few body suits still; I do not really need a new outfit."

"C'mon, Bushy Brow, are you serious? You've got to admit that thing looks pretty goofy. Enemies won't even take you seriously if they're busy laughing at your green spandex, y'know?"

"Look at who is talking! No matter how much we insist you get rid of it, you are still wearing that impractical orange jacket!"

"Hey! I replaced the pants already – what more can you ask? The jacket, it's a _part_ of me!"

"Precisely, my friend! So you understand how I feel, do you not? Therefore, I will continue wearing my bodysuit and you can keep your jacket!"

"Deal!"

Hinata sighed, dipping her head. "Naruto-kun…"

The young kunoichi was now dressed in a black jacket with sleeves that went to mid-forearm, decorated by three inch thick stripes of a beautiful, moderately light blue color down the sides and the sleeves, as well as lining all the garment's edges except for the neck, which had a blue hood instead; her black pants had similar lines of blue down the sides. A matching blue sash around the waist, which the bottom of the jacket was neatly tucked into – of course along with the bandaging on her forearm and her hitai-ate around her neck – completed the new look. Naruto, on the other hand, wore his famously fluorescent orange jacket and a dark blue pair of pants.

We were in a store in the town we had been staying in; they had apologized for their deceptions, and we had a free stay in the inn for as long as we liked. In the past few days they had rounded up bounties for some of the outlaws and bandits we had captured, and a particularly large one from Iwa for Kuri's hitai-ate – identified by the ninja registration number, which only Iwagakure had record of – and given it to us along with the original reward for helping them.

As far as money went, we were set for a good while.

Hinata frowned sadly.

"Wh– What is wrong?"

"S-so you mean after I s-s-spent this time picking out this n-nice outfit f-for you … you won't even tr-try it on, Lee-k-kun…?"

"Wait! You are not about to–?"

"Look what you did, ya' jerk! You're about to make Hinata-chan cry!"

"I am sorry! I did not intend to hurt your feelings – of course I will try it on!" I said, quickly taking the bundle of folded clothes she held out to me.

As I started toward a changing room, I was certain I heard the slap of a high five, a small giggle, and a whispered "Goal!"

I whirled. Naruto was looking innocently into the distance, and Hinata was staring straight at me, a finger to her lips. She sniffled, eyes moistening dangerously.

"Okay, I am going!"

Thirty minutes later and feeling very suckered, I was leaving the store wearing a long sleeved green sweater and matching pants, the reddish fabric of the hitai-ate around my waist replaced by a black sash of cloth; a long black band tied around my forehead, the ends several inches past the knot and hanging to the center of my back; and the black leather straps across my body now much better fitted to secure the sword sheaths to my back.

Hinata giggled that it was a start.

Naruto chuckled that I almost looked like a ninja now.

I growled very seriously that his jacket was next.

Needless to say, the blond kept his precious orange friend very near him that night, for fear that I would "kill" it while he slept.

* * *

Being a border town that Leaf ninja on patrol duty had at one time frequently passed through would explain why the town had a shinobi store.

"Welcome, young heroes!" the shopkeeper exclaimed, brightening and waving as we entered, and I knew the place had probably been low on business lately and a regular target of Kozue's raids. "How can I help you?"

We all got shinobi boots made for the cold, Hinata's blue and Naruto's and mine black. Though we had originally come solely for shoes, another backpack, and a few supplies, the shopkeeper urged us to check out some of the other collections. At his insistence and strong recommendation, we found ourselves drawn to a book and scroll section. After a few minutes of browsing, I ended up picking out a small booklet on sword care; though I did not intend to use the blades often, I would do well to know how to properly care for them if I did.

As we went to the counter to check out, Hinata placed a small book titled The Sealing Arts: Guide to 700 Basic Seals and Their Uses next to my booklet. I was wondering what it was for when Naruto, oddly quiet and deep in thought, placed on the counter a small scroll on simple wind manipulation exercises and a thick book that he lied cover down. That he got a book at all seemed strange enough; that he had selected a volume that appeared to contain at least five hundred pages was downright unnatural.

"What is your novel about, Naruto-kun?" I asked with concealed curiosity as the shopkeeper began adding the total for the items.

"It's not a novel, it's nonfiction…"

_APOCALYPSE! _my mind screamed, while I simply nodded.

"…And if I tell you, you're just gonna laugh," he finished, facing away.

"I am certain I would not," I assured, wondering what could be embarrassing him. "But you do not have to tell me."

We soon left the shop, and later that day we left the town. We agreed that this detour had taken longer than planned; it was time to get back to training.

* * *

The next day of training was ranked among one of the most peculiar days of training in my life. This status – which definitely said something of whatever day in question for any of the members of my former team – was not attributed to anything I did, but rather to a number of oddities discovered surrounding Naruto and Hinata.

The first discoveries were made while we were jogging in the morning, our first hard run in a while. Normally at around thirty minutes I would set a slower pace for Hinata, and remind her to stop and rest when she needed to. However, she showed no outward sign of beginning to tire, so that I actually forgot to cut the pace until at forty or so minutes Naruto, losing energy and gasping for air, began to cough hoarsely. Five minutes later I asked if he needed to take a break, but he insisted on staying with us. Bewildered, I kept a close eye on the two of them as we continued (concerned for Naruto and not sure whether or not I should be concerned for Hinata), and when we stopped forty minutes later Naruto dropped like a rock, chest heaving and eyes shut as he panted heavily. A worried Hinata sprang to his side – not walked, not trudged, but _sprang_, after an hour and a half long run – and helped him up, offering a water bottle. I eyed her, unnerved. Sweating and panting, yes. Exhausted? Not even close, I realized.

_So, out of nowhere … Hinata-san can suddenly run tirelessly? And, at some point, Naruto-kun randomly lost his stamina?_

After a few minutes spent cooling down, and then a short break, we set up camp by a lake and began working individually. Even as I pummeled a tree with taijutsu combos, I could not help my attention's occasional wandering to the others. I glanced at Naruto to catch him standing doing nothing; in ten seconds he formed a hand seal, grumbling in frustration as he did so, and five clones popped into existence near him. Two of the copies quickly steadied him as he began to sway.

Shaking my head in confusion, I looked to Hinata to see her arms blurring as she pounded a tree trunk with fists and palms, sending splinters of wood chipping off. As she stopped a troubled expression crossed her face, and it dawned on me that perhaps she was as lost as I was. Nevertheless, I turned from the tree to move through taijutsu forms. The next time my gaze strayed to the young kunoichi, she was doing steady push-ups; with each "up" movement her hands pushed momentarily off the ground to quickly clap together. When I had shown that exercise to them a few weeks ago, it had exhausted her quickly. _Since when could she…? _I shook my head again; maybe she was using chakra. Yes… That was it.

It didn't occur to me at the moment that the muscles of her right forearm, at least, were most certainly not being supported by chakra.

_So, Naruto is having problems with a technique he has done thousands of times before, and Hinata-san … I do not even know._

Eventually we stopped for a break, after which I practiced moving with the two katana, easily adjusting to their weight. Naruto and Hinata began working on their ninjutsu arts.

Neither was prepared for the results they were about to get.

* * *

**Naruto ****ナルト**

"Kuso! I don't believe this!" I ran through the seals yet again. "Uma, Tatsu, Tori, Saru, Inu, Hitsuji…!"

I inhaled deeply and carefully charged the air in my lungs with the chakra I'd molded. I could feel the chakra-enriched air begin to leave my lungs, and the – what had that Oto-nin's scroll called it? – that's it, the branchy tubes feeding the air to spiral up the windpipe. The spiraling air began rolling into my mouth, at this point easily manipulated as the chakra mixed with it, and rapidly formed into a tiny, spinning little ball as more air was fed into it and compressed by my chakra. Within a second, I'd emptied the air of my lungs, impossibly, into my mouth.

I reared my head back. _And now – a perfect air bullet!_

I leaned forward, opening my mouth to launch a tightly packed sphere of spiraling wind chakra hurtling at a shadow clone. At least, that's how it should have happened. Standing up straight and flat-footed, the replication didn't even bother blocking as the ball of air dissipated on contact with his chest, knocking him a step back. "No good, boss," he confirmed with a thumbs-down, and vanished.

_Darn it! The last time I used it was… That's right, the jutsu worked just fine when I knocked that earth clone's sword away from Hinata… _But I knew that it was different; then I had _needed_ it to work, and now that I thought about it I _had_ believed I was hugely over … _chakra_-ing the attack as I'd rushed in, and it had turned out just barely normal strength.

Normal for _before_ Kyuubi had cut its power off, that is.

_That's probably it after all… So maybe that small amount of the kitsune's energy that would normally leak into my chakra system … with it suddenly gone, it's thrown my chakra control off and cut down my supply. I still have a lot of chakra, just not as much as I'm used to. That's why all those shadow clones totally drained me. I never realized … I depended on the fox's chakra this much…_

* * *

**Hinata ****ヒナタ**

"Katon: Gôkakyû no Jutsu!"

I spewed a pathetic little spout of flame that rolled ten yards over the lake and dissipated. _…Obviously that weak mess of a fireball I spat at Kozue's clone … wasn't due to weariness alone after all…_

What specifically was wrong with my chakra I wasn't entirely sure. _So, _I thought with a wry smile, _I'll do the best thing you can at a time like this: look inside myself._

"Byakugan!" That, at least, I could do without difficulty. In terms of range, the bloodline had gradually returned to normal in the days following the full moon. Still, I had found that some days I could easily keep it active for longer than I ever had before, and others it would fail abruptly and be extremely difficult to use.

I examined my damaged keirakukei, feeling a small pang at the arm that, from forearm down, was practically dead to the blue energy that flowed through the rest of my body. It was then that I realized what the problem was.

I interlaced my fingers, forming the hand seal Mi. Just as I thought, the chakra I had pulled aside and focused in my chest for the technique was shaped in a strange way for the seal I'd used. I couldn't much put the chakra movement in words, but I could read it. At the first seal, it seemed, the jutsu had already been ruined.

I released the chakra and started over.

_Mi._

The chakra moved in precisely the same incorrect way.

_Hitsuji._

The already poorly shaped energy was twisted into a new form.

_Saru…_

By the time I went through I, Uma, and Tora, the chakra was so utterly contorted, so wholly different from the form it would always be molded into before being unleashed as the fireball technique, I was actually baffled at how I produced any fire at all.

…_It's because of my arm that the seals are unbalanced. The signs aren't working normally because my chakra network is asymmetrical now… _

I looked up, blinking away tears that were trying to form. _No. There IS a way to do this._

I formed the sign of the Snake, watching as the seal molded the chakra incorrectly. _Okay … Normally, Mi would look more like this… _Focusing on the chakra, I shifted it with my will into the correct shape. _So, that means every time I use Mi, I'll have to focus my chakra in this way at the same time… _Easy enough. But…

_Hitsuji… _Problem. I knew what Hitsuji should look like applied to fresh chakra – as in the first seal in a sequence – but what was it supposed to look like on chakra already shaped by Mi? With each seal, the form would only grow in complexity by an exponential degree. That meant simply forming a seal and then shaping it clearly wouldn't be enough; by the time I tried to reshape any but the initial sign in a sequence, the jutsu would no doubt be ruined. Hand seals were essentially tools to help mould the chakra into forms too hugely complex to be shaped by will alone. Often shinobi who used a simple jutsu frequently enough memorized the chakra shape required to a point that they could recreate it and perform the technique without need for its seals, or even through a mixture of will and signs that allowed one to skip the first few signs of a jutsu. But I had by no means been an expert of the fireball technique – and even if I were, shaping the complexity of even a six-seal ninjutsu through manipulation by will alone was next to unheard of.

_So, if I try to use a seal and then shape it to how it should look at that point in the sequence, I'll virtually be doing the same as trying to mold a highly complex chakra form with will alone. That won't work … so…_

"So…" I continued aloud, "So, I need to memorize what each seal does to fresh chakra, and how I need to alter the chakra with my will. If I can practice _exactly_ what I need to do, how I need to correct each seal on fresh, unmolded chakra … then theoretically, I should be able to apply _any_ seal as a simultaneous mixture of its hand sign and simple will, at any step in a sequence!"

Grinning, I got to work analyzing what my unbalanced chakra network now caused each of the six seals required to do to unmolded chakra, figuring out and memorizing how I would have to change it at the same time in order to get the chakra to correct form.

The phrase 'easier said than done' had never been truer.

* * *

"…Huh…?"

"Hey! We didn't think you'd be back so soon!"

"Naruto-kun…?"

The boy next to me was going up in a plume of smoke as my vision came into focus. Not long after two people were beside me.

"You really scared us, Hinata-chan. Try to be more careful, will ya'?" Naruto said with a smile.

"What h-happened?"

"You had been working on your Fireball Jutsu for some time when you suddenly fainted two hours ago. You used too much of your chakra. Anyways, I am just glad you fell backwards and not into the lake."

That sounded right. I hadn't been sure how much time had passed. My Byakugan had been active the entire time. I had been getting tired, but I'd wanted to keep going; I was finally on my way to producing halfway decent fireballs. Then my neck had started aching…

I sat up and whimpered, a hand grasping at the mark.

"Hinata!"

"It's n-nothing," I assured him with a small smile. "I must've slept in a bad p-position, and there's a bit of a crick in my neck, that's all." _No. No, what are you doing? I'm going to have to tell them sometime – and sometime fairly soon, too. Now is as good a time as any–_

"So, do you think you're feeling up for some sparring?" Naruto asked.

I nodded. "Just let me stretch a bit first."

_I will tell them soon. I _will_…_

* * *

**Lee ****リー**

_So, both of my young comrades are experiencing chakra control issues…?_

I stowed this thought away as Hinata and I prepared to really face off for the first time in over two weeks. She assumed her stance. "R-ready when you are!"

"Yosh! Prepare yourself!" I rushed forward and threw the first attack. I went easy on the younger ninja, and as unhappy about this as she surely must have been, I had a feeling she was aware of it and had accepted that I refused to harm her.

After a series of traded blows I put her on the defensive, giving her a challenge and pushing her to find a chance to counterattack. If I spotted any glaring holes in her defense, I would finish it.

The match was soon cut short, however. Defending from her attacks, I jumped onto the lake's surface to retreat and refocus (for I did _have_ chakra, of course, simply lacking the ability to mold it and release it in the form of a jutsu). Hinata followed, leaping to a spot on the lake thirty yards away… and vanishing in a splash of water.

"…Nani?"

After that initial moment of confusion, I raced toward where she'd gone under; the water was far too cold to intentionally hide in for a trick or trap. My fears were confirmed as she surfaced a second later, coughing and sputtering. Her left hand tried a moment to hold onto the water, slipping and shifting with instability before it broke the surface and she fell through again.

At this point I jumped and dived after her. Once I pulled her above the water I handed her to Naruto, who had come running and was waiting on the surface. He helped her up while I got out.

Then I noticed Naruto was shaking oddly, like someone trying to stand on a floor covered with marbles…

"LEE!" he shouted suddenly, shoving Hinata back into my arms before his feet slipped from under him and he went crashing into the freezing water.

"NARUTO!"

He quickly surfaced. "I'm good! I'll s-swim!"

"No you will NOT!" I said, plucking him out and slinging him over my shoulder. It was in this fashion – carrying Naruto over my shoulder and holding Hinata around her waist – that I hurried the shivering younger genin to the shore. In haste I knelt down and unceremoniously dumped Naruto onto the ground before sitting Hinata up.

"H-H-Hinata, are y-you ok-kay?" Naruto managed through chattering teeth.

She nodded slightly, coughing out some water as I firmly hit her on the back a few times. _Her breaking the surface was so unexpected and sudden, she breathed in some water before she could even realize what had happened…_

A few minutes later we were all in dry clothes and huddled together, wrapped in a shared blanket and warming our feet by a fire. Naruto and I sat gratefully on either side of Hinata, who held the sign of the ram; she had been able to quickly warm herself with a jutsu. She explained to Naruto and me how her now asymmetrical keirakukei had unexpectedly thrown off her chakra control.

"B-but it won't be as hard to get by as my hand seal problem. I'll just h-have to relearn tree c-climbing and water walking, until I c-can get the amount of ch-chakra right again," she finished.

I nodded. "Naruto-kun, what about you?" I asked.

"Huh, me...? I haven't practiced my water walking in a while."

I sighed.

As Naruto and I soon began a sparring match, Hinata started working on her tree climbing. When I defeated Naruto in a couple of minutes, I looked to see she was already progressing nicely; she got several meters up the trunk before the bark buckled under her chakra, repelling her from its surface. As she landed in a crouch, Naruto called her over for her turn.

I watched closely as the two battled. Naruto again used one shadow clone – if any – instead of his usual two, and Hinata's dojutsu didn't once awaken. At one point Naruto, forced off balance by Hinata's taijutsu, gritted his teeth in focus; a plume of smoke popped in between them, but no kage bunshin. He smacked aside a palm strike and lunged through the small cloud of smoke, within Hinata's guard, with a fist drawn back.

Hinata was caught by surprise. She closed her eyes, and her fist flashed toward Naruto's face… And then…

"_AH!"_

Naruto … flew.

Quickly at his side, I sat him up. Next to me, Hinata's face was going through a number of colors as she looked at her idol … who she had just knocked at the very least fifteen yards. _So Hinata-san ... doesn't know her own strength ... I _guess_...?_

"Naruto – can you hear me?"

"_Mmshuujshmaagrnnnnn…"_ he drawled with a crooked smile – and went limp.

"…He is unconscious." I opted to state the obvious to my currently petrified friend.

With Hinata's near-drowning experience and Naruto out like a light–

**THUD.**

As I was saying, Naruto and Hinata out like lights – I decided we would cancel sparring for the day.

* * *

**Hinata ****ヒナタ**

_Where … am I?_

A crisp snowflake landed on my nose; it stung a moment and melted away.

"_Is this … a dream?_" The whispered words echoed strangely, the ghostly reiterations chiming eerie and clear.

Snow lied as far as I could see in any direction; which truly wasn't far at all, for a blizzard churned and raged all around me. Oddly enough, I was completely unaffected, as though wrapped in a cozy little bubble that shielded me from the violent snowstorm's icy wrath. I looked into the dark grey sky. I knew I should have felt panicked, but I simply wasn't. Trudging a few steps through foot deep snow, I called out. "_Hello?_" Again the word resonated clearly, to be heard as if spoken three times more.

The wind shifted suddenly, blowing hard from the direction I faced. For a brief few moments I shut my eyes and held my arms out, choking on my breath as icy wind blasted against me and threatened to bowl me over. As it faded I cautiously opened an eye.

A sharp gasp escaped me.

A hazy silhouette was towering before me. The dark figure was shaped like an animal, an impossibly enormous four-legged beast, and swaying lazily behind it (barely visible through the storm) were what appeared to be more than one massive tail.

_I-it's a … a demon… _my mind squeaked. I tried to move. My feet wouldn't budge. Instead I toppled clumsily onto my backside.

My body shook uncontrollably as I stared up at the beast, gaping like a fish as my eyes quickly moistened and spilled over. The monster growled softly, and a hoarse ghost of something lodged halfway between a scream and a squeak arose pathetically from my throat.

I remained frozen as it continued growling.

…_Why doesn't it get it over with? _But then again, something about that sound, a slight pattern or note in it…

…_Laughter?_

I started again as a tremendous yet gentle voice emanated from the beast. "_What a pitiful scrap of a human. I'm almost sorry for dragging you into this mess. Almost…"_

_Scrap… It's talking about me like f-food, _my mind whimpered. "_Wh-wh-wh-wh…" _I cut myself off and forced myself to work my way through a deep breath as it began laughing once more. "_What do y-you want?_"

"_I want to help you … and it looks like you could use all the help you can get._"

Two large eyes lit up on the figure's face, black where whites should be and with piercing blue irises containing a round pupil. Its eyes captured mine, its gaze crushing me like a solid force. In the shortest instant a hundred images flashed through my mind.

I fell onto my back, unblinking and dazed.

"_Come to me. If you agree to help me, I will help you…_"

_What … is … happening?_

A massive shadow rose into the air in the corner of my eye.

"_But this is taking quite an effort, despite the bond we share… Now begone, koinu."_

Lurching toward me, sharp black claws tipping an immense snow white paw rapidly came hurtling into focus.

* * *

I jerked upright, a hand immediately smacking over my mouth as if to catch the yelp that leaped to escape it. I lowered my hand a few deep breaths later, and sat silently for several seconds after I glanced to my still-sleeping friends. I blinked.

"…'Pup?'"

I shook my head and began slipping out of my sleeping bag; I wouldn't be getting any more rest tonight. "What a … s-strange dream," I murmured unconvincingly as I left the tent.

As I walked I sorted through these strange images I somehow remembered; an enormous body of water, a forest, a mountain range… I'd never seen any of these places in my life. Just what could it _mean_?

My eyes narrowed, and I dropped into a push-up position. After a few I began pushing off the ground on the "up" motion, easily clapping my hands together before they came back down – an exercise that used to tire me quickly unless I used chakra. I did twenty, tucked an arm behind my back, and continued with one hand.

I got up and jumped into a one-arm handspring for a backflip, and then went back again, this time springing to my feet from both hands. I rolled to my left and ran through a few evasive moves, and then without a thought took two quick, almost natural feeling strides on all fours. I rolled forward and snatched a rock from the earth, and came out of the roll lashing my arm out. The stone dented a small tree fifteen yards away.

In a second I had cleared the distance and slammed my right fist into the trunk of the stunted tree, barely a foot in diameter, with next to no harm to my knuckles. My left palm flashed in, and then my hands blurred through a dozen rapid strikes, each punch chipping off splinters of wood. I jumped and kicked, and a great deal of splinters broke off even as the strike pushed me back. Landing, I stepped and then whirled as I leapt into a Leaf Hurricane kick, and the trunk crackled audibly under the blow. As my feet lightly met the earth I spun the other way, and then shot in with a Juuken palm. The trunk burst, and the small tree fell.

I was hardly panting.

…_What's happened to me? _I thought, looking at my hand.

And, from the day back when this strangeness had begun, I remembered a pale, nearly snow white hand, tipped with dangerous black claws, an inky black ring encircling the wrist. My cousin's hand.

"Nothing makes sense anymore," I whispered with a dismal shake of my head, continuing on my predawn stroll.

I splashed my face with cold water at a pond. After drying it on my sleeve, I looked into the water's rippling surface. Something caught my eye as the surface stilled; a tiny sliver of curved light. I looked into the sky.

_Waxing crescent – it's just past new moon. That means there's only a bit less than two weeks until…_

My neck throbbed sharply, and as I grasped at the mark I turned my head suddenly to find myself staring wide eyed to the northeast. The wind picked up, tousling my hair and sending little waves scampering across the pond, whistling and howling forebodingly through the trees.

"_Come..._"

I got to my feet, still holding my neck. _That's right… It all started when I received this mark. _I glared into the distance long after the winds had died down.

* * *

**Naruto ****ナルト**

_Crap! _I thought as I prepared to turn the page. _I let my mind wander again. _I backtracked a paragraph, rereading just in case I'd happened to miss something important.

"_NARUTO-KUN! HINATA-SAN!"_

"Wah!" I started and slipped from my perch on a sturdy tree branch. Lee easily caught me, and placed me on my feet as I began swearing. "Bushy Brow, what the heck're you yelling for?! Some people are trying to focus here! It was hard enough getting up there, darn it!"

"Ah, gomen," he said with a sheepish grin, "You see, when I woke up to find the tent empty I kind of panicked. It seems _you_ in particular never want to get up early."

"Guess I can't really blame you there," I admitted. "Hinata mumbled something about nightmares when I asked her. I woke up coughing, then I couldn't get back to sleep with my nose bothering me, so … yeah…" I trailed off and paused, glancing about myself, behind me, at the ground, at Lee–

"GIVE THAT BACK!" I shouted as I lunged at him, arms outstretched. He held out an arm so that his hand clapped against my cheek, effortlessly holding me back; his arm was a good two inches longer than mine, and thus despite my efforts to grab the book my fingers only flailed pointlessly at the air as he held it in front of him, reading the cover.

"You're just gonna laugh, give it back, do you hear me, hand it over, come _on!"_

Lee, in fact, wasn't laughing. Instead his mouth had fallen open, and it gave me the feeling that laughter was soon to come when the disbelief died down. I was wrong again, and found myself crushed in a hug. "How brilliantly youthful of you, Naruto-kun! Brilliant! Way to devote yourself to studying a grand art of such great complexity!"

"Bushy … Brow … _Air_…"

I sucked in a huge breath as he released me, promptly thrusting the thick volume back into my arms. Deciding I was still angry with him, I tucked it under my arm and turned on heel, storming over to the shade of a tree and flopping down again. He walked up and knelt down next to me, grinning broadly as he glanced over the page I opened to. I shot him a look when he began chuckling merrily. "Do you mind? I thought you said you wouldn't laugh."

He smiled. "Naruto-kun, you are being defensive. You really are embarrassed, are you not?" I set my eyes back on the page, carefully scrutinizing a diagram. "There really is no need to be – but I must wonder, what on earth inspired you?"

Holding my spot with a hand, I flipped to the back of the book to consult the glossary. "I can study hard when I feel like it," I grumbled in annoyance. "A few weeks ago, Kyuubi had to cut off our connection so my chakra network could have time to heal. That's why my chakra control is messed up now. You might think it'd be pointless for me to try relearning all my jutsu and chakra control now, because unlike Hinata's my problem is temporary; I'll just have to relearn it all over again as soon as the fox reopens our connection. I don't plan on sitting around doing nothing, though; I'm vulnerable the way I am now, so I'm going to train to get used to this. Not like I care how I look in the eyes of that demon, but I intend to show the stupid fox I can be just as good as I was before, without his help. Still, training too hard might make it take _longer_ for my keirakukei to heal and for this cold to go away. So I'll have a little extra time, and I thought I could try spending it learning something helpful. I picked this 'cause I thought I'd heard the author's name before."

Lee blinked. "You are kidding, right? You should have heard it before – after all, the author is one of the Densetsu no Sannin, Konoha's three great shinobi of legend!"

"The what?"

"...Never mind."

I read for a minute – during which time Lee peered curiously over my shoulder. Finally I marked it with a leaf, snapped the book shut, and rounded on my grinning, pajama-clad friend. "Seriously! You're distracting me!"

"Ah, of course! Gomen!" he said. He looked at me a moment, simply smiling. Just when I was beginning to feel wierded out, I found myself caught in a headlock and my hair being tousled playfully. "Study hard, my friend!" he exclaimed as I protested colorfully.

He released me, and took off before he could be attacked. "Hinata-san!" I heard him calling, "You will not believe it!"

My face was warm; I had started blushing when he ruffled my hair, from the unexpected contact in the form of a fond, brotherly gesture. My expression softened, and I eventually managed a hint of a smile as I looked at the two talking just beyond hearing range. My gaze shifted to Hinata, and my face grew serious once more. She looked toward me and waved timidly as our eyes met, and I waved back before settling down yet again.

_That's right… That battle gone awry – a moment later, and Hinata-chan would have been sliced wide open. She shielded me without a second thought; she would have given her _life_ for me, and what have I ever done for her? She's too good a person to have endured so much pain, looked death in the face so many times already. Next time … I'll protect you, Hinata. _I couldn't train too much, but it didn't matter. It was time I did something beneficial – something useful – for the "team."

Once more I opened Introduction to Medical Ninjutsu and continued reading. I had to say, when I paid attention the stuff could actually be kind of interesting…

* * *

**Lee ****リー**

"That's great," she said as I happily told her of the news. She looked toward Naruto, blushing as she saw him gazing directly at her. She waved bashfully, and he returned the gesture before getting back to his reading. "It really is the last thing I'd expect f-from him; it doesn't s-seem much his style, does it?"

"I thought the same, but after all that is Naruto-kun for you – always full of surprises. He certainly picked well by luck alone. His book is by the legendary Tsunade-sama!"

"Hm," she said, looking back to the book _she_ was reading. Bringing a thumb to her mouth, she shut an eye and nipped her thumb. She held it over the small dish of ink next to her, allowing three drops of her blood to fall into it.

"…What _are_ you doing?" I asked, watching as she stirred the black ink with a brush, and then injected a burst of chakra into it from a finger of her left hand, causing the surface to quake momentarily. In response to my question she dived into a complex explanation as she activated her Byakugan and began very carefully writing on her bare right arm with a brush awkwardly positioned in her left hand, rolling through large words as though they were commonly used in everyday conversation, and thoroughly losing me in a speech that, from what I could gather, had _something_ to do with seals and chakra.

"…Come again…?" I said when she finished in two minutes, and she looked up, surprised, from the arm now decorated with a few kanji and some odd symbols I did not remotely recognize. She blinked, giving me the sense she had forgotten I was there; she really had been in her own world.

"G-gomen," she said, blushing in embarrassment. "I used to research into th-these sorts of arts a lot … in hopes of understanding and someday finding a way to remove a Hyuuga curse s-seal."

Ah, the odd little discoveries went on and on. So Hinata had had a comprehensive background knowledge on seals all this time.

I sat down beside her. "May I take a look?" I asked, and she held out her arm. I studied her work; evenly spaced around her forearm – not far from the first of the dark scars that ran across it – were four kanji for 'chakra,' each framed by a set of a few various little markings. Among some other symbols she'd painted was a fifth 'chakra' kanji on her palm, with a different assortment of neat arrows and lines and other complicated gibberish decorating it. "So … I am guessing that these seals will help you channel chakra to your arm?"

She nodded. "Th-that's the idea." She pointed to one of the symbols on her forearm. "There are a number of t-tenketsu along the chakra lines here. I c-can't channel chakra through my keirakukei lines, but the arm itself isn't so badly damaged. The chakra I channel here should be drawn from the lines through the tenketsu by these seals. Then, it'll h-hopefully travel down my arm, drawn to the seal on my palm from the link I've m-made between the seals, and pass through the palm m-more or less like a normal Juuken strike."

I sprang to my feet. "Truly a genius idea, Hinata-san! Are you ready to give it a try now?"

"Yes," she said, standing as well.

Watching closely in eager anticipation, I stood beside Hinata as she closed her eyes and concentrated. She formed a seal with her left hand and took a long, deep breath. Then she opened her eyes, stepped forward, and with a shout thrust her palm into a tree.

"…Well?"

She sighed, shaking her head. "The ch-chakra moved too slowly past the scars. It didn't even reach my hand until a few seconds after I struck, and instead of p-passing through the chakra just collected on and behind my palm."

"Oh…"

"But it was only a rough t-test. I w-wasn't expecting success on the first try, and–," She paused all of a sudden, and then shifted oddly and blanched. Her left hand flew to grab her arm, the hand of which she had for whatever reason yet to remove from the small tree. She moved slightly again, and then bit her lip.

"What is the matter?" I asked, eyeing the girl's strange behavior and perturbed expression. "What are you doing?"

She mumbled something.

"Pardon?"

"I'm … stuck."

"What do you mean … '_stuck_?'"

"I _mean_ the film of chakra that's collected over my hand just so happens to be the amount that would be used to stick to the tree!" she shouted wide-eyed as she planted a foot on the tree and attempted again to pull away.

"Um … _oh_… Naruto! Help!"

"Okay, d-don't panic!"

"Did you try more chakra? The surface should repel you!"

"Not working! It's j-just building up behind the seal; the amount o-over it isn't changing!"

"Are you sure?"

"Y-yes! I think I could tell! And now my hand hurts!"

"Sorry! Then why not draw the chakra back?"

"I would if I could! I wrote the seals one way!"

"The seals! You can draw more of them going the other way, righ–?"

"What's up, guys?!"

"BAKA!" WHAP! "You have knocked over the ink dish!"

"Nani?!"

"Hinata-san's hand is stuck!"

"How'd you manage to do that?!"

"I'm SCARED!"

"Did you try pulling?"

"Do you not think she would have tried that first?! It is how we have established that she is stuck!"

"And I can't be sure which connection is stronger – my hand to my wrist, or my hand to this tree – and I'm _not_ sure I want to find out!"

"AH! Got it, never mind!"

"So what do we do?!"

"Wait! Both of you, calm d-down!"

Naruto and I fell silent.

"N-Naruto-kun, can you lend me your water b-bottle?"

"Uh… Sure," he said, handing it over – or at least, he prepared to. I grabbed his hand to halt him, and he blushed as I unscrewed the cap first.

Hinata took the bottle in her (no pun intended) free hand. "Stand back; I'll w-wash the seal off, and the chakra should be released."

We did as told, standing back and still as statues as we waited. I gulped nervously, and Naruto grabbed my hand and crossed his fingers. Trembling, Hinata squared her stance and held the bottle over her hand for several moments, and finally tipped it so that the water ran along the bark and trickled down between the tree and her hand.

…_BOOM!_

A sharp crackling of energy, and Hinata slammed into me, knocking me off my feet, and by his grip on my hand Naruto was pulled with us.

"Are you okay?" I asked as she rolled off me, hissing and massaging her hand.

"Hai, but either w-way I th-think I've had enough seal testing for one day…"

Naruto sat up on the other side of me and gasped. "Cool!" We followed his eyes to the tree – or rather, what remained of it. The tree still stood, but the point of contact and a good two feet above and below it had been reduced to crackled columns of wood, split and cracked clear through to the other side of the tree by the blast of chakra. It looked like if the wind blew, it would tip over.

"Hinata-chan, like, you – you _totally_ just _blew up_ a tree!"

We sweatdropped. "It's not what was supposed to h-happen…"

"But, at the very least you know we will have a good laugh about this in the future," I pointed out.

Naruto nodded, crossing his arms and happily declaring, "And it was cool!"

Hinata giggled, her face pink, and I smacked my forehead but still fell back and broke out laughing at the boy's silly, childish grin.

"What? Hey! Come on, guys, what's so funny?!"

* * *

"We are somewhere around here." My finger tapped onto the map. "Still fairly near the Fire-Earth border."

"Hm," Naruto nodded, "So, any ideas for where we head next?"

"A-ano…"

"Did you say something, Hinata?"

She gulped quietly. "Um … c-could I m-maybe ... lead today? I don't know, b-but … I'm getting a feeling we should head this way." She indicated the direction on the map.

I shrugged. "All you had to do was say so. It is not like there is any specific place we must go. But…"

"…B-but…?"

I looked her in the eye. "…Is there anything you need to tell us?"

She froze up, and I knew she was panicking inside. "Wh-what do you m-mean?" she squeaked, voice higher than usual.

"Never mind; forget it." I rolled up the map and stood. "Naruto-kun, do not overexert yourself this time. We will not hold it against you if you require a break."

"Yeah, yeah, I'll be fine."

* * *

"You are absolutely positive you do not need a break?"

"Oh yeah … p-positive … could go … f-for hours … believe … _it!_"

Hinata and I exchanged looks, and I nodded. She said, "Well, it d-doesn't matter either way, Lee-kun … We've just f-finished."

Naruto crumpled to the ground. We rolled the panting boy over, and I helped him sit up. In a moment Hinata held a water bottle to his mouth, and he drank gratefully between gasps for air. "Th-thanks," he managed.

He soon tried to stand up, but his legs wouldn't cooperate. "Kuso… It _hurts!_ My legs were still burning … from yesterday…! Are you sure … it's supposed … to hurt this … much?"

"Yes, Naruto-kun, we are sure – but what did I tell you about overexerting yourself?"

"So you guys … n-_normal_ people … are _always_ this sore after … a jog…? So I guess I'm … just a b-big wimp…"

"That's not true, Naruto-kun!" Hinata said.

"She is right, you are not mentally or physically accustomed to this. It is only natural that it is far more difficult and painful for you now. You said it yourself; you need to work your way back up _slowly_."

Hinata picked up my backpack, which I had put down when Naruto collapsed. "I'll start s-setting up camp."

"I'll help!" Naruto said, but he whimpered as he tried to move. I held him down. "No, you will not. And you are not training today, either."

"Demo–!"

"Shh…" I covered his mouth with a hand.

"Mmbfmmr–!"

"Shh. You are hurt and you know it."

He mumbled in protest again.

"SHH…" I waited until he quieted down. Then I removed my hand and held the water bottle to his lips. "Drink."

* * *

**Hinata ****ヒナタ**

"He's asleep… He said he s-still wanted to spar today, but…"

"I agree," Lee said, "We should allow him to rest. He exhausted himself earlier; it is only understandable that he is tired." Naruto had spent much of the day lying on a blanket and determinedly reading; the book currently served as his pillow. My face warming at the rather adorable sight, I gently removed the book so that he wouldn't drool on the pages, and Lee fetched a blanket for him.

That taken care of, the two of us moved a good distance away to ensure we wouldn't wake him. "Yosh! It is time to pit our skills against each other and see how far we have progressed today!" Lee declared, settling into his stance.

"Lee-kun … about that…" I had begun poking my fingers together – a gesture I noted I hadn't used in a good while.

"What is it, Hinata-san?"

"How … just how easy do you g-go on me?"

He seemed surprised, and not at all happy to be asked this. "I do not hold back very much…" he answered, diverting his gaze.

"Lee-kun … you're lying, even I can t-tell. I've seen you spar with Naruto-kun; it's clear you're more serious against him…"

"Hinata-san–,"

"It's because I'm so weak, you would feel bad actually a-attacking me, wouldn't you? I know you're a nice person, and I a-appreciate the chivalry, but the fact is … y-you'll only be hurting me if you pull your punches. I know my taijutsu was only mediocre before, and now my r-right arm is useless in my style. Aren't you the one who s-said I would need to work even harder now to overcome my d-disadvantage?"

"Well, yes, but…"

"I won't make p-progress if I'm not pushed to get better. I don't h-have a lot of time … and you know as well as I do that I'll need to be stronger than I am now … if I hope to face my cousin without getting myself killed. I guess what I'm s-saying is … as a friend, if you really care about me then you'll come at me with everything you've got!"

"A – are you sure?" he said, giving a frown of uncertainty as I took my stance.

"Hai!"

He nodded, and four things happened in blinding succession.

Lee vanished.

One knee gave out.

The wind was knocked clear out of me.

A fist clipped my chin.

…_What just happened? _I wondered as I hit the ground, holding my stomach. But I knew exactly what had happened. "I kn-knew we … w-were f-f-far ap-part, but…"

"First of all … get up. It is a task ninety-five percent mental; I promise you can."

"H-hai," I sputtered, forcing myself to stand up.

"Second… Hinata-san, I do not think much good can come of this – at least not now. You are simply not at that level yet, and I do not wish to hurt you. I am not aiming to discourage … but did you even _see_ me just now?"

I had seen a blur of movement; I had a feeling that didn't count. "…No, I didn't see you," I admitted. Then I assumed my stance. "But without using the Byakugan, before we go to sleep I will. That's a–,"

"Please do not!" he exclaimed in fear for my wellbeing, waving outstretched arms.

I smirked playfully. "That's a promise."

He sighed, and then managed a smile. "That grin – Naruto-kun is rubbing off on you every day," he remarked, shaking his head. "Alright … we might as well get started then, shall we not? No holding back…?"

"No holding back."

We stopped at one in the morning, both covered in sweat and me covered in bruises. But I had begun to occasionally dodge some of his attacks.

I could anticipate. I had seen him.

* * *

"If I cannot avoid f-four successive attacks today … I'll kick a tree two thousand times!"

Naruto was awake when we had the next such session the following afternoon, and watched curiously. In a minute he protested angrily:

"Bushy Brow, you're hitting too hard!"

"No, he's hitting his hardest. I asked him to."

By the time darkness fell, I had several times dodged or blocked three blows in a row. I rested a minute, and then completed the task I'd assigned myself without complaint.

And the next day, I successfully defended against seven attacks in succession.

Lee, brought to passionate tears, could do nothing more than proclaim with pride, "This … is … YOUTH!"

And the _next_ day, Naruto wanted in.

In the days that followed, we poured our hearts and our souls, our time and energy, into focusing on taijutsu and little else…

* * *

My hands moved in a steady rhythm, fists rapidly striking into the tree. My breath came in short, weary little gasps, but I plowed on, kept going. Ten yards away Naruto was doing the same, and Lee as well did so between us. His tree looked significantly worse for wear.

"Keep it up! Let every strike fall just as your first; do NOT start slowing down now! You said thirty minutes, did you not?! Only five left!"

"Hai!" Naruto and I chorused.

"Do not forget to shout with it! I cannot hear you!"

"Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!"

* * *

"Push yourself, Hinata-san! You are never sure what attack will hit, so whichever one does land it must be sharp enough, fierce enough, to send your enemy reeling!"

"Hai!"

"Faster! Strike with the full blazing ferocity of your YOUTH! I am afraid you will not be hitting me with that level of speed!"

"_Oh–!_"

"And protect your center!"

"H-h-hai!"

He helped me up – and attacked again.

"Do not allow me to break your stance! You are off balance – recover!"

_Smat-SMAT-fwoosh-THUD!_

"You must counterattack!" he said as I quickly stood, "I will leave openings – find them and strike through them!"

_If I can't land one blow by the end of the day … an extra hour of jogging tomorrow!_

The next morning I kept running, in a half mile circle, until I thought my legs would fall off. And two hours later, I was finding my fist meeting Lee's shoulder.

* * *

The three of us struck at three trees, Naruto and I struggling to keep Lee's pace, to match his form, to equal his speed.

"Just a little more! Finish strong! The sweat, the blood, the tears, pain, work – it WILL pay off!"

"HAI!"

"Anyone could keep this pace – Neji, and Sasuke, and all the rest! Push yourselves beyond it, my friends, and through rigorous training you _will_ succeed!"

* * *

_Smat-smat, fwoosh-smat-thud-THUD–_

"_DONOTFALL!"_

**THOP!**

"_Unh!_"

The uppercut lifted me onto my toes. I staggered away, grimaced at the pain in my gut, willed myself to stay on my feet–

"AGAIN!"

POW!

Thinking past the sting in my jaw, I opened my eyes, caught myself with a hand, and sprang off of it and back onto my feet, nearly stumbling but staying up. He observed the stance I'd landed in.

"…Not bad, my young pupil," he said with a hint of a smile. I was panting hard, dirty and sweaty, lightly bleeding in some places and hurting in more – but I smiled back nonetheless.

"Arigatou, Lee-sensei."

* * *

The three of us punched in sync, shouted in sync.

"That is right! You are not tired yet, not now, not ever! No negative thought can enter your mind! If you are able to strike once more, step once more, stand once more – then I guarantee you are able to do so FIFTY times more!"

* * *

"AVOIDTHEFOLLOWUP!"

**THUDD!**

"_Urgk!_"

I refocused in an instant.

My palm met a fist, shoved it away, supported the other arm in blocking a kick to the side.

* * *

The three of us struck in unison, shouted in unison, breathed in unison.

Naruto punched.

Lee punched.

My right was a fist. My left was a palm.

* * *

I'd been forced off balance. I backpedalled, dodging and blocking. He got through my defense. I ground my teeth as a fist flashed in.

It came to sudden halt for a split-second an inch from my chest. Then his arm snapped straight, and I fell back at the impact – quickly executing a neat backwards roll onto my feet.

"How did I knock you down?"

"Because I abandoned my stance. I lost control and allowed you to catch me f-flat footed."

"Correct."

* * *

Four aligned figures were soaked in sweat. They struck as one. Moved as one. Shouted as one. Breathed as one. _Were_ as one.

Lee's fists pummeled a tree in a blur.

My right fist and left palm, alternating just as rapidly.

Naruto, both fists.

A Naruto clone, both palms.

* * *

I failed to avoid a heel dropped sharply in a jumping kick between neck and shoulder. I moved with it to lessen the impact; it still hurt, and I grunted as I quickly rolled forward. Even as I was returning to full height and facing my opponent, a fist slammed into my cheek.

I caught myself on both hands and swiftly sprang back onto my feet, absorbed every detail of what I saw in an instant, slid into my stance in a fluid motion as my feet lightly reached the ground – and shot forward.

Lee had been closing in for a follow up attack. His eyes only had a moment to widen.

_**POW!**_

My fist crashed into his chest dead center, throwing him five yards. He landed on his backside, gasping lightly.

He blinked incredulously.

I blinked incredulously.

"…Wow," he said simply, and smiled.

* * *

"Bushy Brow, what're you crying for?"

Sniffling and sobbing freely, he grabbed us around the shoulders and screamed his answer at the sky, for the whole world to hear and bask in all the glory of its enlightening greatness:

"_YOUTH!_"

"Yeesh, no need to get all emotional."

"B-but … I have a feeling that we've just crammed maybe even a month's worth of progress into a w-week!"

"_Months_," Lee whimpered the correction in an overjoyed squeak. "I could not ask for more devoted students! So BEAUTIFUL!"

Naruto met my gaze, his eyes dancing. He threw an arm around the older boy, and I did the same.

"Well, it is all thanks to you–!"

"–Lee-sensei!"

Another youthful wail of triumphant pride was elicited from the boy.

"Ew – ew, _ew!_ Heck no! Wipe your snot on Hinata's shoulder!"

"Hey!"

* * *

**Naruto ****ナルト**

I took in the crisp, fresh air, and slowly I let it out. A cool, pleasantly salt-scented breeze rolled by, slipping through the forest and breaking over the outcrop of rocks I was waiting on. The view, though it didn't have anything on the sight of the Leaf Village from atop the Hokage stone faces, was one of the most spectacular I'd ever seen; rocky areas, and a ridge of a few small mountains to the east, were hugged by a lush, lightly frosted forest of tall, slim trees. A great distance to the north the trees ended, giving way to a short stretch of beach and the most water I'd seen in a long time. In nine days we'd ventured north of Hi no Kuni, nearing the northern peninsula of the beautiful and little populated land between Rice and Waterfall.

But I wasn't here to kick back and enjoy the view just now, for they were drawing near…

I sprang from the guise of a stone as I launched myself from the side of the rocky outcrop. Lee gasped as in surprise as I reached for the plundered possession.

"Gotcha!"

"NEVER!"

He kicked hard off a tree to the side, changing course to escape my trajectory; I knocked heads with the kage bunshin that had chased him here. I swore, latching my hands onto the tall tree before I fell, and flung myself off in hot pursuit as Lee took off up a rocky trail.

"This is _so_ not cool!"

"I am sorry, but we have already asked nicely! You have forced us to resort to drastic measures!"

"Drastic mea–?! Bushy Brow, if you so much as tear it, I swear–!"

"Tear it, you say?" he called back laughingly as he reached an edge and hurled the bright orange article out into the open air. He leapt after if, smoothly unsheathing a katana and moving through a sharp yet graceful spin as the wind whisked it back toward him.

Hands flashing through seals, I had jumped to a higher point on the sloped cliff side, and after running a few steps shot forward again in a chakra-powered leap for a better angle.

_Air Bullet!_

The burst of compacted wind smacked the jacket away, and Lee slashed at empty air.

"_Thank-_you!" chirped a shadow clone as it popped into existence above the jacket to snatch it away. I stuck out my tongue as I flew past Lee, and the three of us plunged into the trees below, the clone and I a nice distance from him.

A memory sparked into my mind as we fled: _'Someone just replaced with me!'_

_So you're in on it too, huh? _"This way!" I called, jumping between and swinging my way through the trunks of slim trees that lacked the abundance of level, sturdy branches we were so accustomed to. "Hurry up … _Hinata!_" I shouted, abruptly turning and tackling the clone as it drew level.

In a burst of smoke the henge was released, and an odd feeling took hold of me. Caught unprepared, I was replaced with before I could block the jutsu, and grunted as my back hit a tree trunk.

"S-sorry!" she said with a smile, cheeks glowing as she pushed away, and she moved for the ground in a controlled drop with the object of the chase still in hand. I grabbed a branch, and just swung there a moment, fuming.

"Grr… Two against one!" I complained, swinging myself forward and dropping down after her.

"For a good cause!" she defended sheepishly as she grabbed a branch, skillfully maneuvering from the path of a flying kick. We moved in blurs as we shot between a collection of trees on our way to the ground, one attacking, the other defending with such grace one could easily forget about her handicap.

Grasping a somewhat sturdy branch, I swung forward on a fall's momentum to put both feet in her midsection. She activated her bloodline as she flew back, and held onto a tree behind her with her feet and left arm as I shot toward her. She held out my treasure in front of her.

"Surrendering? About time–!"

In a flash she spun herself around to the other side of the tree. Baffled by the instant disappearance, I crashed into the trunk.

She hit the ground running, and I tried to protest.

"Cheat–!"

"Shinobi art of deception!"

I followed, hands moving into a seal. Just as she glanced back I cast the technique, causing a shadow clone to swiftly slide-kick at her feet and vanish. I jumped forward as she tripped.

"Lee-kun!" she called, throwing the target. A green blur shot in to scoop it up as I pinned Hinata down.

"You people are CRAZY!" I screamed as I got up, forming three seals in frustration. "_Bunshin_ no Jutsu!"

Hundreds of illusory copies all holding a certain illusory object filled the area, and in that opportune moment of confusion two kage bunshin popped up behind Lee, one shoving him over and the other swiftly snagging the genuine article of clothing.

It handed it to me as bunshin – and ten kage bunshin – ran about in disarray, but as soon as I'd taken one step to make a break for it another shadow clone raced by in the opposite direction, yanked it from my grasp, and launched itself away with a great burst of chakra. The 'clone' became Hinata, and she looked back to flash _my own grin_ at me before she fled into the treetops.

My face heated in humiliation. I held out an arm. "Guys!"

A kage bunshin grabbed my wrist, and a second its wrist, and a third the second's wrist in both hands. The one at the end whirled with a shout of effort, and after a circle I was flung to the treetops at great speed. I altered my course slightly with light pushes and taps against tree trunks I passed as I shot after Hinata.

Apparently she saw me coming, as her arm flashed out to hook a particularly thin tree so that she was swung in a circle around it. I crossed my arms to catch a foot that would have otherwise quite painfully contacted my chest; shifting and pulling by her ankle, I flipped myself into some wild semblance of an axe kick. She narrowly blocked the strike at her shoulder with an arm, and then pushed backwards off the tree and hurled the prize I sought to the ground.

"Got it!" Lee declared.

"Give me a break here!" I growled as Hinata and I landed on different trees. I created two shadow clones, and Hinata watched and tried to keep track of me as we jumped rapidly between two close-standing trees for a few seconds. All at once the clones shot toward her, and I raced after Lee on the ground.

_I'm ending this! Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!_

At the same time I flung a kunai into the air. A clone briefly popped into the air above Lee, snagged and threw the kunai, and vanished. Lee looked up in bewilderment as a kunai plunged into the ground before him – and I leaped forward in the first thing that came to mind.

"DYNAMICENTRY!"

BAM!

Lee was comically thrown off his feet at a flying kick in the upper back – but his arm swept up, sending the jacket flying forward.

I left the ground, arms outstretched, smiling triumphantly. There it was, right in front of me, hovering momentarily in a breeze. "I told you, didn't I? You're not about to do anything to my–!"

My orange jacket was engulfed in a mighty blaze of flame that erupted from the treeline and billowed out with a hellish glow as it slammed angrily into the earth.

I stared for several seconds at where the jacket had been even as Hinata promptly followed after the fire blast, landing lightly in the open and releasing the Tora seal to wipe her forehead with a soft sigh and a contented smile. I fell to my knees, gawking at the ashes. Lee waved a hand in front of my face.

"…Naruto-kun?"

"Naruto-kun, are y-you okay?"

"You … killed … the jacket…"

"We have wanted to for a while."

"That was _cruel_."

"It had to be done."

"You _enjoyed_ it."

"Yes we did."

* * *

**Hinata ****ヒナタ**

"Really, g-guys … where are w-we going?" I inquired as we travelled up a wide stretch of trail.

"Up a mountain. _Duh_," Naruto said with a playful twinkle in his eye, his smile easily coloring my cheeks. The boy now wore dark blue pants and a matching hooded sweater under a warm, sleeveless orange vest. A slightly (but intentionally) sloppy, spiraling line of red adorned the center of his chest, below the neck of his orange shirt, and a similar spiral decorated the back of the vest. The outfit had been 'found mysteriously waiting' in our backpack.

"That's not what I meant… What a-are we doing? Why are we hiking all the way up here?" I jumped, and a leg swept beneath me; while I was still in the air a foot hit my upper back, throwing me to the ground. I was on my feet again in a swift motion, and held my stance a second longer.

"Good," Lee complimented with a nod as we continued, "And for your question – that is a surprise, Hinata-san! I am afraid you will just have to wait and see!"

"Come on!" Naruto called from up ahead, "We're almost there!" He vanished around a turn in the path, and Lee and I followed. The trail came out onto a rocky ledge – and what I saw took my breath away.

"It's … beautiful," I whispered, gazing out at the valley snugly blanketed in frosted trees, the mountains, the river that ran off into a now very near sea extending into a horizon that the sun was soon to begin sinking behind.

My neck throbbed, sending an unpleasant chill rolling down my spine. I had seen this place … in a dream. _It's close. Across h-here – across the w-water and th-through the mountains and–_

"What do you think? One heck of a view, isn't it?" Naruto said with a smile. "I came up here earlier, but it definitely looks even cooler now. But…"

"B-but…?"

"But," Lee picked up, "We are not here for sightseeing alone."

"Huh?" I asked.

Naruto was grinning. "We're getting rid of that stutter. And we're starting today."

"Wh-what do you mean?"

"Just that, Hinata-san; if you are not confident enough to speak clearly, what do you believe enemy shinobi will think of you? It is not just in battle, either. If you ever want people to respect you and be able to have faith in you, then the first step is having faith in yourself!"

"O-okay then … so how do I do that?"

"You must first answer a simple question, and that is… Who are you?"

"Who … am I?"

Lee nodded.

I lowered my head. "W-well… I am–,"

"Do not tell us – tell the world!" Lee shouted enthusiastically, pointing off into the distance as his voice echoed momentarily.

I poked my fingers together, staring at my feet. The very thought of shouting out was awkward to me, and the way he worded it – tell the world? – the vast valley, beautiful moments before, was now fearsome, the massive emptiness of the open air intimidating. Despite this aversion I possessed, however, I felt I had to try… "Can y-you go first?"

"We're not the ones who really need to answer; we're pretty sure of ourselves and who we are already, don't you think?"

"He is right; you must answer on your own. You will not benefit by trying to copy one of us. I promise though, answering it will make you a stronger person!"

"Hmm…"

Naruto's hand clapped onto my shoulder. "Come on, Hinata! We're the only ones here to hear it. Loud and proud!"

"I … I am…"

"What? I can't hear you."

"I-I–,"

"No. Concentrate."

"I … am – I–,"

"Don't concentrate too hard."

"I a-am–,"

"Again."

"Believe in yourself!"

"I am H-H–,"

"Start over."

"I-I-I–,"

"Take a deep breath and just go for it! More than anyone else, you _know_ exactly who you are."

"I am…"

I lowered my head. I slowly breathed in, and then slowly breathed out. And then I said who I was.

Naruto grinned. "Who are you?"

Very carefully, I said it once more.

"Come again? I didn't quite catch–,"

"I am Hyuuga Hinata."

Naruto walked up next to me. "Look me in the eye and say it."

I met his gaze, and forced the words out. "I am Hyuuga Hinata."

Smirking, he said one word. "Louder."

"I am Hyuuga Hinata."

"Put your heart into it!"

"I am Hyuuga Hinata!"

"More! Let me _know_ you know who you are!"

"I am Hyuuga Hinata!" I screamed back in his face.

"Now tell the _world!_" he ordered, turning and pointing at the sunset.

"I am _Hyuuga Hinata!_" I yelled into the distance, thrusting my arms down.

"NOW!" Lee barked, "With all the passion of your youth–!"

"–Make sure the world knows and _never_ forgets!"

"_I AM HYUUGA HINATA!_" The declaration boomed into the open air with power, _daring_ anything and everything, the immense vastness of the world to challenge it. "_HEIRESS OF THE HYUUGA CLAN, KUNOICHI OF KONOHAGAKURE NO SATO, FOLLOWER OF MY OWN NINJA WAY! I AM HYUUGA HINATA, and – AND I WILL BE STRONG!_"

"_YOSH!_" Lee bellowed, and threw a punch at the air even as my shouts echoed. "I AM _ROCK_ _LEE_, THE _HANDSOME_ GREEN BEAST OF THE HIDDEN LEAF VILLAGE, AND THROUGH THE _UNSTOPPABLE_ POWER OF MY YOUTH I _WILL_ BE _STRONG_!"

"AND I, UZUMAKI NARUTO, KONOHA'S FUTURE HOKAGE, _WILL_ BE STRONG! I'LL PROTECT MY FRIENDS TO THE END, NO MATTER WHAT IT TAKES! LISTEN UP, WORLD! WE'LL KEEP GOING NO MATTER _WHAT_ YOU THROW AT US, YA' HEAR?! HIT US WITH YOUR BEST SHOT, _DESTINY_, AND WE'LL JUST GET UP _TWICE_ AS STRONG AS WHEN WE WENT DOWN! _NOTHING'S_ GONNA STOP US, 'CAUSE WE ARE THREE DETERMINED FAILURES … WITH SOMETHING TO PROVE … TO THE _WORLD!_"

* * *

**Naruto ****ナルト**

"Man that felt good," I sighed with a smile as we sat together on the ledge, watching the sun set on the sea horizon.

"I do not think I have ever heard Hinata-san talk so loud," Lee teased.

I snorted. "I don't know about you, but I've never seen her talk half as loud," I said, and Hinata giggled quietly. I lied back with a long yawn. "I guess we'd better start making camp soon; I'm starting to nod off already… Huh?" I looked behind me a second, and then rolled over onto my belly for a better look. "Hey…!" I said, getting up and jogging over to the cluster of plants growing along the base of the cliff behind the ledge.

"What are we looking at…?" Lee asked as the two walked up. "Edible plants?"

"Medicinal herbs," Hinata said in recognition.

"I was right then!" I said proudly, quickly retrieving my book from the backpack. Kneeling down, I flipped through pages. "I thought I saw pictures of some of these in this section I read yesterday. Yeah – like this one's used for…"

Hinata knelt beside me, gentle hands expertly sifting through the herbs as she examined them. "I should be able to make some ointment with these…" She carefully picked out a few plants, being certain to get the roots. Glancing at the book as a guide, I asked her a few times whether a certain herb or another would be useful, and we chatted for another minute about the herbs.

"…And these are edible – just watch out for those flowers next to them. It's aconite, a very poisonous…"

I looked up at her as her voice slowed and finally faded out. "Hinata-chan…? You okay?" Unblinking, she didn't respond. Rather she simply reached her hand slowly toward the flowers she'd called aconite, mouth hanging open very slightly and a troubled but intense curiosity on her face. I watched in concerned puzzlement as her hand inched further at a crawl, the girl taking tiny, shuddering breaths through her mouth. Her hand was a centimeter away from the flower…

A fierce and terrible noise slashed through the air and met my ears, a sharp and vicious growl, and I jumped in surprise and fear, and Hinata had vanished.

I sat dumbfounded as I saw her knelt down ten yards away, almost defensively cradling her hand close, with a look of distraught fear containing a trace of anger plastered on her stark white face as she glared terrified at the aconite, teeth bared in a menacing snarl. And her _eyes_…

"What the–?! What is it, what's wrong?!"

She looked a moment to me, confused and startled, and grimaced as a mix of emotions flitted across her face before she turned away, a hand quickly covering her nose. "N-n-nothing!"

"Hinata – your eyes, they were just–?!"

"No they weren't!" she screeched without facing me. She reached across herself, clasping at her shoulders, and lowered her head as she tried with limited success to breathe deeply.

"Hinata-san…" Lee cautiously approached her, and took her by the shoulder to gently turn her around. Her eyes were normal again.

"Stay _baaaaccckk!_" she screamed in hysterics, utterly terrified, and her hand met his wrist with a sharp smack. Their eyes remained locked as she gasped rapidly. "G-g-get _away!"_

Lee slowly obeyed with a worried frown, backing away a few steps.

"Hinata…" I said uneasily, "Are you … okay?"

"_Ye_– No, n-_no_, I'm n-not okay…" she murmured slowly with a shake of her head, unfocused eyes spilling over with tears. "I n-need t-t-to … t-tell you something … it can't wait any m-more … just g-give me a f-few m-minutes…"

Lee and I nodded. Trembling violently, Hinata turned, stiffly walked a few steps, sat down, wrapped her arms around her knees, and quietly, miserably cried.

_Sh-she – she's scared out of her wits. But of what? Just what is going on…?_

* * *

**Hinata ****ヒナタ**

"So, um … Are you feeling better?" Naruto asked hesitantly. When I'd finished collecting myself we'd descended the mountain, trekked a few minutes through the valley to a grassy hill, set up camp, lied awake several minutes under the stars – all without a word between us.

"Yes," I answered. Determined not to let the awkward silence drag on, to let it seize my chance to come clean, I added in a moment, "I guess… I guess I have a few things to explain…"

Now, where should I begin? Naturally I went for the beginning of it all, from the moment I had been separated from them. The entire traumatizing, agonizing experience remarkably fresh in my mind, I gazed at the stars above as I spoke with surprising ease of what I had said, of what Neji had said, of all the horrible details of our battle, of Neji's seemingly eroding sanity, of the cruel abuse I'd taken, omitting nothing. At some points my voice held a hint of shame or bitterness, at others it was purely awkward, but I continued nonetheless.

Lee remained silent throughout the account. Certain he hadn't fallen asleep, I wondered what he could be thinking.

And several times Naruto angrily cut in, unable to bear what he was hearing. Each time I withstood the openly furious, secretly horrified outburst, and then closed my eyes and answered quietly, monotonously:

"Naruto-kun, I wasn't finished speaking. Please try not to interrupt."

Unnerved, he would fall silent.

_I know it's painful for you both to hear as well. Just bear with me…_

And finally I was telling of my falling unconscious at that crippling heel to the stomach; my waking up in time to hear Neji's declaring the name of a very formidable-sounding technique indeed; of my activating the Hyuuga seal before he could do Lee great harm; and finally I began omitting certain details as I told of what followed, Neji's crying out like a small child in agony, my attempts to comfort him (I skipped clear over the conversation that followed. Even if he had been delirious, that was between Neji and me.), the shared despair of imminent death. All the way up to the bite…

"And later, after we'd all gone to sleep … I woke up in the middle of the night, and for a reason I couldn't tell I started running from camp as fast as I could. Something _happened_ to me, and it happened because of the mark and the full moon. I lost my senses and … woke up c-covered in blood and surrounded by destruction. Blood was … on my clothes, even in my m-mouth, and I was sickened at how … how good it sm-smelled. I had k-killed a hare, and probably much more, but I was so scared I just threw up and ran away…

"And the full moon is near again now; I can sense it. Tomorrow night, I – I think it'll happen again. But y-you see, two weeks ago, I had a dream…" I went on to explain. "That's why I've been heading north all this time, leading us here. Whatever it is, it's waiting in the forbidden lands across the sea, in the place they call th-the – The Lands of the Demons." I gulped; I was feeling sick to my stomach now. "It … it might b-be dangerous, but I have to go. Earlier some of the mark's energy spilled into my system, and … and it s-started to activate, and f-for a moment I – I caught a whiff of – of your b-_blood_," I squeaked the word, shuddering at the thought. "I was terrified, you see now – not of you, but _for_ you. I was scared I might have lost control, and that before I even knew what had happened, I could h-have…"

I sniffled quietly. "That's why I have to go to the Land of Demons – alone – to see that m-monster… Whatever it is, I think it can help me c-control this thing…"

_Have I estranged myself from them? I couldn't even blame them, not after all I've just revealed. 'So I'm fighting to save the life of a guy who would gladly tear me limb from limb, and I've become some sort of monster and lose my mind on the night of the full moon and kill defenseless little animals for the heck of killing, oh and by the way I've kind of been keeping it a secret where I've been heading all this time, but–,'_

"First of all…" Naruto began, "I don't know about Bushy Brow, but I'm insulted. You honestly think we'd just tell you 'good luck' and send off you to the Domain of Demons alone? What kind of cowards do you think we are?! Some cruddy "friends" we'd be…"

I almost wished he would scold me, be angry – I felt I _deserved_ it. His response caught me off guard. "Y… You're not at all _disturbed_ b-by any of this?! There's something _wrong_ with me–!"

"No, you have a burden now – a curse. There's a _difference_," he said sternly, "and don't you ever let yourself forget it."

I gasped as I understood just where he was coming from. After all, he'd had a curse for far longer than I had.

"If you want to control this and you think that demon'll help you do it, then we're going to find him and see what he has to say."

"Of course," Lee agreed. "You hope to meet the beast before the full moon arrives, right? Then we will set out first thing tomorrow morning.

I sighed, but I couldn't help but smile. "There's no point in trying to convince you not to come, is there?"

"And miss out on an adventure in a legendary land? No thanks!" Naruto said with a snort.

A feeble laugh faded out awkwardly. I gave a quiet sigh as I stared up at the multitude of white specks glittering in the sky above.

"But you're still uneasy, Naruto-kun. And I've already noticed; after all those interruptions before…" I paused, biting my lip. "…You haven't said anything about Neji-nii-san."

"…Hmph," he made a sound, and very quietly said, "I'm not sure what _to_ say about _him_."

…_He's angry…_

We fell back into silence, each lost in the stars and in our own thoughts. And then, finally:

"I don't think you should go after him."

_After _him. After, as in into the condemned depths of Darkness where he was to be found.

"I have to … and I've already decided I will," I said, turning onto my side to face him. I started; his blue eyes were pointing straight at me, and for how long I could not ascertain.

His face remained unreadable as his hand, at first hesitantly, moved to gently brush my cheek. His touch sent a thrilled chill through my body, sent my heart pounding in giddy terror as my face flushed. What was he doing? Then I understood – the three thin, jagged pale grey lines, the claw scars on my face.

"Neji did this, didn't he…?" he asked softly.

Transfixed by his eyes, I could only nod dumbly. A nervous shiver escaped me, and his hand flinched away as he misread it for a reaction to discomfort. Of the things I felt right now, uncomfortable was not one of them.

Naruto sighed. "Hinata…" He seemed to waver a moment on exactly where or how to start. "You _offered_ to let him beat you to death."

Pain filled his eyes and wrenched my heart, but I could not divert my gaze. "That was before I knew everything, before–,"

"Before you found out his need to kill you could keep him alive? Because as long as you live, he refuses to die – Right?"

I bit my lip again, wanting desperately to look away, to say something. I couldn't.

"Hinata, what does your life _mean_ to you?" he asked in a disbelieving tone. "Do you think that guy's life is worth more than yours?"

"N-no!" And I truly didn't feel that way at all.

"Would you give up your life for him?"

"I – I…"

"H-Hinata…?!"

I found myself biting my lip yet again.

"Answer me!" he demanded, "Would you give your life for him?!"

"Yes!" I cried, "I would, okay! Without a second thought!"

"What are you, crazy?!" he said, and I winced as the scolding words, from him, hit harder than he intended. "Maybe this _Neji_ creep doesn't fear death, but you're different from him, Hinata. Unlike him, you have precious people who you mean the world to. Whether you're prepared to throw your life away for this guy or not, _we_ won't let you."

My eyes narrowed. "You're wrong about Neji-nii-san. He means the world to someone, too."

His mouth opened, and then closed with a sigh.

"I can't let _him_ die, either."

"Hinata – I just don't understand it! Why does he mean so much to you, when you're nothing – no, less than nothing to him?!"

"Because … because at one time…" I looked into the sky.

* * *

_Two sleepy young children, lying next to each other, gazing at a starry sky._

"_And Tou-san says that when we're older, I'll need to protect you, Hina-chan. It'll be easy! Just wait, I'm gonna be an awesome ninja someday!"_

"_I will too, Nii-chan! Chichi-ue said I'm starting training soon, on my birthday!"_

"_Oh yeah? Well you won't be as awesome as me! I'll be the best, and someday I'll be big and strong like Tou-san!"_

* * *

"At one time … things were different…"

* * *

_A tiny young girl, waiting desperately for her Nii-chan to return. Terrified, confused by the previous night's events._

_The door sliding open, the boy coming out. Pale and sickly skin, empty white eyes red with recent tears._

"_Neji-nii?" The girl, worried. Something is wrong._

_The boy looks up, trembling, teeth grinding. A strange look in his eyes as he holds her gaze._

"_It's your fault!" he cries, running off overcome by tears._

"_Neji-nii – wait!"_

* * *

And I knew only too well where things had gone from there.

"I want things … to be _right_ again. No matter how hard I've tried, I can't let go of the past."

"It doesn't seem like _Neji_ is having too much trouble letting go of the good old days."

"You're right, he has tried to put the past behind him, and I almost thought he had. But…"

–"_Imouto-chan, I'm scared!"–_

–"_I thought y-y-you'd be m-mad at me…"–_

–"_You d-don't hate me, Hina-chan?"–_

"But _that_ Neji-nii-san _is_ still alive somewhere – just lost under hatred and rage. He can't forget it either, no matter how hard he tries or how much he hates me. Deep down in some part of him, he remembers, too. He _remembers_ … and that means he _can_ be brought back."

"And you'd risk your life to bring him back."

"Readily."

"Hinata, listen to yourself here! Neji doesn't care about his own life, and now it sounds like you hardly care about yours, either! You can't do this to yourself!"

"Naruto-kun…"

"If _Neji_ wants to go down this road, he's not dragging you along with him – you don't deserve it and that teme's not worth it! As long as I'm breathing, _I won't let him_."

"Naruto, you don't understand! And you have no right to judge my cousin!"

He was silenced a moment. Calming down, he spoke in a much softer tone than before. "So... So I don't know everything about you and your cousin ... but I _can_ tell that you believe in him. And … and I _want_ to trust in your judgment, I do – but I'm afraid. I'm terrified that _this_ Neji … he might not be the Neji you knew, might already be too far gone. If you go after him, he might end up breaking you even more. And if he does … he'll probably enjoy it. I wouldn't say that type of a person deserves to be saved."

I gave a dry laugh. "It's funny – it kind of sounds like you're telling me to give up because it'll be hard."

"This is different, and you know it!" he returned. "Why is it that of all the challenges you've faced so far, you just have to _sprint_ frickin' _headfirst_ into this one?!"

"Because if I do, it might just work."

"Except _this_ obstacle is a brick wall. And when you hit it, you _might _just break your neck."

I was fighting tears; I felt betrayed. With my friends by my side, I was confident in charging into the fabled and forbidden Domain of Demons, but facing my cousin... I _was_ going after him, but still... If _Naruto_ didn't believe I could succeed here…

We angrily stared each other down.

"Naruto-kun, do not force her to make a decision. You have more sway over Hinata-san than you know."

We'd quite forgotten about Lee, who I realized had been very awake the entire time.

"Wh-what?" Naruto said, and I shook my head, turning over to look at the stars.

"Neji-nii-san and I will meet again. Call it destiny if you want, but we will duel for the Hyuuga Clan. And beneath that, he will fight to kill me as I fight to save him."

"Hinata…"

"And listen to me, Naruto-kun. When the day comes, it will be my battle – mine alone. However things turn out, you will not interfere. Promise me!"

"…Sorry, Hinata, but that's something I just can't promise. If he tries to take things too far, I _will_ step in."

Before I could respond he had rolled over to face the other way, pulling his blanket up to his shoulders.

"I have faith in you, but all the same…" He was silent for a minute, and I assumed he'd fallen asleep.

"I've seen you walk the edge of death ... way too many times as is."

* * *

**Neji ****ネジ**

_No tracking teams to be sent after nukenin Uzumaki Naruto (012607), Hyuuga Hinata (012612), or Rock Lee (012561). Traveling together and strong possibility of remaining loyalty to Konoha. However, all three of genin level and minimal threat._

_Also, survival of the above mentioned nukenin, previously assumed dead, not to be known to the village. Would significantly boost the morale of many key figures of the New Konoha resistance effort._

I set the pen down as I finished reading over it. These … circumstances that I'd requested be applied to the trash had been in effect since three weeks ago; consequently, no one aside from myself and the other four, Orochimaru-sama, Kabuto, and a few more of the Godaime's most highly ranked and trusted Oto-nin knew that the three had been confirmed alive. Still, the Hokage had asked that I provide an actual written report to have on record.

The three were no threat, after all, and it would be _rather_ inopportune if they were killed off by hunter-nin.

Because she … was _mine_.

_Hmm… It's a shame I missed that opportunity, but that's how Destiny has written it. Besides … I have a feeling Destiny will draw us together again in the near future. In fact, it may be for the better – a year's worth of naïve struggle and effort is all the more to bring crashing down around her in all its devastating futility. I need not seek her out; she will come to take back her name. She will challenge me for the clan, and I will fight her … and __**end**__ her. Yes… _That_ is what Destiny holds… _

* * *

**Hinata ****ヒナタ**

"Where's Lee-kun?! I thought we were leaving first thing in the morning!"

Naruto turned a page, looking thoroughly unconcerned. No tension lingered in the air; by the terms of some unspoken agreement between us, the _touchier_ of the two issues covered the night past was not to be spoken of again for some time. "We left about an hour ago for that little village we went through yesterday. We should be back any minute now."

"Oh, this is a disaster!" I squeaked, embracing myself and pacing nervously. My voice grew higher and higher as I continued, "I overslept, and we don't even know how much ground we need to cover today, and this stupid seal is _itching_, and the full moon is tonight, and, and… '_We…?_'"

He shut the book. "Take it easy, Hinata-chan! _Breathe_. Anyways, I'm supposed to tell when you're awake. Don't go anywhere!" he said with a wink.

POOF.

My mouth dropped open as I found myself alone. With renewed vigor I continued pacing.

They arrived five or so minutes later, by which time I'd paced a line of recently frosty grass flat.

"Calm down, Hinata-san! I know you are worried, but you must not panic. The sun has not yet risen; the day is young still. We can set out soon, but before we do surely you can spare at most ten minutes to celebrate?"

"Celebrate…?"

Smiling, they revealed what they'd been concealing behind their backs: Naruto a small box, and Lee something covered in paper wrapping.

"Happy birthday, Hinata-san/-chan!"

My mouth formed a small "o". I was thirteen.

The next ten minutes found myself blushing furiously as I happily listened to their less-than-wonderful singing; Naruto cutting – with a kunai he promised was clean – a small cake, four inches in diameter, into three pieces; and finally, embarrassedly saying they didn't have to, my removing the wrapping paper from a simple leather vambrace. Naruto said it was Lee's idea, and as I tried it on the older boy explained his observation that I often flinched a split-second when blocking with my injured right arm. I wasted no time in pulling the two into a hug.

Between the laughing and smiling, Lee's ear-burning singing voice, the present, and the thought my friends had put into it…

This was easily the best birthday I'd ever had.

"What is it, Naruto-kun?" I asked as I noticed him staring at me. Maybe I had crumbs on my mouth, or–

"It's been so long … since you've shown a real smile," he said gently, blue eyes ever so slightly beginning to moisten as a grin radiant with warmth crossed his face.

* * *

"Hey … Lee?" Naruto asked, helping me hold the wood in place as Lee swiftly secured the two pieces together with rope. Quick construction of a raft had been touched briefly on in Academy days, but we had retained the lesson for the most part. There were no boats in this area; none could be found in a place so close to the Land of Demons in the north. In fact, it was known that this sea that divided these lands and the dreaded north wasn't particularly large or difficult to cross. No one _wanted_ to cross it.

"What is it, Naruto-kun?" Lee asked.

"…Say 'can't.'"

"'Cannot?' Why?"

"No, no, I said '_can't_.'"

"And I have said it. 'Cannot.'"

"How about 'they'll?'"

"They will?"

"We're!"

"'We are?'"

"They're!"

"Their?"

"Yatta!" Naruto exclaimed, quickly on his feet and pointing at him. "Wait … Darn it!"

"Can you fetch my backpack?"

"Um, sure." Naruto nodded and went to get the bag ten yards away. As he turned to face us, Lee vanished.

"Gah!"

Lee slipped to the side as he began to bend over, and a moderate strike on Naruto's back helped him to the ground. He recovered, scrambling to his feet and soon facing Lee in a stance.

"Better, but you could do to be a bit quicker. Always be prepared!"

Naruto snorted. "Yeah, right. Sheesh, if I was annoying you you could've just told me."

"I am offended!" Lee gasped in false indignation, capturing Naruto in a playful headlock and mussing up his hair. "To suggest me capable of abusing my precious little "students!" I had not tested you in a while and had to see that your guard was not down!"

"Okay, I believe you, let go already!"

I watched silently. _It's simply impossible for either of them to show it … but they're just as scared as I am. _"Either way, we should be saving our energy," I intervened, standing, "We can't be sure what we'll be up against today–,"

If only I knew how right I was.

"MOVE!"

A kunai hit the ground. Someone crashed into me. I was thrown ten yards. I grunted as I landed on my back. An explosion rumbled through the earth.

Getting off of us, Lee stood and glared at the point in the treeline from which the knife had been thrown. Naruto and I hastily got up, finally processing what had just happened. I focused.

_Byakugan!_

I shrieked, my heart skipped a beat, I whirled so hurriedly I stumbled over my feet and fell on my rear. Naruto and Lee turned and froze, mouths falling agape in stunned astonishment.

_When … H-h-how…?_

A yard away stood two men, dressed in matching high-collared black cloaks decorated with red clouds. A blue-skinned man, with strange beady eyes and – Kami, were those _gills?!_ – towered at over six feet tall. The other was shorter, comparatively normal looking … and gave off a deadly aura that I found twice as sinister. Though his crimson eyes were not on me, the pattern in them as much as the intensity of his gaze petrified me with fear.

He possessed the Sharingan. Which meant that the man was, without a question…

"Finally tracked him down," the taller man chuckled, reaching for the hilt of a massive, wrapped sword on his back. "Say, these other two brats…?"

"Do as you please…" the raven-haired man said in a voice low and indifferent as he continued to stare down at my trembling friend.

This man – he was…

"Uzumaki Naruto … you're coming with us."

I wanted to scream.

I wanted to hide.

I wanted … to run away.

"U-Uchiha … _Itachi_…"

* * *

**ナルト ****/ ****リー ****/ ****ヒナタ ****\ ****ハナビ ****\ ****ネジ**

**End Chapter Six**

**Hinata: **The ruthless man who single-handedly wiped out an entire elite clan, his own family … These two are nukenin in a different league than the three of us, villains on a whole other level than Kozue! They're too much for us to handle!

**Lee: **Our only option is escape!

**Hinata: **I don't think they plan on letting us!

**Lee: **We are on our own out here, and no one is coming to help! If we do not come up with something fast, then–!

**Naruto: **Hey! If I go with you … will you leave these two alone?

**Hinata/Lee: **_NARUTOOO!_

**Naruto: **Next time … **Chapter Seven: To the Wolves**.

**Naruto/Hinata/Lee: **If things get ugly … I might have to use _that_ power…

Heh heh… Whoops… This one turned out a tad long…

Hmm… This chapter … didn't seem so great to me. Like chapter three, kind of filler-ish, I guess, but important (and loaded with foreshadowing ;)!), but I tried to keep it interesting. What was done well, or not so well? What did you think of the training? The humor, the drama? The bonding scenes? The foreshadowing? Did the made up hand seal explanation somewhat make sense?

And who knows _why_ Hinata has a problem with aconite?

If you haven't noticed, I don't (or at least try not to, b/c I miss a few) have Lee say contraction words. It seems like he hardly ever uses any in the English anime, anyways, but it seems to fit him.

Oh, and the "branchy tubes" Naruto mentions are the bronchial tubes. I couldn't see him actually remembering the name for them.;)

Please tell me what you thought of the chapter! Every review is appreciated!

Laters!

:o)Hinata0321:o)


	7. To the Wolves

J3F\\\ Journey of the Three Failures

Chapter Seven

Yo!

I'm a little late, but still – merry Christmas, happy holidays, happy new year! Thanks so much for all your reviews, favorites, and alerts!

I just watched the shippuden movie… I REALLY wish Neji and Sakura had gotten more action, but anyways – the Land of Demons in this fic is in no way related to Demon Country! Completely different, sorry!

And now……

**Disclaimer: **Anyone else think Kishimoto-sensei ought to write a "fan"-fic, even a short little oneshot, just for the heck of getting to say that he does, indeed, own Naruto? _Sigh…_ No, I do not own _NARUTO._

* * *

_**throw to the wolves**__- _to sacrifice someone, especially in order to save oneself.

**Journey of the Three Failures**

**Seven: To the Wolves**

**Naruto ****ナルト**

We retreated ten yards in the cover of the smoke bomb Lee threw. The shark-man looked amused, while the Uchiha looked just the opposite, if anything.

_Have they caught on already? Okay then, we hold them off for as long as we –_

"How stupid do you brats think we are?" the taller man asked with a sharp-toothed grin, and before I could blink the now unwrapped tip of his sword had run all three of us through.

* * *

Such was the gist of the memories that came to me from the three shadow clones – two of which had been under henge – as we fled. _Crap! They weren't fooled for two seconds!_

"The kage bunshin are down already! Just who are those guys?"

"Uchiha Itachi," Hinata whispered, "He was a Leaf shinobi. A few years ago he single-handedly slaughtered almost the entire Uchiha clan. I don't know anything about the other one, b-but Itachi is said to be impossibly p-powerful… If they catch up–!"

A sparkle of reflected light. Two kunai knives flashed in from straight ahead. But they weren't aimed at me.

"NO!" I cried, and before I even thought about it my hands were in the seal and two shadow clones appeared, one shielding Hinata and the other Lee. They gasped in surprise as the clones grappled with them and vanished just as suddenly. _Th… they could have _died_. They c-could be dead right now…_

"Naruto-kun!"

"Huh–?" Something crashed across my face.

The next thing I knew I was landing on my back with a grunt. I sat up and groaned, slowly shaking my head to clear away flickering stars. And Mr. Shark-man was fifteen yards away and slowly walking closer.

Flinching, I got up and turned – only to see the cold-eyed Uchiha barring my path.

"There is no escape, Naruto. Come with us, and no one will need to be harmed," he said, approaching at a walk. I gulped, but my mouth and throat were very dry.

Two more figures entered the clearing at a sprint, giving the sword wielder a wide berth before dashing toward me. Lee placed himself between me and the blue man, and Hinata swept past, eyes shut but Byakugan active, to face Itachi. The two stood protectively close on either side of me.

"To get him, you must first go through us," Lee declared icily.

"R-right," Hinata added, her body trembling but her voice firm.

"Well, well. Fancy meeting you here of all places, Hyuuga heiress…" Itachi remarked tonelessly. "You've grown."

"What do you want with Naruto?" she said, the slightest trace of venom tipping her words. "What do you have against him?"

"Get up, Naruto-kun," Lee muttered under his breath without turning to face me. I nodded and did as told. Realizing the two had already removed their leg weights, I knelt to hastily do the same.

"We have nothing against the boy personally. It is simply Naruto's misfortune … that his tenant happens to be the prize that the Akatsuki seek."

My teeth ground together as I glared intensely at the man. "So you don't want me, you want what's inside of me?"

"The Kyuubi no Youko?" Lee murmured, "What could they want with it?"

"Listen," Hinata whispered quickly, "Naruto, stop glaring at him. Both of you, whatever you do, don't make eye contact with Itachi. The only two things that can stand up to Sharingan at his level are Sharingan at and equal or higher level … and the Byakugan. I can see him with my eyes closed."

"Hinata," I said to the still trembling girl, "What exactly do you think our chances are here?"

"What are you three whispering about over there...?" the other man asked.

"…Next to nonexistent. Itachi alone could probably kill all three of us at once."

"And," Lee added, "we hardly know a thing about this other one–,"

"What am I, an afterthought?!" the man yelled. "I'm insulted! You mean none of you have ever heard of Hoshigaki Kisame, of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist?!"

"AH!" Lee cried, and in a flurry of movement his katana were drawn and holding off Kisame's sword.

Kisame appeared surprised. "…How did you get your hands on these swords, boy?" he asked with an eyebrow raised. "Surely that annoying little pest Kozue is still in good health…?"

"I killed Kozue Kuri." Even forced through teeth clenched in effort, the words were clearly not spoken in pride. "With his own blade."

"Arrogant brat must've kept reckless to the end, I see," Kisame chuckled. In little over the time it took me to blink, Lee's arm was slashed by a graze from the man's sword; the blade bristled like it was alive, its strange scaly surface flaring up to shred.

"Hang on!" I cried.

"Lee-k–_!!_"

I turned my head to see Hinata beginning to fall, wide-eyed, at a blow Itachi dealt from behind. My eyes snapped shut before they could meet the Uchiha's crimson gaze.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!!!"

I opened my eyes, surrounded by twenty copies of myself. The two Akatsuki shinobi were standing next to each other a short distance away. As Lee helped up Hinata, who had fallen shivering to her hands and knees, the clones and I replaced around a few times in a rapid shuffle.

"They're solid," Kisame growled, "Which is the real one?"

"…I can't tell," Itachi stated.

_I thought so. It looks like they want me alive… _Me … but they didn't care about the others. Hinata could transform into me, but Lee couldn't. Wait – of course!

"Henge!" I shouted, and the clones followed suit so that the clearing now contained eleven Hinatas and twelve Lees.

"Clever, but futile," Itachi said. "Even if I weren't able to see your chakra, there are still other telltale differences setting two odd ones out. For example, only one of you…" I gasped as he appeared near me in the midst of our group. "…is still shaking from my first attack." A fist flashed past me, and I turned my head in time to see Hinata hit the ground, tumbling to a stop fifteen yards away.

"Hinata!"

"And you're standing differently from the rest!" Kisame declared, charging and taking a swing at Lee. He narrowly dodged the fist, but a few blurring moves later he too was hit.

He sprang to his feet. "Just stay back, Naruto-kun! They are still unable to determine which is you!"

"Right!" the clones and I chorused.

He sheathed his katana, apparently needing all the speed he could get. "Kaimon, Gate of Opening," he murmured, and all but vanished with speed. A green blur began assaulting Kisame, and though no blows were landed the man took to defense for the moment.

I felt a kage bunshin being dispelled, and then another, and looked to see Itachi tearing through the small army with ease, destroying clones one by one with a sharp but controlled punch or kick. I created ten more, and then substituted before he could pinpoint my location; every time he neared me I would create a few more and replace away.

_My limit's about eighty… I'm running out of chakra too fast!_ I replaced again._ While I still have enough left, I need to try…!_

I yelled a keyword of the idea, and the clones and I quickly shuffled before the Uchiha could catch me. As far from him as I could get in the crowd of replications, I bit my thumb and smeared blood on my right palm, and the bunshin all simultaneously did the same. We formed the seals together.

"I! Inu…!" we chorused. A clone traded places with me as Itachi started to get close.

"Tori! Saru…!" He seemed to recognize the seal sequence, and now attacked more spontaneously to try to catch me by surprise. Of the ten scattered clones left, one luckily substituted me out of the way of an attack in time to be dispelled an instant after.

"Hitsuji!" Three remaining clones and I each slammed a palm to the ground.

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!!" As the pattern sprang outward across the ground from my hand – and not those of the clones – Itachi leaped away in precaution, landing crouched on the side of a tree.

_Come on out, Chief…!_ I thought as a haze of smoke burst out.

"Jiraiya!" squealed a six-inch tall, red colored toad as it sprang into my arms. "We thought you were – we thought you … you … Who the heck're you?!"

"Yeah, well I was about to ask you the sa–! Wuh-oh!" I said as Itachi dropped to the ground and the three clones were each dispelled by a swiftly thrown kunai between the eyes. "Just get outta' here!" I said, hurriedly setting the toad down.

The man vanished, and appeared again two yards away, a kunai drawn…

_Ching-ching-ching-ching-CLANG!_

Before four deflected shuriken even hit the ground at Itachi's feet, his kunai was holding off one held by Hinata.

"You won't touch him!" she growled, and I saw that the whites of her eyes had become black.

"H-Hinata…" I whispered. My heart was pounding, my knees were shaking. I couldn't feel my legs; I fell down.

"Get back, Naruto!" she barked.

_Because it's me they want, _I realized.

"Hn… You're in the way," Itachi stated, and in a flash her kunai was on the ground and Itachi's fist was in her gut. She folded her arms across herself and staggered backwards a few steps before falling to one knee next to me, head down, unblinking a moment in shock. "I don't have time to play with you right now," Itachi said.

"Alright," I heard Kisame yell, "Now you're getting _annoying_!"

The man threw Lee by a hold on his ankle to send him flying twenty yards. He cried out as his back struck laterally across a tree, and he curled inward in a trembling heap on the ground.

Itachi glanced in the direction, and Hinata attacked.

His hand clapped onto her fist. "I'd rather not kill you, Hinata."

"Kuso!" she swore, drawing back her left hand.

_CRRACK!_

"_AAAAAAAHHHH!!!"_

I blanched at Hinata's blood-curdling scream as she fought desperately to pull away from the man. Itachi stared on emotionlessly as he continued to crush her hand in his.

"I won't ask nicely again," he said darkly, and his fist met her face, and she hit the ground in front of me, tears streaming from her eyes and blood leaking from her mouth, whimpering quietly in pain.

Itachi's eyes met mine, and my breath caught. I couldn't move. I was paralyzed.

The man started, turning his head. "Such chak–?"

"I HAVE NO _CHOIICCCE!!!_" Lee's intensely fierce roar drowned out Itachi's voice as something large and black and speckled with red clouds went shooting past me.

Kisame sat up with a hand over his nose, and looked at Lee – who had quickly become the center of attention. The boy's hair danced wildly at the chakra flowing from him, and his skin darkened to a reddish tone.

"Naruto, please cover for me!! Fourth Gate Shomon, Gate of Pain – _OPEN!!!_"

Itachi scowled, his eyes only slightly wider than usual. "How many can he–?!" He dodged an angry kunai stab from Hinata. "Kisame, stop him!" he shouted, blocking the following slash with his own knife.

"FIFTH GATE TOMON … GATE OF CL-_CLOSING…!_"

Kisame rushed by. A blow from Itachi sent Hinata thudding solidly into a tree next to me.

_Cover for him…? Cover for him!_

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!!"

Ten clones appeared in Kisame's path and threw themselves at him, yelling and screaming and throwing kunai and paper bombs and smoke bombs and attacking furiously and wildly, and five more popped around him while he finished destroying those ten–

"_OPEN!!!"_

And Lee vanished in a whirlwind, leaving a wide-eyed Itachi to slash a kunai at empty air with a gruff grunt of frustration.

And as Kisame angrily shoved a fist through the last of the clones, a green bullet barreled into him full force to send him sailing. I shielded my face from an explosive, buffeting blast of wind and dirt and dust and snow as the blur bolted past in pursuit.

* * *

**Lee ****リー**

_I must do this quickly!!_

I raced ahead of the Kisame man and kicked him into the air with all my strength; he shot straight up at an incredible speed. I crouched, and then sprang after him, pushing off one tall tree, and then another and another as I ascended rapidly, shooting between ten tree trunks and leaving splintering dents where I left them. In a second I was rocketing above the treetops, passing by the still rising man.

"THUNDER BOLT KICK!!!" I shouted, plummeting and crushing and reversing his upward momentum with a foot in his abdomen.

"GAHK!!"

"_Not YET!!_" I darted to the side as he fell, and pushed off a tree to shoot past him, landing a punch as I did. As soon as I reached another tree I launched myself at him again, striking as I passed. He was almost held in place from the sheer swiftness with which I repeated this, his descent all but halted as I struck more than a dozen times in the next second. "MAD DANCE OF INFINITY!!!"

I shot to a space above him, pivoted in the air, and sped down toward him again. My whole body was beginning to burn.

_Last time … the Lotus could have destroyed me. If Gai-sensei had not stepped in when he did, that sand probably would have crushed me. Last time … my Hidden Lotus was not enough._

I slammed into him with a foot and a palm.

_But this time, if I do not finish the job, Naruto-kun and Hinata-san will be…_

Kisame's eyes widened further as his fall halted abruptly; the bandaging tape from my arm I'd wound around him during my 'Dance of Infinity' had snapped taut, the other end held firmly in my grasp.

_I have only just mastered it. I never imagined … it would be so soon._

"SIXTH GATE KEIMON, GATE OF JOY – _**OPEN!!!**_"

With a yell I yanked him back toward me.

_To protect my friends…!_

"_HIDDEN LOTUS SEISHUN RENDAN!! BARRAGE OF __**YOUTH**__!!!_"

I let my youthful energy explode like never before, concentrating, channeling everything I had into nothing more than pummeling the man with a hundred strikes of passionate ferocity as we descended, fighting through the pain and spinning into a finishing kick that sent him hurtling into the ground.

_Now for the other!! _I charged for Uchiha Itachi, and he spewed an immense ball of red flame. I cut to the side, and he scowled as I sprinted toward him, drawing my katana. _There is no time to spare!_

I slashed. He moved. I raced through a series of attacks, but could do nothing more than graze him twice.

He was dodging – he was actually _dodging_ me!

The Uchiha sidestepped and snagged my arm, and his other hand clamped onto my neck. Before I could escape, I was forced to look into two glowering crimson eyes suddenly inches from my own.

_Not … good… _I thought as the world swayed, spun, and finally faded.

* * *

"…Uhh…" I slowly sat up, blinking to clear my head.

"Lee-kun! Thank goodness you're awake!" Hinata cried.

Naruto looked up. "You had us worried sick, Bushy Brow!"

Confused, I shook my head. "Naruto-kun, Hinata-san – what happened exactly?"

"You sent 'em running with their tails between their legs, that's what happened! After you passed out the Uchiha scooped up his injured buddy and made a break for it!" Naruto explained with a grin.

"He's right, Lee-kun – you saved our lives!"

"W… we made it?" I said as the girl embraced me, "It is really over…?"

Naruto nodded. "It's all thanks to you!"

He moved to join the hug, and I gasped. I tried to move away, but Hinata held me in place.

SPLAK!

"What … _why_…?" I gasped, wide-eyed in shock as my arm dripped with blood from the kunai that had been aimed for my side.

"Oh, darn. And here I thought I'd fooled you," Naruto said, his voice suddenly wicked, as he shoved the knife further into my forearm. I yelled and jumped away, quickly on my feet. I dodged as he threw the kunai stained with my blood.

My good hand twitched for one of the katana, and froze.

I would _not_ pull a blade on them.

"What's wrong?!" Naruto was suddenly attacking; I barely blocked in time. "You know we've all been thinking about it!" he shouted as he continued to throw blow after blow; I blocked, but my moves were sluggish. He was too strong. "So we thought Hey, what better a time than now when you can hardly move?!"

"NO!" My foot flashed up, catching him across the face.

"That the best you can do?!" He recovered in a flash.

My almost-brother shoved a kunai into my belly, and did it smiling.

I suppressed a cry of pain and distress, and swung my fist.

"Too slow!" he taunted, grabbing my arm and vaulting over me. In a moment my arms were behind my back in a firm hold.

And my almost-sister's palm connected with my chest. Crimson spurted past my lips, speckled her remorseless face.

"Wh-why are you doing this?" I sobbed.

Hinata smirked. "Because you're too strong. No hard feelings, right, Lee-kun? We had to get you before you got us."

"It is not t-true… I do not believe it!! Release! _Release!! KUSO, RELEASE!!_" I screamed, unblinking in desperation, my eyes trained on hers even as she drew back a hand glowing with chakra.

"Just think of how powerful we'll become," Naruto chuckled darkly, "Hinata and I'll constantly be trying to surpass each other, and we won't ever _dare_ risk letting ourselves fall behind the other."

"KAI! RELEASE ALREADY!!! _WHY IS IT NOT RELEASING?!!"_

"Sorry…"

"…Lee-_sensei_."

Her hand met my chest, stabbed my heart with a white-hot spear of chakra. And with that, I lost all hope.

"_**TRAITORS!!!**_"

* * *

**Naruto ****ナルト**

I held my breath for the seconds their eyes were locked, the world hanging utterly motionless as Lee's appearance returned to normal. His teeth clenched as he began to tremble violently. And then–

"_**TRAITORS!!!**_" he roared, eyes rolling back in his head – but even as he was going limp, Itachi's fist cracked into his jaw. He went sprawling to the ground, drooling and motionless, a horrible expression frozen on his face.

"What did you _do_?!" I screamed.

"…Genjutsu," the man answered simply, not bothering to look toward me. "Beginners of your type often find nothing more frightening … than the prospect of the so-called 'way of the missing-nin'…"

I gasped. Genjutsu. Lee's greatest fear. Traitors. The 'nukenindo.'

"You monster… You MONSTER!" I cried.

Paying me no mind, the man drew a kunai.

My hands met in a seal – the seal – and as I visualized where they were to appear, I shouted commands in my mind.

He stepped toward Lee.

"STOP!"

He halted, and eyed me with a frown.

I glared back, and gulped.

"D-drop … the kunai."

Itachi very slowly held his arm to the side. His kunai clattered to the ground.

"B-b-boss…" squeaked one of the five wide-eyed clones standing around me. The five terror-stricken shadow clones whose trembling hands held five kunai knives at my throat, eye, stomach, heart, and kidney.

"One wrong move," I whispered, my own hands ever so slightly vibrating on a kunai I pointed straight at my neck, its flat resting beneath my jaw, "and you can kiss Ninetails goodbye."

"…You bluff."

"I'm not kidding here. The demon's closed off from me now – I'm just as vulnerable as any regular person, and there won't be any speed healing. Take one step, try to catch any one of us in a genjutsu, and you know what the rest of us'll do. If you think you're quick enough to take out all five and secure my hands at once – _before_ any one of us detects you've done a thing – I dare you to try. I've given my doppelgangers orders, and I know you can tell they're positioned to stab and stab hard."

Itachi's hands, again very slowly, rose empty into the air. A moment later his eyes turned black. "So what now, Naruto? It would appear we've reached a stalemate … but I think you should know, Kisame and I will be rather frustrated if we fail our mission."

"What do you mean…?"

"Kisame won't be pleased to learn we came all this way for nothing. If he is at all able to move when he wakes, I can guarantee you that that boy at least will be cut to ribbons." I scowled, and his face remained cold. "In fact, I promise you. If you die, I'll see to it personally that Hinata is soon to follow…"

"Kuso… You lousy…" My eyes moistened; tears slid down my cheeks as I glanced to the two, both unconscious. "…Fine, then," I whispered. If they wanted me, they could have me and me alone. "If I go with you … will you leave these two alone?"

He nodded. "No harm shall come to them..."

I took a long, deep breath. And then, one by one, the kage bunshin around me vanished.

Pop.

…_I'm not afraid._

Pop.

_This is how it has to be._

Pop.

_Lee, Hinata… I'm sorry._ I smiled sadly.

Pop.

_But it's better this way._

Pop.

_All three of us … don't need to die–_

"_NAARUUTOOO!!!_"

A cry of rage and despair – and too suddenly for me to comprehend someone had lunged forward from behind and come to stand on my left in a crouch, her right foot forward, right arm extended upward in front of me. The kunai I'd been pointing at myself was flipping harmlessly through the air, forcefully knocked free of my grasp.

Then the hand became a fist, and the arm came down and back, and the wind was crushed out of me by a brutal elbow strike to the stomach. The force kicked my feet from under me as my body snapped double; I crashed to the ground, groping at my midsection in shock.

An unnatural chill permeated the air. I looked up at the person, who now stood in a slightly hunched posture a few feet in front of me. The one who gave off this sinister aura whispered in a very slow growl, "What's _wrong_ with you…?!"

Wincing, I got to my knees. "H-Hinata – don't be stupid! The t-two of you don't have to d-die here!"

"_Baka_," she spat dangerously, turning her head to stab me with an icy, black and white gaze. I flinched, and finally noticed. Her skin was snow, her hair was ink. Three dark rings had encircled her neck and visible left wrist, and her angry snarl displayed a set of black fangs. And the striped markings on her face…

I gasped. This looked familiar.

She turned her head back to the Uchiha. "I can _smell_ it, Naruto … but I'm in control … for the most part."

Itachi's Sharingan reawakened. "…Interesting," he remarked casually, his emotionless face revealing nothing of his thoughts.

Hinata growled, his voice further enraging her. Her entire body trembled eerily as the menacing sound continued to roll from deep in her throat, her clawed hands flexing angrily. A wave of bloodlust hit the air, and it was made plainly clear. She trembled not with fear, but with anticipation. She wanted nothing more right now than to slash, to rend, to maim, to break. To destroy.

To utterly destroy Uchiha Itachi.

Which probably meant she wasn't thinking too rationally.

"If you're coming, come…"

"No, Hinata, don't–!"

"_With PLEASURE_!" she barked harshly.

For a moment she almost disappeared; Itachi was instantly standing a meter from where he'd been, and Hinata, in a low crouch, went skidding to a halt behind him from her charge.

Eyes narrowed in virulent malice, she took two swift, long strides on all fours and rose to lash out with claws. The man sidestepped the swing, and Hinata spun out of the overshot move as she went hurtling by, and attacked again.

Itachi blocked a fist, and Hinata raced through strike after strike, pelting him with blows that were all avoided one way or another with no apparent effort. The Uchiha merely observed her, not fighting back. The two blurred through movements, and Hinata fought gracefully, fierce yet flowing.

At one point on the receiving end of a throwing move, she flipped nimbly so that her feet met the trunk of a tree. From the higher point she shot out toward Itachi, who dodged her claws as always. Her outstretched hand impacted the ground, and the other hand swiftly followed for balance; her foot sharply flashed toward his face, and as it was blocked by a forearm the foot shoved off to quickly spin her body around in the other direction. Her feet lowered to the ground in a beautiful sweeping kick, and as Itachi jumped the attack and her feet returned to the earth, she transferred her spin into a backhand fist that swung violently for her foe. As it was caught she followed through with her other arm, lashing across herself and aiming to slash the blocking arm open. He pushed her away, and the tip of a black nail passed a half centimeter from its target. Hinata's back foot rose, and she exploded into a backwards roundhouse kick.

I almost wanted to shout something like 'Fight smart!' or 'Watch yourself!' as she attacked wildly, but didn't for the imminent sense that the instant the cold-eyed man decided to defeat her, she would be defeated.

…Or worse.

And then, Itachi moved too quickly for my eyes to make sense of it. A precise hand chopped at Hinata's back with a sharp thump, and she crashed to the dirt.

* * *

**Hinata ****ヒナタ**

"k-k-_kuso_…" I hissed, eyes tightly shut, forehead resting on the cold ground. My hands, both the uninjured and the recently broken, curled into trembling fists that clasped dry grass tightly, and my claws dug into my palms. I coughed weakly, and could feel moisture on my lips. "_Kuso…!_"

I turned my head, opening my eyes. Sitting in a daze fifteen yards away was a pale-faced Naruto, looking scared and very confused. I looked up to see Lee, unconscious and drooling in front of me; a blank look was plastered on his face, and his knuckles were white from the two katana still locked in his hands.

_You two … I'm sorry…!_

My eyes snapped open, and my head slowly rose an inch.

_I smell it…_

The mark throbbed violently, pleadingly. My nose twitched.

_Blood…_

As I began trembling, my tongue unconsciously flickered across my mouth.

_The blood of … Uchiha Itachi…_

The sword, the katana blade in front of me. The edge. Red. Lee had grazed him.

_It … it smells so…_

In a long breath I carefully took in the scent on the blade resting before me. My heart began racing at its brilliance, and a rumble began rolling up from my throat. But I held myself back.

'_So what will you do now, koinu?'_ a dark, vaguely familiar voice questioned. _'Teetering precariously on the halfway mark between your kind and mine… To shrink back and succumb to the inevitable… To lose yourself in the thirst for death, the desire to slash, to rend, to break, to kill. Ah, will or will not the pitiful little puppydog risk it? Choose quickly now, koinu. Show this man your power, show _me_ your power, if you dare…'_

What to do, which way to go? How to possibly choose–?

'…_Tell me, koinu – How does it smell?'_

The corners of my mouth twitched upward as resistance was shot down by desire.

The smell of death … ever so suddenly…

It smelled good.

Energy churned within me as I lowered my head, tongue sliding hungrily across the thin line of red on the blade. I smiled in exhilaration, my mouth opening as a fourth black ring burned into the flesh of my neck, each forearm, each ankle. Then I welcomed power and instinct to claim me.

* * *

**Naruto ****ナルト**

I was scared. I was _scared_.

Hinata – sweet, timid, perfect (Perfect...? Well, yes, pretty much, perfect) Hinata – now possessed an eerie glint in her eyes, and an insane, toothy smile of glee spread wide across her face. A smoky mist of black fog enveloped her, clinging to her body in a light haze. Finally, her eyes took on a more rhombus-like appearance as they were both outlined along their bottom and outer sides by a thin line of black.

Abruptly, I found myself scared for a new reason. She was a yard away from Lee … smiling and openly radiating bloodlust only a short, short few feet from his vulnerable, prone form...

I caught myself, disbelieving, but before I could berate myself for such a thought she slowly turned her head to slash the silent Uchiha (who had flickered fifteen yards back) with her gaze.

He held out a hand … and beckoned.

And Hinata's right arm was buried to the shoulder in the tree he'd been in front of. Having shifted a foot to his left, he now stood behind her.

"So you're quicker than before … and yet, you leave yourself wide open…" He blocked the elbow that lashed for his ribcage. Hinata whirled to face him as she yanked her arm from the tree trunk; it came free with the bandaging tape shredded messily, the arm scratched up and streaming with a weird black substance, but oddly enough no blood–

Oh.

Itachi dodged neatly as she turned her hand to swipe with claws in the same motion that had freed her arm. Hinata's hand curled into a fist – but Itachi moved before she could attack, and I cringed as his fist shot hard into her abdomen.

But she attacked anyways.

I saw it flicker across his face as he dodged her fist. For the briefest of instants, Uchiha Itachi had honestly been taken by surprise.

Hinata exploded into a series of violent movements, be they with feet or hands, fists or claws, soles, heels, knees, or elbows, whirling, swinging, swiping, flowing, lunging. All were again avoided with apparent ease on Itachi's part, until he suddenly attacked, his fist connecting sharply with her cheek and following through in such a motion that she was forced toward the ground.

I could see her face clearly as the hit landed; her mouth popped open and a few droplets of spittle escaped it, but her eyes – one squinted slightly – remained open and pointed toward her foe. She reached so that her hands met the earth, and her foot flashed to Itachi's head. His hand clapped onto her ankle.

Their eyes locked for several seconds, Itachi's face unreadable as Hinata glared fiercely with a teeth-baring snarl, blood trickling from one corner of her mouth.

"…Do you feel no pain, or simply ignore it?" Itachi wondered aloud. In reply Hinata pushed her hands from the ground and curled forward while her ankle was still in the man's grip, going for his face with her claws – but her attack fell short as he pulled on her captured ankle, spun in a tight circle, and flung her away. She sailed twenty yards, twisting in the air so that she landed on her hands and feet.

"Useless…" Itachi stated, "Why do you smile? For all your strength, you're fighting like a wild animal…"

Hinata didn't seem to hear him. Her crazed eyes were wide as she cocked her head slightly and gave a disturbing, crooked smile.

"I'll kill you," she stated, a simple eager expression of mirth. She snickered quietly, and then was silent a short moment. Then she exploded into laughter, and bloodlust rained.

My stomach lurched hard.

_Oh shi–_

"I'LL KILL YOU!!!" she roared savagely with a sadistic smile of glee, and with a crackling burst of dark chakra a fifth set of black rings appeared. Her back arched slightly as her fangs jumped a half centimeter in length, and the light haze of smoky black flames that rolled lazily about her thickened only very slightly before sprouting an appendage resembling a misty black tail at the base of her spine, and two foggy ear-like structures atop her head.

"Come and try," Itachi said calmly, and in a moment Hinata was advancing toward him in elegant strides on all fours.

Itachi's hands flowed though a number of seals as if they were one before he spewed an immense sphere of fire.

Recognition seemed to glint briefly behind Hinata's eyes; her hands rose from the ground to smack through a well-memorized chain of signs. Itachi's blaze had almost reached her when she spat a billowing stream of flame.

Itachi's fireball won. Hinata's charging form was overtaken, swallowed up by a lethal cloud of orange.

My heart skipped a beat.

The Uchiha looked up.

And from the flames a rapidly spinning figure broke into the air, emerging and rising high above the ground. Hinata uncurled her body and hovered a moment at the peak of her leap, knees bent as one standing in a crouch, one eye opened wider than the other, a wolfish, bloodthirsty grin still plastered on her face, and her left hand clutching her right shoulder. Her hand clenched, and her claws drew blood.

As she began to fall toward her foe, she spun to her left in a circle before lashing her arm in a backhand swing, loosing a feral cry. Five blades of black energy seemed to roll off her dripping claws, expanding and lengthening as they hurtled for the ground. Itachi flickered to safety; a cloud of dust was kicked up as a few trees were felled by the strange technique.

Hinata crashed into the cloud – and a moment later erupted from it toward Itachi, a fist swinging forward. He lunged in with a punch, but Hinata blurred from its path in a whirling motion. In an instant she was on the ground to the side, held up by her arms, a heel swinging back to connect with his knee.

A sickening crack … and Itachi's knee went the wrong way.

An anguished cry … and Hinata's face lit up with excitement.

She vanished, materializing as she slashed deep gouges across the man's back. Again she momentarily phased out of existence, flickering into sight only a moment a few yards in front of the falling man – and again as her hand plunged through his chest.

_POOF!_

_A – a kage bunshin… _I was almost grateful for that.

Meanwhile, Hinata's thrill twisted into fury. She had been out for blood, and now stood outraged at the disappointment. She turned her head to glare at the Uchiha, who now stood twenty yards away.

She turned, and suddenly I was on my feet.

"Stop it!"

She charged.

I leapt into her path, and her eyes focused on me instead.

A clawed hand rose, and I shut my eyes.

I heard short breaths, gasping and irregular. My eyes opened, and I gulped as I saw the black claws hovering a centimeter from my neck. A few more inches, and my throat would have been ripped out.

Her hand trembled and shuddered every few seconds, clearly itching to do just that.

"_Naru…to…_" she whispered, her harsh voice hoarse and a pained expression on her face. For several moments we stared into each other's eyes.

"Hinata, you're not yourself! I know you're stronger than this – don't let this thing control you! It hurts to see you like this… The Hinata _I_ know isn't a ruthless fighter, and she could never take joy in killing someone!"

"_Naruto, you…_" Her nose twitched. Suddenly her teeth locked with a snap, and her eyes turned wild as she gasped sharply. She drew back her hand, claws spread and prepared to slash.

An inch from my face, the deadly claws curled into her palm.

"_Get the hell out the way!!_" she roared as her fist slammed into the side of my face. The world flashed and sparkled dizzyingly before I crashed to the ground, the taste of iron quickly entering my mouth.

_Hinata…_ I thought, turning my head and watching as she barreled toward Itachi on all fours. _You fought the mark with everything you had, and it wasn't enough. You _are_ still in there somewhere…_

Five yards from the man, Hinata gave an animalistic cry as she pounced forward, claws raised.

_But can't you see that this guy isn't even taking you seriously? Eventually he'll have to finish observing … and when that happens–_

Itachi's foot was suddenly above his head level. Hinata's charge was broken so abruptly, and her head snapped back so sharply, so alarmingly far back as her feet left the ground and her eyes rolled and blood shot from her mouth, that I fell all color drain from my face. The well-timed kick sprawled her out on her back before Itachi with a heavy thud of dead weight, and she lied motionless with a shocked expression stuck to her white face, mouth open and eyes open with only their black sclera showing.

…_N-no…_

I struggled to pick myself up, and stumbled a moment once I had.

Was she breathing…?

"Hinata…?"

It … didn't look like it.

"_Hinata!!!_" I screamed, running heavily toward them.

Moisture rolled down my cheeks.

"_NOOO!!_" I yowled madly, "No, no, no, no, n–!!"

So suddenly did Hinata rise and leap straight for Itachi – and so instantly was Itachi standing a yard to the side with no apparent signs of motion, a foot catching Hinata across her ribcage – that I could do little more than stand baffled as Hinata went from lying seemingly lifeless one moment to upright and receiving a solid kick in the ribs the next.

Her glowering eyes widened slightly as they remained focused on the man. She followed through with the swing she'd thrown even while her mouth was flying open to admit a sputtery sound of pain and a sharp spurt of black as the kick was sinking in. She reached flexibly across herself, and her claws grazed his side.

_He anticipated wrong – who wouldn't? I don't think there are too many enemies who'll attack you _while_ they're getting their ribs busted…_

He frowned, and Hinata's pained grimace twisted into a grin.

And in a quick, graceful motion Itachi had jumped, spun in a sharp circle, and planted a heel on the center of her forehead.

I saw her clench her teeth – then I gasped as something went flying past me. I whirled in disbelief in time to see her small form shoot into the treeline, vanishing from sight with the dark.

All of it probably happened in two seconds. With a loud crack one of the tall, slim trees was suddenly falling over. Five or six others generally aligned with it vibrated or swayed, as they were glanced no doubt, and amid them another was felled; then, accompanied in a moment by a solid and booming _THWACK! _that resonated sharply, a tree thirty yards away, one well taller and thicker than most others around it, gave a shudder. And promptly began to tip over.

I gaped in horror, frozen stiff as I watched the great tree lurch toward the ground, unable to wrap my mind around it even as I stared. It met the earth with a great rumbling boom, and numbness washed over me.

I imagined a corpse, broken and bloody on the forest floor, bent in the wrong places or at unnatural angles, or maybe even crushed under the tree, squashed flat like the most insignificant little fly…

"_You_," I growled acidly, my voice laced with pure hatred. My teeth ground together as I turned my head to the Uchiha. A familiar drag pulled at the seal on my belly: a force that acted in response to my emotions, that at one time would have drawn the Kyuubi's chakra into my system. Now I merely felt a fruitless tug for the energy blocked off from me, a straw sucking at a dry glass.

_Kuso… _I tugged harder, trying to use my chakra to pierce through the barrier, to force the link open myself. Lee and Hinata – those two had put out everything they had to protect my sorry hide, while I sat back and stared like a coward, too frightened to do a thing. And now… I didn't care if it killed me. Uchiha Itachi would pay.

My efforts proved useless. Frustrated, my shoulders shook as I shut my eyes and sobbed. "Kuso… Why Hinata? Why d-does everything a-always have to happen to Hinata? It sh-shouldn't be like this… What did she ever do? To anyone?! It should've been me. It's me you want, right? Why did you have to k-kill Hinata? _Why?!_"

"…She was growing annoying."

My nails dug into my palms, and I bellowed a wordless cry of rage as I ran at him with a fist raised, sight blurred with tears.

There was pain, and I was on the ground. After sobbing a moment, I turned my face out of the dirt. "T-_teme_," I whispered miserably, looking up at the emotionless face of the man.

He looked up, away from me. "Hn," he said, shutting his eyes and lowering his head with the slightest trace of a smirk. His gaze drifted to the side. "It would seem I'll need to use more force after all."

"……Wh–?"

"_HRRAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!_"

With that angry cry a black and white blur came rocketing from the treeline. In a fluid motion, a flash of speed, Itachi drew back a fist and darted forward.

_She's alive!_

**THUD.**

A heavy spray of blood shot from Hinata's mouth as she was halted abruptly. Itachi had lunged in and used her own power against her, catching her midstride to forcefully bury a fist in her gut. Unlike several of the others, this blow had clearly gotten through to her; her eyes were impossibly wide, out of unfeigned shock or pain or maybe both, and her jaw hung slack. The two were unmoving for several moments.

"O…oh…" Hinata breathed as if in surprise as she went limp, her body slumping over and her arms falling strengthlessly; her right hand, which had been raised to attack, brushed Itachi's cloak and grasped feebly through unconscious reflex with weakly trembling fingers. All at once markings faded, black hair went blue, fangs and claws shrank, rounded, and whitened into normal, human teeth and nails, aura faded tail, ears, and all, and eyes retook their natural appearance.

As Hinata had keeled over, stunned, the fist in her stomach (which I had a feeling was the only thing keeping the girl from hitting the ground) uncurled into an open hand. Itachi neatly turned her to the side, hooking his arm around her waist to hold her up, and his other hand pulled down at the neck of her jacket and shirt. During this Hinata's unblinking eyes remained wide and unfocused, her deadened gaze directed aimlessly at the ground. Itachi studied the back of her neck a long moment.

"This is … the work of Orochimaru…" he remarked.

Hinata's milky eyes blinked slowly, losing some of their glaze, before shutting tightly as her teeth clenched in a grimace. In a moment she shuddered and began gasping and coughing weakly, peppering the ground with red droplets of blood.

_Darn it, you fool… Why didn't you run when you had the chance?_

"But how did he manage to infuse that power with it … and why on earth would he produce something so unstable? Are you a test subject…?" he mused in light curiosity, gently stroking the mark as he gazed at it with his Sharingan eyes.

"Y-you … get your filthy hands _off_ of her!" I said weakly, trying and failing to get to my knees. I wouldn't sit here and watch him treat her like some kind of animal!

Itachi glanced toward me. "There's been a slight change of plans, Uzumaki. Hinata will be coming along with us as well."

"Never gonna happen!!" I shouted, struggling with renewed efforts.

"…Naruto-kun is r-right… You won't be t-taking _anyone _today…"

"Hinata?"

Her eyes opened slightly. "I haven't qu-quite … been defeated yet, _Uchiha_," she spat.

"Big words for one in your position," Itachi noted.

"Oh are they…? I really th-think you're the one … wh-who ought to start reassessing _your_ position about now…"

"What are you prattling about…?"

"You overestimate yourself … and are too c-certain of your enemies… I really can't believe you haven't noticed yet. You can see chakra, can't you? I want you to look v-very closely at my arm … or more specifically, my hand."

Itachi's eyes widened as he gasped with a start – the greatest show of emotion I'd probably ever see from him. He released Hinata and backed away a step; her knees wobbled weakly, but she stayed on her feet and moved with him. Her now open hand, for whatever reason, still clung to the man's cloak…

I gasped as it hit me, and I realized that 'unconscious reflex' may have been intentional and premeditated. All of it. She'd charged on her two legs instead of down on all fours, she'd taken the hit, and now…

"Thanks for buying me time, Naruto-kun," she said icily, her bloody mouth set in a scowl as she glowered at the Uchiha with dangerously narrowed white eyes – a Hyuuga deathglare, of all things. And almost as if on cue, her sleeve fell back to reveal the complex medley of hastily drawn black markings now decorating her bare forearm. This time it was no accident.

Hinata's hand was stuck – to Uchiha Itachi's middle.

His hand snapped to her wrist, trying to detach her hand from him. Growling softly in frustration, he tightened his grip. Hinata flinched, but she never stopped glaring.

"Break my wrist if you w-want … it won't make any difference…"

With looks to kill, Itachi's hand went for her neck instead. "_Let go of me_," he hissed poisonously. Hinata shut an eye in pain.

"Sorry … but th-there's only one way … I c-can do _that_…!" Her left hand grabbed her arm as her other eye snapped shut. She grunted as her hand began to radiate a blue glow with the chakra trapped within it. She couldn't wash the ink off, meaning she needed to break the seal with sheer pressure of chakra alone. Energy sparked around her hand as she channeled still more chakra; sweat beaded her forehead and cheeks, and her voice tightened as the glow rapidly intensified. "But … _if you_ … _INSIST_… _Unh_…_!_"

"No," Itachi whispered, eyes big. His free hand suddenly produced a kunai. The knife flashed for Hinata's wrist–

_BOOM!!!_

And went sailing unstained through the air as the man cried out, and an enormous, lightning-sharp crackling of energy, a blinding flash of blue-white, blasted the two apart.

Itachi staggered backwards as his feet met the earth, and crimson jumped past his locked teeth, spattering his chin and his cloak. He looked up to see Hinata, who had been blown ten yards, on one foot and off-balance, beginning to fall, her half-open eyes losing focus, and a cocky grin of triumph weakly adorning a pale face drawn tight with pain.

A growl of fury, of outrage, tore from the man's throat.

Hinata flinched hard, stiffening as she was captured by his murderous crimson gaze.

Before a gasp could even escape her, the sole of Itachi's shoe was smashing into her face.

I uttered a wordless cry of protest.

She crashed headfirst into a tree, her body glancing off like a stone, crumpling like a ragdoll.

_**NO!!!**_

And an immense force wrenched at the seal.

* * *

The air here was stale, damp and unclean. A rhythmic _plit _of dripping water reached my ears every few moments. My vision came slowly, first in colors, and within the course of five seconds sharpened to reveal the iron bars of an immense prison before me. I recognized the yellow-tinted chamber in an instant, even before a deep, rumbling laugh rolled from the depths of the cage.

"Fox – you there?" I asked excitedly.

"I am, gaki… I take it I was missed…?" The kitsune chuckled again.

"Hardly. So what am I doing here? Has everything healed up? Are we ready to open the link again?"

"Yes … and no…"

"…What does that mean? Which is it?" I asked, and I noticed for the first time that the fox's rumbling growl of laughter carried a tone more malevolent than humored. I frowned uneasily as the chuckles escalated. "Hey … did you hear me–?"

In a flash of orange I was knocked across the room, slammed against the far wall. The tail coiled around me like a snake before I could fall.

How? How the heck had the fox reached me?!

"B-but I thought…?!"

"Your keirakukei _has_ fully healed, you gaki … the seal, on the other hand, has not."

The demon bellowed with full-blown laughter, and the room was bathed a hellish red as its chakra raced to fill it.

"_Nnnoooo!!" _I howled as the blazing wall of demonic power crashed against me, forcing its way into my body, converging on my center. A huge amount of the kitsune's boiling red chakra bored and twisted its way into my belly, and soon was being steadily drawn in at a staggering rate.

The last sound I heard was the monster's roaring laughter.

* * *

**Naruto ? ****ナルト**

"Hahahahaha… AHAHAHAHAHA!!!"

I hadn't felt so good – so _alive_ – in thirteen long YEARS! My glorious chakra poured from the seal, enriching, _invigorating_ my puny body, racing over my skin in a thick cloak of boiling dark crimson.

"YOU'RE _FIRST!!"_ I roared as my eyes landed on the man, five tails dancing joyously behind me. Five, only a fraction of my boundless power – MORE than enough! I'd turn the fool into a bloody smear on the ground!!

I collected and unleashed a sphere of pure, concentrated chakra from my mouth, and it covered the distance in an instant. The mortal worm just barely dodged – too slow, too slow! – and the missile crashed through the trees, exploded behind him, knocked him forward.

"NOW you _DIE!!!_" I shouted, instantly beside him, kicking him in the chest, but he blocked, but he was sent crashing into the trees, vanishing from sight.

"_You thought YOU could conquer the great Kyuubi no Youko, KING of the TAILED BEASTS?!! Foolish MORTAL – FEEL OUR WRATH!!! Kyuubi is INVINCIBLE – _I AM_ INVINCIBLE!!!_"

I loosed another sphere of energy into the forest; it EXPLODED, blasting down trees with more force, more true, sheer, destructive _POWER _than a dozen, five, TEN dozen shinobi _paper bombs _could EVER hope to produce!! I threw my head back, spread my arms, and roared with laughter as a shockwave rushed by, as a plume of smoke shot into the air! Then I turned my head and fired into the trees again! And again! And _again!! _After THIRTEEN wretched YEARS wasted in that _place_ – for now, this I could settle with GLADLY!!

"_What's wrong, UCHIHA? You WANTED something with me – WELL HERE I AM!!! Why don't you come out NOW, so we can TALK about it face to face?!!"_

I reached across myself with both arms, concentrating chakra until the raw power churned in a hyperactive frenzy within me, collecting it in my chest, my throat. I swept my arms out and unleashed a heaven- and earth-shaking roar of might, and the surging wave of chakra was ignited into a sea of red flames, a rushing, crashing, towering, BLAZING tsunami that washed out into the forest!!! The pitiful forest that would NEVER be enough to hide the coward, to shield the wounded rat from my _wrath_!

"AHAHAHA – _AAHAHAHAHAHAAAA!!!_" I screamed as black smoke billowed from the flaming forest, lit such a _wondrous_ array of red and orange, and the dancing flames leaped and twisted and roared to my laughter!! I tensed my muscles, prepared to spring, to dive in and seek out and snuff out the life of the human surely fighting, struggling so desperately with all the meager whole of his pathetic _shinobi_ skill – fighting for his WORTHLESS existence! He would meet his end at our _claws!_

"Naruto!"

She ran in front of me, so laughably slow that I could have killed her ten times over for all the time she took! She spread her arms as though to stop me – as if to _stop, ME!!_

_Get OUT OF HERE, IDIOT!_

"_You wanna go next?_" I hissed to the girl. _Perfect! _While that other one was busy burning to a crisp, I would have some fun with the disgusting wolf bitch.

I chuckled as tears streamed from wide white eyes and down the terrified weakling's face. "Naruto, wake up! I know you're there somewhere! You've got to fight this monster!"

"H…Hina…ta?" I mumbled slowly, blinking.

"Naruto-kun," she gasped, "I kn-knew it…"

"Hinata, I – I'm scared! The fox is t-t-taking over my body! I'm scared and everything hurts so b-_bad_!"

She placed her hands on my shoulders, her jaw locking a moment. "You've got to stay with me, Naruto!"

"Oh, Hinata," I moaned, shutting my eyes and moving closer. "Hinata, Hinata…" My hand snapped onto her neck. "_You gullible little fool_," I growled, a smile sliding across my face as I lifted her off the ground.

"Na…ru…_to_…" she croaked, struggling weakly, _pathetically_, and her locked teeth began to point, her sclera going dark as black chakra coiled around her burning neck, attempted to _protect_ her!

"_You waste your time, worthless DOG!!" _I laughed, raising a hand coated in a claw-like cloak of energy.

"Please … Naruto-k-kun … don't give in…! I believe in you – uhn! D-don't you – recognize me anymore…? Please … Look into my eyes!"

I gasped. Her eyes, her beautiful eyes, tear-stricken and pleading! Utterly _terrified_ – she was _terrified_, of _me!_ But even now, even in her position, she was far more so terrified _FOR_ me!! She still cared – for _that_ reason she refused to abandon me, hadn't done the _smart_ thing and run away!

"_Naruto…kun…_" she forced out as her breath ran thin, "_I-it's me… _Hinata…"

_PUT HER DOWN!!! _It pounded in my head, sparked and crackled through every nerve ending in my body, and my hand snapped open in compliance as if _burned_! No! This couldn't be! Oh, yes it _could_!

"_RUN AWAY, you FOOL!!!" _I roared furiously, cursing myself inwardly as the _mortal FILTH! _flinched, but maybe that was _good_, yes, I could _scare_ her away! _No_, I already _knew_ that wouldn't work! The stubborn freakin' idiot wouldn't stop until she _succeeded_ or _DIED–!_

"DIE!" I shouted!

"NO!!" I screamed! And my claws jerked to a stop, _one_ _stupid, measly_, blessed _INCH_ from taking out her throat!

"_Curse you … wolf … _Hinata-chan – _WHY DON'T YOU GET AWAY?!!!_"

"B-because..." she gulped, "Because I'm your friend… And I already know you'd do the same for me, no matter what the risk."

"Hinata-chan… I'LL TEAR YOU IN HALF–!"

Her arms were around me.

_CRAAAP!_

_KILL her!_

_No!_

_YES!!_

I grimaced as I fought to kill her, fought to resist.

"_Hinata_ … I'm b-burning you…!"

"This is nothing!" she whimpered. That _VILE_ black chakra, thankfully it was helping to protect her! _CURSE it!!_ "I'm n-not going to leave you!"

"It's no use – _it's FUTILE, scum, I AM – _the f-_fox_ is too strong!!"

"You're stronger, N-Naruto-kun, I _know_ you are!" she cried. "You're – you're the strongest person I've ever known! I won't stand by and let this happen – I _can't! _Naruto, I promise … No matter what, I'll stay with you!!"

"_Damn it, Hinata! Why can't you just FORGET about me already?!"_

"Because… Because I love you, Naruto!"

My eyes widened. My heart skipped three beats.

Pink face – avoided eye contact – "_If you want, I c-could … I could show you my test…" – _always staring from across the room – _"When I look at you, you f-fill me with s-such, such admiration!" – _mumbling, stuttering, breathing fast – _wonder why the heck that weird girl's following me again? – "I just think … you're an incredibly strong person, Naruto!" – _sometimes even fainting – our eyes, locked – _What's this … this feeling? – _recognition behind murderous white eyes – _"Get the hell out the way!" – All made sense._

_BDMP._

"…Hinata…"

"Please, Naruto, you've got to keep fighting! F-for me…" she sobbed.

"Hinata … I … I think I–," Love? _Love?_ I tossed and twisted the word around, repeated it in my head a few times, and at last I mentally nodded. Love. "Yes, I f-feel the same – I th-think I love you, too… _Hinata … _I don't…" Very slowly, very carefully, I embraced her trembling form. "I don't want to hurt you… Listen to me; I _need_ you to do something for me. You'll have to be strong, Hinata…"

"What i-is it…?"

I met her eyes a long moment. And I realized I truly would do anything, whatever it took, to protect this girl.

"Hinata-chan … Kill me."

Her eyes snapped wide.

I cringed as the fox screamed deafeningly in protest, sending pain shooting through my head, blades of agony twisting though my body, violent shouts searing in my ears. Growling, I wrestled it back.

Her head shook very slightly. "No."

"Hin–!" I felt her stiffen against me as I lurched and vomited blood over her shoulder. "Hinata – I'm in a-AGONY!! While I've got the demon suppressed, I'm begging you – pl-please, be strong!"

"I won't do it!" she cried, distraught, "There's got to be another way–!"

"Hinata … forgive me, but there _is_ no other way!" Holding her tight, gripping her arms, and warring against the voice that demanded I break her spine or all-out incinerate her to ashes, I focused on the wild, destructive chakra, intensifying the opaque cloak of red coating my body. My sharp teeth clenched as her scream pierced my ears, and I saw four black rings burst onto her suddenly pale neck in automatic self-defense as before; her mark was supplying enough aura to shield her.

I was starting to bleed everywhere, after all. She shouldn't be able to resist.

I loosened my constraining embrace, so that she would be able to move.

"…N-now who's the baka... _baka_," she growled, flinching in restraint as the fifth ring appeared. "You r-_really_ thought … I w-would be th-that _easy?_" Her claws dug into my shoulder, her teeth grinding angrily in a snarl. War raged behind her wild eyes. She was fighting, hard.

"Kuso… Times like these … I really w-wish my stubbornness hadn't r-rubbed off on ya'…" The demon attacked again by surprise, managing to infect me with a wave of malice. I grunted in pain as I staved off its undefiable iron will, our thirst for the wench's blood, my boundless_, indomitable POWER_ – No! Darn it, I couldn't keep this up much longer! "Just do it already!"

"No," she growled, shutting her eyes. Her left hand pulled slowly away from me, drawing back in preparation to strike. Her clawed hand twitched and trembled, and with a violent shudder she rested her forehead on my shoulder, her back arched as if in pain. My sharp ears caught a strange sound in a few seconds, and I pinned it down as the awakening of her Byakugan. That made enough sense. Her eyes were closed, and she would probably want to find a good place to strike – to make it quick and painless as possible, for both of us. With that hand shrouded in chakra, I had no doubt she could pierce through me, aura cloak and all.

A sound of frustration leaked past her teeth as she shook, unable to do it.

"There, don't feel bad after this. Remember, I asked you to. If you care about me, you'll help me–,"

"Don't make stupid assumptions, idiot," she growled, "I'm protecting you my own way!!"

Her hand shot toward my abdomen, fingers straight and aligned, with just enough force for her claws to slice through the aura and puncture my skin. A stabbing knife of chakra speared through me, stinging like heck.

What the–?

A breathtaking yowl of pain erupted in my head. A wide-eyed Hinata jerked her hand away, latching teeth onto her arm to keep from attacking me. And everything turned black.

* * *

"_Curse that wretched wolf!!!" _The kitsune's bellow pounded through the prison chamber as the seal flared with a sudden black energy. Across the room, the damaged slip of paper was coated in darkness and sending energy violently crackling out over the bars – and racing over the five tails reaching through the bars – as the strengthened seal did its job. The tails previously coiled around me jerked away, retreating back into the prison.

"Hinata … You're a genius!" I whispered.

"_Fools, all of you!_" the fox barked. "_It makes no difference, the end result shall be the same! You think Juuken and some pathetic recreation of that weakling Houkou's chakra will be enough to stop _ME_?!!_"

The Kyuubi's prison suddenly filled with blazing energy, throwing everything in the now red-tinted room into sharp relief and flinging the shadows of the bars across the floor. The chakra built up behind the seal's barrier until it was a raging mass of violent dark crimson, condensed to such a degree that I could see nothing beyond it save for the demon's furious eyes. The barrier of the seal crackled in retaliation, until finally the cloak of grey-black energy burst from the paper.

An ocean of red exploded toward me.

I raised my arms instinctively, and a barrier of blue sprang up around me in a shroud before jumping to extend a few feet in front of me. The wall of fox chakra hit, and I was driven away until my back crashed into the wall. _Chakra must behave differently in here, _I noted, unblinking in shock as I held up the protective dome of chakra shielding me.

I grunted in effort as the red energy warred against mine, fought to consume me again. I could do nothing more than hold my shield in place; my hair danced wildly at the amount of energy I was putting out.

"That's right," I said, "My chakra … is probably about the only think resistant to _your_ chakra…"

"_But how long can you keep it up, gaki?_" Kyuubi chuckled. "_What is your limit? A minute, or perhaps two? _My_ power is immeasurable, virtually _limitless!!" To emphasize he shoved his chakra against mine in a sudden, unexpected heave; my teeth locked almost painfully as the crimson jumped almost a full yard closer before I halted it just a half foot short of my outstretched hands. Trying to push it away again was useless; it felt like I was pushing against a mountain. Which meant every inch lost wouldn't be gained back.

And I was losing strength.

The Kyuubi's power was only intensifying around me. "_Do you understand? Your struggles are futile!_" roared through the chamber. A tail crashed against my barrier, and I felt like I'd been slammed by a sack of bricks; I lost my breath, and a knee hit the floor as a huge chunk of my strength was expended in my defense. Another tail attacked before I could fully recover, and another slammed in, and another and another, and I turned my head away and screamed.

Sheer willpower kept me from giving in as I withstood it all. The crimson chakra was thick red around me, and mine a fluorescent blue in concentration. Only an inch of blue energy remained to separate the red from my hands; my palms burned, and my arms fought the desire to bend, to be forced back under the horrible pressure. My back was pressed tight against the wall behind me. Frequently a spark of red would snap through the shield like a miniature lightning bolt, burning sharply when it touched me. I couldn't go on.

"_You're done, boy…_" the fox growled, and I saw the outlines of five tails rising in preparation. The finishing blow was coming. "_This will end it. Surrender yourself, give me your body to control, and I promise it will not be painful…_"

It was true. Even I knew I wasn't about to defeat it.

"Sorry … but I don't know … the m-meaning of surrender! You'll just h-have to … come and _get me!_"

"_So be it! This is the end!!!"_

The five tails rushed toward me, aiming to pierce through the barrier.

A grim smile.

"Heck. No."

And I turned my palms up and swept my arms back, abandoning my shield and all resistance just before the tails hit.

And the roomful of chakra, pressurized, condensed chakra that had focused and focused into a thick mass of crimson as it had pressed constantly against my defense, was suddenly provided a release. Me.

"_AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!_"

It converged on me from all directions, blasting, shooting into me at an enormous rate. Every second more than a hundred times my body's average chakra must have come exploding into me. My body would never be able to take it.

I screamed, the fox screamed, and our agonized cries were one. It tried to withdraw its power, but I wouldn't let it. I was helping the energy attack me, pulling on the chakra already moving toward me and drawing it in myself.

The boiling rain of chakra finally subsided, and I fell numbly to my hands and knees, impossibly weak and enormously strong, sore, stiff, and strengthless but somehow electrified. I shuddered at a flare of the pain still burning inside me. The room blurred up, and even as my head spun I glared at the fox with the last of my strength. It was whimpering, scratching and pawing, ramming its head against the bars, trying desperately to break the damaged seal. To escape the imminence of the encroaching inevitable.

"Well, well, well. Look at the great invincible Kyuubi no Youko now…"

"_NO, YOU IDIOT – WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!_"

"Kamikaze attack…" I whispered with a smirk. "I'm dying, fox. And I'm taking you with me."

The demon roared madly in outrage, in desperation, turning and throwing its entire body against the bars of its prison.

The bars were dented, and a small bit more of the crackling paper seal browned, blackened, crumbled away.

A massive claw slammed onto the ground outside the prison. Tails fought to pry groaning bars open. The failing seal could only sputter a few sparks in protest.

With an angry yell I reached for my chakra and swept a leaden arm forward.

A bolt of violet purple shot for the seal.

Kyuubi no Youko roared in pain as the seal's barrier crackled and sprang to life. Sharp sparks of yellow light exploded outward along the cage, viciously attacking the protruding tails, paw, and muzzle. The bars lit up with energy and snapped straight, and the kitsune was bodily flung away from them, crashing into some far wall with a great booming thud.

A blinding flash of purple light flared from the seal.

A blanket of darkness slowly slipped over the world.

And as my life faded, a demonic voice gently reached my ears.

"_There is no question now… You _are_ his son, aren't you…?_"

* * *

**Hinata ****ヒナタ**

It was tempting. It was _tempting_.

Slash him open and spill his blood all over the–

_NO!! _Horrified, I jerked my hand back and locked my teeth onto the arm, as much to keep from attacking him as to flee the sharp urge to clean the few delicious-smelling drops of fresh blood from my hands, both of which options striking decidedly appealing. If I tasted it, I feared, I would want more…

I hurriedly tucked the other arm behind me. I leaned away and stilled my feet, allowing myself to topple onto my back, pinning myself down as well as I could. I writhed with a muffled cry as I struggled against the seal, my back arching as grasping tendrils of the intoxicating darkness crept to further their hold on my heart, my mind, my soul–

_That's ENOUGH! _I thought forcefully, and gasped as the mark's power receded. I felt my body returning to normal, and soon I removed my arm from my mouth, panting heavily once I was fully myself again. When I tried to sit up, I cringed; I was pretty banged up, and now also sported very light burns on my neck, hands, forearms, and face, where my skin had been exposed.

"N-Naruto-kun…" I weakly crawled to his side. I'd been so scared – What if I had hit the wrong point? What if I had seen wrong, guessed wrong, and ended up hurting him like Neji had in the Chuunin Exam? But he was peacefully sleeping, his face sickly but the gentle rise and fall of his chest immersing me in relief.

He was alive.

This relief was rather short-lived. It vanished for the most part as Uchiha Itachi shot from the still blazing trees, his cloak singed in several places and his face dirty, bleeding at the mouth, yelling an angry attack cry as he advanced toward me, a kunai in hand. I was suddenly in front of Naruto, drawing my own kunai, shrieking as the man leapt to kill me.

"_Ehehehehehee… That … will be quite enough."_

I wasn't sure when I closed my eyes, but after a few moments passed I found myself opening them warily.

The man stood a yard away, mouth hanging open and a look that almost resembled terror on his face as he gazed as something in the air behind me. He took a step back, pale with unfeigned shock, and against my better judgment I turned around.

Air rushed into my lungs.

Water. That was a LOT of water. And it was coming straight toward us.

The wave stretched into the overcast sky in the north, higher than imaginable and rising still as it rushed toward the shore.

Itachi turned sharply. "Kisam–!"

Kisame was unconscious, right where Lee had left him.

Itachi turned back, shoving past me and glaring at the wave as his hands formed the snake hand seal. The man hesitated, and then dropped the seal with a growl and blurred to his teammate's side, quickly hoisting him off the ground. It hadn't taken him long to realize no fireball could stand up to the rapidly approaching wall of water.

I snapped out of my trance. It was going to be crashing through the first trees at the beach soon. The whole place would be flooded in the next fifteen seconds. I scooped up Naruto's unconscious body and raced to Lee. I lied Naruto over the older boy, and then focused my chakra before picking them up together. With the two in my arms, I sprinted at the nearest tree and dashed up its side. As the momentum of the sprint faded, I could quickly tell I wouldn't be able to keep going for their weight; I pushed my feet off the tree, leaping upward to another. I jumped again, and again, and once more, and then I slipped.

I screamed only a second – suddenly the fall stopped.

The Uchiha was crouched on a tree's side, holding Naruto with an arm around the boy's waist. His other hand, hanging down, had caught a fistful of the front of my jacket – perhaps on a whim after he'd snatched the blond away – and as my terrified eyes held his emotionless ones I was certain he considered dropping me. But he had no time for indecision.

"Hold onto him!" he barked over the steadily loudening roar of water – and before I could blink the man – the heartless villain who had crushed my hand, bruised my ribs, broken a tree with my back, and nailed me in the stomach – flung me to the relative safety of the treetops. I held on tightly to Lee as we sailed into open air, landing gently on a patch of branches in a tall tree. I turned.

"Narut–!"

I yelped as the unconscious boy burst from the foliage, straight into my arms. Itachi soared above the trees from a leap, and just as he began to descend toward the tall one we were perched in – he was sliced in two by a racing disc of water.

_I-it's not natural?!_

POOF!

I turned my head to the north and saw it. The wall of water was ten yards away, towering well above the tallest of the trees.

I pulled my friends in close, shut my eyes, and screamed.

The roar of crashing water was everywhere.

…_Interestingly_ enough, the feel of it was not.

I opened my eyes. "What … the…?"

The water had parted to form a nice, dry sphere of air; we were surrounded by blue as it rushed and flowed rapidly around us. I almost wanted to reach out and touch the liquid, but was too stunned, too incredulous – and too stricken by a gut-wrenching dread that we should be dead by now, that maybe we _would_ die right here at this very moment, or this one, or maybe now – to do a thing save for gawking like an idiot. Seconds stretched into an eternity. At some point I started as something landed on my head, and it then jumped off to land in front of me.

"Yo," the toad said with a hand raised in greeting. I blinked.

…_I'm going insane._

"So… You doing this?" it asked, gesturing to the bubble around us.

I shook my head. "Uh-um, n-no, no I'm n-not…"

"Why d'ya look so pale? You never seen a talking toad before? Oh, sorry, I'm Gamakichi!"

"H-H-Hinata. H-Hyuuga Hinata. Nice t-to m-meet you."

Soon the water level had declined to a point that a small bit of the grey sky above was revealed. In another few moments it lowered past my eye level, and I could see that the very tallest of the trees were beginning to poke through the glossy surface. I could also see the Uchiha standing on the water, holding his partner up with ease, and I knew it spoke volumes for his skill as a shinobi that he had not only survived, but done it without getting wet. I saw Kisame stir weakly, and he fell down but stayed above the surface when Itachi dropped him without warning. All of these things I saw were insignificant details, however. My eyes were drawn and glued to one thing and one thing only.

The giant wolf monster standing only a hundred feet away, five tails swaying loftily behind it as it returned Itachi's glare.

"Houkou, the wolf-dog of five tails, I presume…?" the man asked coolly.

The beast gave a snorting bark. "Oh, so you know of me? Then I surely won't need to ask you twice when I say to leave them be. Leave now, mortal, and I may just spare your life…"

"I'm afraid that is not an option," Itachi said, his Sharingan awakening.

"FOOL!" barked the wolf, and Itachi stiffened, grimacing.

"R-_release_!" he gasped. His eyes focused in an instant, and he jumped aside from a shower of water spears that were racing toward him. From nowhere lightning suddenly sprang to life on the surface near him, and as he raced away it bolted after him. He jumped toward a tree – but a fierce gust picked up, whisking him toward a rising tentacle of water. The man spun and formed a set of seals. A stream of flame shot out … the fire bending impossibly and curving to the side almost as soon as it left his mouth to swiftly wrap several times around him. He yelled out – and then a band of water encircled him and crackled with electricity. He screamed.

"I-Itachi!" Kisame cried.

A log splashed into the water.

The Uchiha surfaced with a gasp near his injured partner, grabbed onto the shark man, and body flickered.

_Did he run aw–?_

Ice shot down my spine as a hand draped itself over my shoulder and a cool, smooth voice leaked into the opposite ear. "For whatever reason, it would appear the beast refuses to harm you."

I gulped.

The tailed beast growled. "Begone, bijuu hunters…"

I saw in the corner of my eye as he nodded. "We're leaving, Kisame."

"Grr… The brat's right here, right in front of us…!"

"You're badly wounded; so am I. We're in no condition to fight a bijuu like this one. We will have another opportunity…" He spoke louder, just enough that the angry wolf could hear him, "Besides, this one isn't ours to capture."

The man ruffled my hair as he stood, Kisame's arm around his shoulders. "Farewell, Hinata … but I can promise you we'll be meeting again."

They were gone.

"Good riddance," the beast said, glaring into the distance for several seconds after.

_...Maybe it forgot about me–?_

"Koinu," it said in acknowledgement, turning its head to meet my eyes, and I squeaked in surprise.

_So, this is the being that's been calling me… _I thought, staring up at the great wolf towering above the trees. Its thick fur was the purest snow white, and contrasted by a pattern of jagged black stripes almost resembling those of a tiger. Intelligent blue eyes outlined in black sat above a proud muzzle tipped by a black nose, and two black fangs protruded from its mouth. The five-tailed bijuu looked lithe and strong, and held an aura of elegance and power.

In one swift bound, it was standing directly in front of the tree I was in, and it leaned its head down so that its eyes were level with mine. Its nose was less than a yard away; I could feel foggy, warm breath on my face, and was conscious of my hair swaying every few seconds at a light breeze.

"We meet at last, koinu…" The wolf-dog closed its eyes and gave a long, exasperated sigh. "You were _supposed_ to come to me, not the other way around… _But_ I suppose I can't exactly _blame_ you for being held up by those fools… Anyways, go ahead and hop on."

I blinked. "…What?"

"Hop. On. My snout."

I blinked again.

"Would you rather carry those two back to the ground yourself?"

"W-w-w-well, n-n-n-n–,"

"Or would you prefer a ride in my mouth?"

I blanched.

"I'll have you know I am being extremely generous, now – why do you look like you're about to pass out?"

I nervously stammered my answer in a mumble.

"_Come again?! I'm a _what_, now?!_"

"A d-d-d-dem-mon," I squeaked, my poor heart racing a thousand miles a minute.

It snorted, eyes narrowed. "I am _highly_ offended. We prefer the term 'tailed beast.' Well… except that crazy cat, maybe. Then again, the Kyuubi, too … yeah, he'd definitely take it as a compliment… And then, actually…"

_It sounded so sinister earlier… _I thought, staring on as the canine realized that perhaps it was indeed the only one that took offense at being called a demon. I shook my head. "A-ano… I am v-very sorry f-f-for offending you, great honorable Houkou-sama!" I said, bowing my head. "You truly aren't wicked or h-horrible a-at all!"

"Why thank you!" the bijuu exclaimed, five tails swishing happily in the air.

I stood up and took one step… only one.

"…What's the problem now?"

"Erm, w-w-well, I mean – y-you live in the L-Land of De–,"

"Fine, you know what, call me what you want! My offer expires in three, two–!"

"O-okay!"

"H-hey, don't forget about me!" Gamakichi chirped, jumping onto my head.

The Gobi lowered us all to the drenched ground, the water having receded back to the ocean. With a curt shake of its head it tossed us off unexpectedly; I sucked in a breath as I landed on my side, and rolled over cradling my ribcage. "You okay, kid?" the toad asked, and I moaned a 'no' in reply. The tailed beast, however, paid me no mind. Its attention had been drawn to Naruto.

"So it's true… The great Kyuubi no Youko, the Nine-tailed Demon Fox, King of the Bijuu…" A growl emanated from its throat. "This is your fate? The only one to defeat me, the one who made a fool of me all those centuries ago … and look at you now, sealed up inside some human boy and ever so weak and _vulnerable_…" The wolf chuckled darkly, completely different from just a few moments before. The tone of its voice set alarms off in my head.

"No!" I cried, rushing in front of Naruto just as a paw rose and flashed in. It stopped short of crushing us both, and moved away to return to the ground.

"Stand aside, koinu."

I shook my head. "You're not going to hurt him."

The Gobi's eyes narrowed as it lowered its head to glower down at me. "I said move."

"No," I answered, holding its gaze.

I gasped as the mark pulsed angrily, several times in rapid succession. My teeth locked at the pain, but my gaze didn't falter as Gobi stared me down. Its sharp black teeth were bared menacingly as a low growl ripped from its throat. "I _beg_ you to reconsider, _koinu_," it spat.

I shook my head, a small cry escaping me as the pain crept up in intensity and stabbed through me at odd intervals. I wanted very badly to scream and cry and curl into a ball and plead for it to stop.

But I didn't. I only glared back at the wolf towering over me.

"And what do you intend to do, little dog? _Fight_ me?"

I don't know why – I don't know _why _I did it. But in a flash I'd drawn a kunai knife, and now held it in a ready position in front of me.

Surprise flickered into its blue eyes, and the pain ended. The Gobi was probably in disbelief of my idiocy, wondering what kind of foolish genin I was to have the temerity to challenge it.

My eyes were wide, but I stood my ground in determination. "If you want to hurt my friend … you'll have to go through me, first."

For several seconds we were silent. Then Gobi chuckled softly.

"That settles it, koinu. You pass."

I… Wait, what?

"I wasn't all too sure before… Heh," the tailed beast gave a laugh, the gentle glow in its eyes again as it sniffed me curiously after a moment of scrutiny. "So you're what, almost five feet tall? You can't weigh more than ninety pounds, and you stutter when you speak. Facing the facts, you're not that outstanding a kunoichi, either. You're small and weak even for a human, and yet you would face me. Even knowing in all certainty that you would lose, you would face me…" It drew itself up to full height, "Gobi, one of the most powerful beings to ever roam this world. You are strong when you must be, and can pull through when you need to, for you possess courage and determination. For this, I suppose, I will not harm the Kyuubi no Kitsune now. A human who dares stand up to me… I guess you're worthy after all. Congratulations, Koinu; you've earned my respect."

Relief, hesitantly at first, finally washed over me. "U-um… Thank you, Gobi-sama," I said with a bow.

"Now, I'll assume you'd like to know why you're here…?"

"Hai," I answered, trying not to squirm as I resisted the urge to poke my fingers together, to avert my gaze, to reveal my anxiety.

"Well, the truth is…" The wolf lied down, injuring who knows how many trees in the process, and rested its head on crossed paws in front of me. "I think I can help you help me protect Konohagakure no Sato."

I was thrown off again, and it must have showed on my face as the Gobi sighed.

"Sit down, Koinu; I've got a story to tell."

Hesitantly I did as told, sitting down near Naruto; I doubted the beast would risk an attack on him with me so close by.

Gobi closed its eyes, and was silent and still for so many moments it could just as easily have been asleep. With a deep breath, it began.

"Long ago, two teenage shinobi who would later on become known as your First and Second Hokage were good to one of my children in a time of peril… The young brothers came across her and kindly saved her life, and as we great beasts do not accept favors from humans, I felt myself to be in the debt of the two mortals. Decades later, they created one of the first shinobi villages, and I made an oath in order to pay the debt that still weighed terribly upon me – and thus ever since I have made a point of seeing that the place does not fall into dire peril."

At this it briefly glanced Naruto's way as its eyes opened. _So aside from whatever defeat it apparently suffered long ago … there's another reason for it to be at odds with the Nine-tailed fox…_

Its blue eyes drifted to me as it continued. "Not quite so long ago, _another_ mortal came across one of my beloved pups and slew him. I was enraged, mad with fury at losing my child at the hands of a human – and a Leaf Village shinobi, at that!"

"But … why would someone do s-such a thing? For … for g-glory? Who…?"

"Ha – I think you've heard of Orochimaru?"

"Him…" I said with a hint of bitterness, nodding. That seemed to fit.

"Yes, the man took several vials of the pup's blood, I can only assume for some kind of experimentation – but apparently whatever he was after wasn't in my child's blood. My pup's death wasn't good enough, his blood not strong enough or pure enough for the mortal … so years later he travelled to the Land of Demons and sought _me_ out instead…

"I was careless with my vengeful desire to destroy the man; in the brief clash that ensued, he managed to draw my black blood with his sword before he fled and escaped me. I would have chased him down, but he ran to Konoha and I am unable to go near the place.

"The blood of an immortal is powerful; Orochimaru used it to develop that seal as an imitation of my power. He slowly honed it, perfected it to his liking, tested and retested it … and a couple of months ago, he afflicted your cousin with the curse. But he hadn't once anticipated the degree of influence I held over the mark he forged of my blood…" The Gobi chuckled softly. Its face then hardened once more.

"Listen to me. The man's ambitions place a great deal of Konoha in peril, something I have sworn to put forth an effort to prevent. He has wronged both me and my entire family, and shamed us all with his theft and corruption of our blood for his own petty purposes and desires, and yet I am unable to get at him. At this point, I will do _anything_ within my power to hinder the vile snake. It just so happens that one moon ago, I received one chance opportunity to decimate a key figure in his plot…"

I did _not _like where this was going…

"I won't lie, Koinu. When you activated your subjugation spell over that boy … it was I who reached out to take hold of the instability of his reacting Blood Seal and push it to kill him."

It waited, possibly curious as to what reaction I'd take. I couldn't be too angry with the Gobi; its reasons were understandable. "I won't lie, either," I said, "I'm very glad you didn't succeed."

The wolf nodded slightly and continued. "I had almost succeeded in snuffing out his life when he began fighting off the mark – he was fighting me, for you. Even so, he hadn't the strength to stop me, and I was soon prepared to end it. I would have, too, if not for a sudden thought occurring to me – why settle for merely taking the Hyuuga boy's life? I had the opportunity to possibly achieve far more in the long run toward the cause of thwarting the foul snake, and that opportunity, that prospect, lied in none other than a certain weak, strong-spirited little kunoichi of Konoha…

"So I shoved a thought into your cousin's head; while he was finding equal solace and agony in the scent of your blood, I proposed the option that would make all the pain go away and save both your lives... He took the bait with no second thoughts, and lost enough of the mark that he was able to deactivate it. Meanwhile, I reached out to you the instant that mark appeared on your neck. I kept your heart beating, slowly mended your lungs and ribcage, and then began knitting together torn muscles and tissues, repairing broken bones, going to great lengths for you … and even as you healed, slowly but surely, the curse was already beginning to transform you as it had your cousin. You've been disgruntled frequently at the depth and extent of the sounds you now can hear, at how many new and subtle scents you can pick up. You've surely noticed that your muscles are stronger, your bones denser than before? If it weren't for the effects of the mark, I'm certain you'd be in far worse shape than you are now."

I winced, recalling my spill with that tree. It had hurt terribly – it was still hurting now – but nothing had broken badly. In fact, I remembered being dazed only a few moments before pulling the left side of my body from under the tree, rolling over and ripping the shredded bandaging tape off my arm, drawing a brush from my kunai pouch and opening the flask of chakra-infused ink-blood mixture at my hip…

"You've saved me more than once…" I said, meeting the wolf's eyes. If it weren't for the Gobi, Neji and I would both have died that day a month ago. "Arigatou gozaimasu, Gobi-sama… I thank you, but I have to ask… Please, if you ever do get the chance again, I'm begging you not to make another attempt on my cousin's life…"

"Oh, but I doubt there will be another chance. It worked then only because it was still early on, and his mark fairly fresh … but as Orochimaru's influence on him and his power over the boy's mark strengthens, my sway over him steadily declines. In a few months, I probably won't have any effect on him at all. You see, Koinu, curse seals of countless natures and varieties have been around for centuries and dwindled in the last fifty or sixty years as most were looked down on or forbidden. The ones produced by Orochimaru are likely among the most complex and sophisticated the world has ever known, but those he develops all share one common point in that they grasp and thrive on the darkness within their hosts' hearts. You _Neji_ is completely losing himself to the darkness and the seal, and in turn is only becoming easier for his master to control each and every day… and for all his supposed 'genius,' the dolt doesn't even realize it."

I opened my mouth, only to be cut off.

"_Which_ brings us to why you, pitiful koinu, are ideal for assisting me. This Blood Seal of Orochimaru's devise is not like the rest of his curse seals; so long as my influence over it exists, it doesn't have to be purely evil … meaning that it could actually awaken even without darkness to cling to and build on, and be utilized as a 'clean' curse seal."

"I don't follow…" I said.

"What I'm saying is that the mark has taken to you, Koinu, body and spirit alike. For whatever reason, using its power doesn't wear on your body as it does your cousin's. And frankly, there isn't nearly enough Darkness in your soul for the curse to root and take hold of you, leaving you immune to its deteriorating effects as well. If Orochimaru were to try to attack you through your curse seal, I have a hunch he might actually fail. Your soul… It's just too unnaturally pure."

"Am … am I really that…?" I didn't know – special? _Weird_?

"Koinu… You fought unrestrained and yet retained your sense of discrimination to a degree that you did not attack your comrades. You went utterly feral and yet managed to channel it against your single target. You were more beast than human inside, but you maintained the rationality to speak, to plot and deceive, and even called to memory a seal formula to jot onto your arm! And after you allowed the mark to take hold of you with almost all its strength, you broke away from it with relative ease, almost at will.

"I waited to intervene because I wished to see your potential, to decide whether or not you were worthy … and in my eyes, you proved yourself. Considering it was your first true use of the seal, your handling of it was masterful."

I didn't think so; the way I saw it, I had lost myself and turned into a raging savage. "But…"

"By the fifth level, I guarantee you – your _Neji_ would have been striking down everything that breathed in a berserk rage." It let it sink in, and I remembered – at the second level, Neji had been trapped in the seal's hold, unable to escape it. "Let's face the facts, little dog – it's like the seal was created for you. That's why … I feel even more strongly now that we are meant to join forces here. I know it was the right choice to draw you into this, Koinu. If you can master the seal, and allow it to synchronize with your body and become a controlled part of you… Well, there's one advantage you can have that Neji never will." The five-tailed wolf stood slowly. "You have mine and my family's support in your quest, Koinu. You're special; of that much I am certain. With the wolves on your side, the Hidden Leaf may just have a fighting chance yet."

It placed a paw on the ground before me as I got to my feet as well. A puff of smoke burst from beneath the paw, and it pulled away to reveal a thick black, white, and grey colored scroll more than three feet long. I looked up questioningly.

"Sign this summoning contract in your blood … if you agree to ally yourself to the wolves."

I nodded and knelt down, but my hands shook as I reached for the scroll. Uncertain, I paused.

"What's wrong? Scared to sign the contract from the evil demon dog?"

_Yes._

"N-n-no," I denied, cursing my stutter, and bit my lip nervously as I carefully placed my hands on the scroll. It wasn't like I didn't trust it, but still…

"Do you trust me?"

Surprised, I looked up into its eyes. Its gentle gaze held mine a long minute.

"…Yes."

"Then open it up, at least, and take a look at history's other wolf-allies."

It nodded encouragingly as I looked down at the large scroll, and in a moment I rolled it open. A row of columns was revealed inside it, and all but the first two were empty. Written in those two columns, tinted lightly with the scent of blood, were two names that took my breath away.

"Shodaime-sama … and Nidaime-sama…?"

"It's not easy for a mortal to earn my respect, Koinu … and it is all save impossible for one to gain my trust. Sign you name, pure-hearted koinu, if you will help me protect the Village Hidden in the Leaves…"

I took a deep breath, determination in my eyes.

"Right."

I bit my thumb, and in the third column I signed.

日向ヒナタ

Hyuuga Hinata.

As the wolf instructed, I smeared the fingers of my left hand with my bleeding thumb, and then stamped all five in a space at the bottom of the column.

The Gobi nodded, and told me to stand. Once I had, it lifted its paw and slowly, carefully reached toward me. "Trust me," it said gently as it placed the tip of one sharp, black nail at the center of my forehead, and another over my heart. I couldn't help its occurring to me that if the bijuu happened to lose balance, it could crush m–

"Seriously, Koinu, stop squirming. If you keep moving like that I might accidentally crush you."

I hadn't realized I was moving, but somehow I was suddenly too scared to tremble.

Gobi's eyes glowed a powerful blue, and a strange tingling washed down my body like cool water. My breath caught, until in a few seconds the wolf's paw drew away and returned to the ground; I wobbled and suddenly dropped to my knees, gasping softly.

"That is all I need say to you now. Farewell, Koinu."

"W… wait!" I said as the beast began to turn. "I need to ask you something…"

Gobi looked back to me. "Go ahead."

"The – the full moon… Is there any way to prevent the transformation?"

It actually smirked, in an odd, wolfy kind of way. "I would recommend trying to master your full moon state eventually … but perhaps that is indeed for another day. Alright, I'll tell you – there is a sort of temporary cure … and you're in luck, as I believe you've already been acquainted with it…"

* * *

**Hanabi ****ハナビ**

"Your cooking's great as always!" Chouji said to Shikamaru's mom as we all dug in to supper.

"Chouji, stop flattering me, you sweet boy," she said, smiling pleasantly at the Akimichi and jokingly pinching a spiral-tattooed cheek.

Shikamaru groaned exaggeratedly. "I envy you. It sure would be nice if she babied _me_ like that every once in a while…" he muttered with a pout, earning a light whack over the head from his mother.

She glanced over our group of five crowded around the small table as each of us giggled or at least smiled, but her own face slowly fell. "It's just awful… You five are growing children, and…"

By the time she trailed off, all the former cheer in the air had dissipated. I knew what she was thinking; this was our first real meal in days.

My mind wandered as the conversation drifted to the overcharging. Of the shops still permitted to sell to ninja who had not turned in their Konoha hitai-ate and other suspected rebels, they were coordinated in being forbidden to sell to us at all some weeks, and in the weeks they did we were charged up to double price, 'by order of Lord Hokage.' The genin had taken to finding small jobs and tasks around the village, but more often than not were turned down or severely underpaid.

We'd been eating a lot of shinobi ration bars lately. The tasteless things were inexpensive, nutritious, and capable of staying perfectly fresh for months.

"They're just taunting New Konoha now," Kiba was saying as I tuned back into the conversation. "No doubt now war's on the horizon – the only question is when."

"Kiba!" Chouji whispered sharply, and the dog-nin looked up, surprised. Yoshino-san's head had lowered to hide her face, but none of us could miss the glistening droplet that rolled down her cheek and plitted onto the table. She covered her face with a hand, and then stood and left the room.

"…Baka," Sakura said quietly.

"I know," Kiba sighed dejectedly, laying a fist on his forehead.

"Mendoukuse…" Shikamaru muttered without the slightest trace of annoyance. "Go wait outside," he told us, standing and heading after her. "Mom!"

* * *

**Hinata ****ヒナタ**

"Lee-kun… Please w-wake up…"

"_Uh…_" His eyes opened, and he croaked groggily, "I … am alive…?"

I smiled. "Thank goodness…"

He blinked, looking to me – and terror flashed across his face.

_CRACK!_

…_Didn't see that one coming, _I thought, teeth snapping together as something impacted my jaw and threw my back against a tree behind me.

"_Oww_…" I said, "Okay, I was completely off-guard, but this r-really isn't the best time for a test, Lee-k–." My eyes opened, and widened. "Lee-kun … wh-what're you…?"

"Y-you tried to kill me," the boy whispered, his hand trembling on the katana held at my throat. His other hand had clasped a fistful of my jacked at one side of my collarbone, and was now pressing almost painfully to pin me to the tree.

"L-Lee… What are you t-talking about?! I don't know wh-,"

"Liar!" he growled sharply, anger on his face. His unblinking wide eyes didn't stray from my pleading gaze as he continued to gasp raggedly, his body twitching disturbingly. "You tried to blow up my heart!!"

"I could never do such a thing, and you know it!" I cried, and whimpered as the pressure on my clavicle increased suddenly.

"I would not have thought you capable either…" Another sharp jump in the pressure. "But I was gravely mistaken…"

I searched his wary, blank eyes, dark with hatred. My friend, my comrade, my almost-brother ... was about to kill me. "P-please listen to me!" I whimpered, "A genjutsu must have gotten t-to you – it wasn't real–!"

The blade's cold edge rested at my throat. "I am not falling for that, Hinata – you wanted to get me, before I got you…" His eyes turned savage – his hand stopped trembling. "I am not letting that happen."

Our eyes remained locked a moment.

Then I saw his arm starting to move, caught the tiniest hint of the beginnings of the motion that would slit my throat – and shoved my boot into his stomach.

The katana lightly nicked my neck as he was forced away and stumbled onto his feet. He was weakened from the Lotus earlier; as I advanced I easily ducked a slash, hand-chopped upward at his wrist with enough force to disarm him, and pounced into him before he could draw the other blade, throwing him five yards, pinning him against another tree with a forearm across his neck, and slamming my right palm into his chest. His eyes shut tight in fear, in anticipation.

"Wh… I do not understand!" he whimpered at my seeming show of mercy. I released him, and he slid weakly to the ground, falling into a sitting position.

"Tell me, Lee-kun," I growled, "Which hand did I try to _murder_ you with earlier?"

"Y-your right," he said in a moment, sounding confused as he was terrified.

"And that's probably because _Itachi_ didn't _know_ about my arm when he _caught_ you in the genjutsu."

Lee's jaw dropped as it came to him.

I calmly pulled back my sleeve, revealing the four dark lines across my forearm. "Remember? I couldn't kill you with my right palm if I wanted to."

"…Kami-sama…" he breathed, stunned. Then he broke down crying.

Without a second thought I knelt to comfort him, and he threw his arms around me, cupping my head in his hand, holding me tightly, and bawling his eyes out as if he feared I would disappear.

* * *

**Hanabi ****ハナビ**

"I just can't take it, Shikamaru!"

"Mom … we're ninja of Konoha. Try to understand. We can't just back down and give up on the village. Our … our duty is to protect–,"

"You've never been determined or passionate about a thing in your life! Why now?! Why?!! It would be better for everyone if you just gave up on this New Konoha joke already!"

"Mom…"

"You're just children! You don't belong fighting a w-_war!_"

"Even if we _are_ just kids–!"

"So what if they're '_just_ taunting' you now?! That girl is thin as a rail, and poor Chouji looks thinner every time I see him! What's next, Shikamaru? Will you be dragging yourself home with broken bones? Will they just decide one day to paper-bomb us into oblivion? You can't be involved in this! If you can't get your friends to give up, then fine – but I'm _ordering_ you to turn in your headband! And then … they'll let you see your father, and you can convince him to do the same! I c-can't bear it anymore… I can't take this spending each night w-wondering whether Shikaku is dead or alive, _wondering_ every single time you leave the house whether I've s-seen my b-baby's face f-for the last time!"

"Mom…" he whispered as her sobs reached our ears. "I can't…" There was something strange in his voice as he trailed off. "Get some rest, mom…

"Guys, you can stop hiding out there."

Kiba, Sakura, Chouji and I started and exchanged guilty looks before we stood. Shikamaru hopped past us out of the window we'd been hiding under.

"Chouji, Kiba, and Hanabi, you take the ones in the north. Sakura, Akamaru and I'll cover the south. Pass word to the other teams that we're meeting in two hours at the regular location."

"Shikamaru… What're you planning?" Chouji asked.

The Nara boy turned to us, tears streaked down his determined face. "Cowering and waiting around won't get us anywhere. If the rest of New Konoha agrees, we're going on a recon mission to the prison … as our first step toward freeing the village council."

* * *

**Lee ****リー**

The meditating girl's eyes snapped open as she started abruptly. Her hands clasped at her hair as she gasped through her teeth. "It's almost time…" she whispered past suddenly pointed teeth, the sclera of her eyes going dark.

–"_Lee-kun… I need your help with something…"_

"_A-anything. Name it.–_

She shuddered violently with a stifled cry, and her skin whitened as the markings quickly appeared.

–"_Gobi said … there're only a few ways to prevent the transformation."–_

I looked at the item in my hands, and then up at the round moon in the sky. Hinata-san was seated facing away from it; if her eyes saw it, all hope would be lost.

–"_I could physically exhaust myself, it said – if I had about five hours to spend running myself to severe fatigue, or on the day before a full moon, twenty."–_

An aura formed around her as she trembled in silent agony. Her nails finished changing into claws. I saw in the corner of my eye as the toad sitting next to Naruto's still unconscious form twenty yards away yelped and jumped behind the boy.

–"_It's impossible for me to sleep when the full moon is near … and next to impossible for me to remain unconscious for long, if at all."–_

She fought not to cry out as she shuddered again, and in a moment a chilling, long growl reached my ears.

"Hinata-san!"

"_Not yet…_" She spoke through the growl, her voice different, harsh, almost alien to my ears.

–"_There's just one sure way … but it won't be pleasant."–_

Black and white eyes met mine, quickly beginning to turn wild. "_Now!_" she barked. Her hands came together, each slashing the other's palm open in the same move. I held out the purple flower, and as her black-streaked hands clamped onto its stem, my hands clapped onto hers.

Hinata jolted like she'd been hit by lightning, and–

"_RAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!_"

She screamed madly as waves of black chakra shot away from her, rapidly being expelled from her body. She turned her head away, fighting furiously to withdraw her hands as she cried out again. I grimaced, teeth gritting at the scream as I held her hands together, with much physical and mental effort preventing her from pulling away. I stared unblinking as the transformation taking place continued before my eyes, as her scream morphed into a roaring cry.

Black energy surged from the mark, shot over her body, and raced down her arms and into the flower at an incredible speed, and I could feel the river of darkness rushing beneath my fingers as I continued to hold her hands firm. Suddenly the transformation was reversing. She never stopped screaming.

Once the curse's power had been sucked from her, I felt Hinata's own familiar chakra being drawn into the flower. I loosened my grip, and realized that at some point she had stopped resisting; she did not let go of it.

"That is enough, Hinata-san! You can–!"

The silent girl shuddered and fell stiffly onto her side, mouth hanging open, eyes blank, and knuckles white on the flower that was draining her life at an alarming rate.

She was already unconscious.

"HINATA!!" I screamed, lunging to pry open her locked fingers. I freed her right hand. Her body convulsed violently every few moments; red was pooling at her mouth. I succeeded in freeing her left, and flung aside the stupid aconite, the wolfsbane, that had nearly killed her.

_Why? Why did you not say there would be such a risk?!_

I rolled her onto her back, and checked to find a dangerously weak pulse.

"Kuso…!" I swore, feeling no flow of air when I placed a hand beneath her nose. I pressed my mouth to hers, initiating cardiopulmonary resuscitation, CPR. I switched to chest compressions, muttering as I did so, "Kuso! Kuso! Kuso!"

* * *

**Neji ****ネジ**

I fingered the small pill in my hand, the pill that had been given to me a day after the previous full moon. What was the reason for that, I wondered? If he'd provided it today or yesterday, I would have a fresh reminder that the full moon was approaching. In giving it to me a month early, did he hope that I might lose track, that by the full moon I would have forgotten about it? But to my chagrin, I almost had.

–"_O-Orochimaru-sama…! Permission to l-leave the village for the night?"–_

I had sprinted all the way there, only to be left in suspense as I waited at the door, fidgeting, biting my nails, wringing my hands, biting my hands, pacing nervously for twenty-two nerve-wracking minutes before I was allowed to enter with my request. Then I had sprinted all the way here.

A breeze rolled through the Konoha Forest clearing, and I shivered. I wanted to pace around, to _move_, but doing so would mean risking a glimpse of the moon, and if that happened–

I shuddered suddenly. It was time. I raised my hand to my mouth, but the instant I was letting go of the pill a second shudder hit me. The capsule bounced off my lip, fell to the ground.

I swore heavily, searching through the long grass with trembling fingers. I couldn't transform here – I hadn't expected anything to go wrong, I was too close to the village!

"Byakugan–!" I almost cried out as it failed, a sharp bolt of fire stabbing between my eyes. I continued searching with my hands as my skin steadily paled. I didn't have much time!

I turned, swearing again as my eyes shut; I'd nearly looked at the moon. Lowering my head, I began sniffing for it, using the rapidly heightening sense to my advantage.

_There! _I grabbed it, and this time slapped the whole hand over my mouth, threw my head back, and swallowed. _That was … too close… _The shudders ceased, and I watched as claws vanished, as color returned to my hand.

Then I hit the ground.

* * *

**Hanabi ****ハナビ**

A fine mist of dew glistened on the blades of grass as the sun's rays began rolling over the horizon, cascading across the land like a veil of gentle warmth.

We waited in anxious silence when the crackle of Shikamaru's earpiece ended.

"Everyone's in position. It's time to go." At Shikamaru's hand signal, he Chouji, and Sakura flickered from the tree.

"Good luck," Kiba whispered under his breath, and I nodded in agreement.

They were heading for the village prison – and not all too certain of what they would find.

* * *

**ナルト ****/ ****リー ****/ ****ヒナタ ****\ ****ハナビ ****\ ****ネジ**

**End Chapter Seven**

**Naruto: **_So_… the seal's power came from a giant wolf…?

**Neji:** Right… And?

**Naruto**: So how come you get tiger stripes when you use it?

**Neji**:…

**Naruto**: I mean, ya' look like you should be singing crappy jingles in corn flake cereal commercials…

**Neji:** ...You know what?

**Naruto:** What?

**Neji:** IRON REAVER SOUL STEALER!!!

**Naruto:** AHH! Okay, wolf-dog, I believe you!

**Neji:** Crap… Is this thing _on_?! Um… _Lee!_

**Naruto:** TeeChNiCaL dIfFiCuLtIeSssssz!1!1! (static)

**Lee:** Hinata-san is breathing again, but the two are still unconscious. I am starting to get worried. What _happened_ to Naruto-kun, anyways? I do not even know! Now I have only a fast-talking little curious frog to keep me company, but he has quite the interesting story to tell…

**Hanabi:** Meanwhile, a mysterious new ally of Konoha reveals himself!

**Neji:** And loyalties are tested – but whose side are you _really_ on…?

**???:** Who dares summon me, the great K–?!

**Lee:** Shush, new character! You must not reveal your name in a preview!

**???:** You telling me what to do? Fine. My name is–!

**Neji:** Next is **Chapter Eight: Where Loyalties Lie** until we can think of a better title! Someone cut the mic!

Darn it! I didn't expect the Akatsuki battle to end up _that_ long… But I only update about once a month, so long chapters are okay, right…?

I know, I'm mean – I scared you with that idiom definition at the beginning! I guess it was more like he tried to throw _himself_ to the wolves, to save the others, if that even makes sense. ;)

Every time I write a chapter, Word says it has so many words, and then FanFiction says it has a whole lot more! Does that happen to everyone? It's like, hundreds of words' difference between them! I'm editing it now, and I wrote down how many words it said the chapter was, 19,768. Just to test it, I added a five word sentence and saved, and now it says 21,675! I don't get it!

Next is a more Konoha-focused chapter, and expect it to be a shorter one! What? Why are you laughing? I'm serious! Fine, I don't know…

How was the chapter? The Akatsuki battle? Lee's lotus, Hinata's curse seal? Was Kyuubi Naruto's part done well? I tried to make it like the line between Naruto and Kyuubi was blurred. The Naruhina - good or lame? Was everyone in character? What did you think of Gobi – were its reasons believable? Btw, I realize the 'Legend of the Tailed Beasts' on Narutofan isn't a real legend… I just don't really care ;) so Gobi is the master of elements and illusion!

Please tell me if you liked the chapter!

Laters!

:o)Hinata0321:o)


	8. Where Loyalties Lie

J3F\\\ Journey of the Three Failures

Chapter Eight

I'm baaaaack!

Huge thanks to **elongation, Cheeky Tiff, Doom-Chan, Omega the Darkness, WinterMission, soundless steps, The last blue Rose, Magically Inclined, MaNgA aN AnImE pErSoN, broken-Angel-requiem-Soul, aki6, Rena the pirate jedi wizard, Chakram Soldier, T-Biggz, Exiled Rain, Chewie Cookies, Naybi, Kitsune Raider, chibi heishi, narutos vixen, **and everyone else who's reviewed, favorited, or alerted!

You might have noticed, I have another story now – and it's not a Naruto story (I know, I surprised myself)! If you're a fan of Kurau Phantom Memory, please check it out!

Sigh… I'll be 15 soon. I feel old :'(…

Tee-hee! Looks like I've got my first two flames! :) Oh, and in other news, I finally have a profile icon! I'm all proud of myself, I edited the pic to make it clearer, and – okay, anyways, moving on! I think this chapter turned out pretty nice, I hope you like it!

**Disclaimer: **No, I do not own NARUTO. I am simply unleashing my imagination, thank you.

* * *

**Journey of the Three Failures**

**Eight: Where Loyalties Lie**

**Lee ****リー**

"Kid, you need sleep."

"I will not. I must remain awake … in case anything happens…"

"Ya' look like a mess! Have you been up all night?"

"Hai, I have… but I am just fine…"

The toad raised an eyebrow (or where eyebrows would be if toads them, anyways) as I yawned for a full five seconds. "I would wake you up if anything changed," he pointed out, "Honest…"

I checked Hinata's pulse again; it was faint but steady. No change. "If something were to happen to either of them due to my carelessness … I would never forgive myself…"

Her heart had stopped earlier. I had continued CPR for five despair-filled minutes after I had believed her gone, full of denial and desperation. Then, incredibly, the girl had given a gasp and a shudder, eyes snapping wide open a moment before drooping shut. Her heart had restarted, and at the same time she had started breathing on her own again. I had a hunch that the full moon was in some way responsible.

The girl now slept peacefully, her skin in the moonlight nearly as white as the bandages on much of her body. After her condition had stabilized, I had gotten my first chance to check her over for injuries from battling the Akatsuki. I could not imagine how it had happened, but several patches of wood splinters had littered her body (even without counting those that she had clearly begun removing before I woke up); the worst of which had stretched almost the length of her arm and contained some splinters several millimeters thick and half an inch long. Glad to be doing so while she was unconscious, I had spent an hour meticulously picking even the tiniest of them from her arms, legs, hands, and back, applying anti-infection ointment as I worked. After that I had carefully cleaned a number of scratches and cuts, and then medicated and bandaged light chakra burns.

Naruto… he had had a few extremely light chakra burns, but by the time I had finished tending to Hinata's more serious injuries, the boy was virtually unscathed.

_What on earth happened…? _I wondered for not the first time. "Please … could you keep talking to me, Gamakichi-kun? It would help me to stay awake…"

The toad sighed. "I guess what I'm wondering here is just who you three are – _what_ you are. What's even going on?"

"What do you mean?"

"None of us toads have been summoned in a while; we were wondering what's up. I mean – who's that kid who summoned me, anyway? Why do y'all wear headbands, if you're apparently missing-nin? Not to mention, I saw some pretty freaky stuff happen earlier… Man, I just really wish I knew what happened to old man Jiraiya…"

"…Jiraiya? You mean Lord Jiraiya … the legendary sannin?"

"Yep, that's the one. Do you know how confusing this summoning business gets? I mean, two months ago the guy summons me and doesn't say nothing but follow him without getting seen, cuz '_something's_ up.' So a little later he's going for a walk with the Third out in the forest, and outta' nowhere the old guy attacks him!"

I was very much awake now. "Wh – what happened next?"

"Long story short, the hermit ends up getting ko'd and drugged with something, and then he's handed off to a bunch of _Sound_ ninja who pop up! And then – oh boy, was it hard keeping up with them! I was sore for–!"

"Gamakichi-kun!" I gasped, shocked, "Please…!"

"Right, right, so then the Sound guys take him real far away to the middle a'nowhere, and they head down a hidden passage in the ground. Pops thinks it's probably some kind'a prison…"

"Yes – yes, I agree!"

"So then I went to get a closer look, and one of the Oto-nin came out and cursed up a storm when 'e saw me! He ran at me, and I skedaddled outta' there on the double. I told the rest of the family, and they agreed that the next time one of us was summoned, he had to alert Konoha! But … this is about the first time anyone's been summoned since then, so … yeah. Kid, you okay there?"

I was kneeling in front of the toad, fingers interlocked, my chin almost on the ground, hanging onto every word. "A-and… Do you think … you might be able to … _find_ this prison again…?"

"Yeah, no problemo … Why?"

"…"

"…Kid–?"

"YATTA!!!" I exclaimed joyously, picking him up raising him into the air, jumping and dancing and laughing gaily.

"Hey, h-h-hey! Cool it!" he protested as I kissed his slimy cheek.

"Gomen – but do you realize what this _means_?!"

"Maybe I would, if someone wouldn't mind filling me in already!!"

"Ah! Of course!" I said, setting him down. "This is just such wonderful news!" I went on to explain everything – from all we knew about Oto's takeover and Konoha's situation, to the imprisoning of the high-level shinobi, to the brewing civil war, to the unique position Naruto, Hinata, and I were in right now. We talked for thirty minutes, during which time he pointed out on a map where he would estimate the prison was and we continued to exchange what we knew.

"I ought to get back and tell everyone about this. Have Blondie summon me when he wakes up, alright?"

"Right," I said, nodding.

"See ya'!" he chirped, and vanished in a puff of smoke.

_Unbelievable… _I thought. _If we can just save Lord Jiraiya, we may have a chance of combating Orochimaru!_

A long moan brought me back to the present.

"Hinata-san…? Are you awake?" I whispered.

"Uhh…" Her eyes cracked open, and shut tightly as she moaned again.

"How do you feel?"

"Uhhh…"

"Do you remember all that happened yesterday?"

She was silent a very long moment, and her mouth formed a slight scowl of concentration. Then she nodded weakly.

"…Worst … birthday … ever…"

* * *

**Hanabi ****ハナビ**

"My Byakugan… I just know it would have been helpful."

"Save it, kid. It's too dangerous for you and you know it. Besides, it's a little too late to change plans now."

"I know…"

I realized it was about to start, and gazed toward the main village. Kiba counted quietly to himself.

"I'd say in about three, two, one…"

The marketplace and the areas around it – which would be at this time beginning to bustle with morning activity – went up in smoke as all at once hundreds of smoke grenades were set off by roughly seventy New Konoha shinobi.

"Bingo," Kiba whispered as alarms promptly went off in the area. Surprised Oto-nin flocked toward the scene, where they would be finding about fifty of those seventy angrily 'fighting' each other and causing as much ruckus and superficial damage as possible. The two of us watched silently from our hidden position in the treetop as at least three dozen Oto chuunin and jounin rushed from the prison, sprinting past us and racing over rooftops once they'd reached them. The Inuzuka pressed a button on his radio.

"This is Hound to Shadow, Hound to Shadow!" he whispered quickly. "Bait taken – the flock has left the nest!"

"Byakugan!" I whispered, heart hammering against my ribcage. "Six crows just within the gate, two hawks and two crows barring an entrance ten yards further back," I reported, and watched as the high wall's shadow – lengthened toward the prison by the sun behind us – darkened instantly as a shadow crept from a bush along the outside of the wall and connected to it. The two jounin on guard jumped, only to be quickly overpowered by five speeding figures clothed in black. In the next moment the eight captured chuunin were taken down by them as the shadow retreated.

"_Dango to Team Shadow, all clear!"_

"_Shadow to Team Dolphin–!"_

"_Dolphin to Shadow, all clear, backway is open!"_

"_Right. Remember, in and out in seven minutes, without getting seen! Move in!"_

"_Roger!"_

The five figures who had taken out the guards rushed through the entrance, and Shikamaru, Chouji, and Sakura – identically masked and clothed in black – swiftly raced from their hiding place and followed after them, vanishing from view.

"So…" I said nervously.

Kiba nodded, placing a hand on my head. "Now we watch and wait. And pray."

For five minutes all was silent as Kiba and I kept watch. Finally, feedback came from one of the squads coordinating the riot.

"_We're cornered, flock is in the net and none the wiser. Stage two is go in three, two…"_

I turned my back on the direction of the riot, and Kiba did as well. And we knew every New Konoha shinobi at the riot was at this moment shutting his or her eyes – and fifty hidden light bombs that had been rigged throughout the area the previous night were going off at once.

"_Success," _crackled in after a moment, and I sighed out a breath I hadn't known I was holding.

"_Shadow to Dolphin and Dango – two minutes to get your squads back to the surface."_

"_Dango to Shadow – I'm gonna take a different route and map more ground."_

"_Dolphin to Dango – Are you sure that's a good idea?"_

"_I'm sure I can be out in time."_

"_Shadow to Dango – go ahead."_

_It looks like they pulled off the scouting mission. Now all they have to do is get away before the Sound realizes anything's up–_

"_Hold on! Dango to Shadow – I can hear torture going on over here!"_

Goosebumps rose on my skin, and as I met Kiba's eyes a message passed between us: Just as we feared.

"_Shadow?!" _she whispered, _"My squad agrees! Just give us the ok, and we'll go in–!"_

"_And you'll what?! Emotions don't play a role in the mission, shouldn't you know that?! We're not to be seen!"_

"_I don't plan on being seen!"_

"_Dolphin to Shadow – I agree with her!"_

"_No, don't do it!"_

"_Too late, brat!"_

Speechless, the two of us exchanged another look.

A second later an alarm went off.

"_Kuso! Dolphin, do you also have a set of keys?"_

"_Hai!"_

"_New plan, start unlocking as many cells as you c–!!"_

"_Shadow? Shadow, come in!"_

"_Shadow 2 to Dolphin and Dango – Shadow's out cold! Don't try to unlock any cells, something's rigged!"_

"_Shimatta! Dolphin's already down!"_

"_Shadow 2 calling the retreat! Just get out!"_

"Mwrr…" Akamaru whined.

"Shh, quiet, boy…" Kiba muttered, eyes trained on the prison gate. The pup whimpered again, trembling and fidgeting in Kiba's jacket. He ducked his head down, removing himself from view.

Something told me to turn my head, and I gasped at what I saw. "Kiba-san!" I squeaked urgently, grabbing his arm.

He followed my eyes, visibly paling in an instant as he spotted the problem. Just as his trembling hand reached for a kunai, the man threw a glance his way without breaking stride.

Kiba's eyes widened as a sharp noise of surprise shot from his mouth. Frozen stiff, he toppled backwards; I grabbed his hand, but his weight easily pulled me out of the tree with him.

My eyes scanned the ground as we rapidly approached it, focusing on a bush. _Concentrate! _my mind screamed – and it blurred instantly nearer.

I found myself suddenly entangled in branches, and Kiba flopped on top of the bush next to me, still in a daze. There was no time to congratulate myself on doing it without the seals and flickering someone else with me; matters a great deal more pressing needed tending to.

"Hound 2 to Shadow, Dolphin, Dango!" I squeaked – and hesitated a second as I realized this person hadn't been given a codename. "Falcon – Eagle – Ugly-face-_Phoenix_ – aw, screw it! Pull out through a backway ASAP! Orochimaru _himself_ is moving in!!"

* * *

**Lee ****リー**

"Four hundred!" Finishing the last push-up, I rolled onto my back and permitted myself to take a short rest. Panting softly, I gazed up at the cloudy sky.

_Hinata-san said she does not want to go through that again – that she must master the curse by the next full moon… She has gone off to train on her own for a bit, but I cannot help wondering … how upset she is about the horrible thing I almost did yesterday…_

"Maybe it was my imagination … but she seemed to take off in a hurry…" I sighed, shutting my eyes.

A sound tickled at my ears, and I got up with a start. I relaxed as I saw it was only Naruto; he had finally woken, and was currently sitting upright where he'd been lying in the shade of a tree a few meters away. He was facing the other direction and had yet to notice me, and I watched curiously as he slowly held an arm out in front of him. He seemed to be observing it like it was the most interesting thing he had ever seen, and then lowered the arm and lied the other hand over his belly. Soon after he drooped visibly, like a sad, wilting flower, and let out a long, quiet sigh.

"So that's it, huh…?" he whispered.

"…Naruto-kun?"

He flinched in surprise as I knelt down at his side, and I was further befuddled as the boy slowly turned and stared at me in shock. The healthy glow of his skin vanished as color swiftly fled his face, and he slowly reached out, lying a tentative hand on my shoulder as if to confirm I was really there right in front of him, but with such hesitance that it almost seemed he was hoping, even praying I was not. He stiffened, softly shaking his head.

"No…"

"Are you alright?" I asked, disconcerted by his odd behavior. "You look faint…"

My friend's eyes glistened with excess moisture, and for an instant they were filled with such anguished sorrow that my own heart was wrenched at the sight. He threw his arms around me and wailed out:

"They killed you, too!"

_Wh… Is he delirious…? _"Um… Na–?"

"It wasn't supposed to h-_happen_ like th-th-this!" he blubbered, "It was the Ak-katsuki, w-wasn't it? Kuso! I'm _sorry_! I'm s-s-so sorry, Lee!"

"Naru–!"

"Is Hinata here, t-too?"

I hesitated, realizing that correctly answering 'yes' might not be the best thing to do at the moment. However, my momentary silence was interpreted–

"_Why?!_" he bawled, long and doleful, and I sweatdropped.

"_Let-me-speak!!_" I snapped, pushing the boy to arm's length. He sniffled.

I sighed. "Naruto … you _do_ realize that you are alive?"

His mouth fell open as he processed this, and in a few seconds he slowly pointed a finger. "…You mean we're _all_…? You, Hinata, _and_ me…?"

I nodded, and suddenly he was very happy to see me.

Naruto embraced me again in a bone-crunching hug, and he shed youthful tears of joy on my shoulder as he vigorously slapped me on the back a few times. "We did it!" he screamed, releasing me and leaping high into the air, both arms upraised in triumph. I smiled and looked on as the younger boy danced around the clearing, leaping and laughing and crying and even cartwheeling once in an ecstatic high. "_Yatta!_" he cried. "Who cares how, but I'm alive! I'm alive, I'm alive, I'm alive, and I'm STILL gonna be Hokage, believe it!!"

"N-Naruto!" A pink-faced Hinata stood across the clearing, and took a small step toward him. "You're r-really okay…" she whispered, eyes big. I would not have thought it possible, but Naruto brightened further as he met her eyes.

"Hi, Hinata-chan!" he said, ever so tactfully.

Breathless, the girl started walking toward him. Tears collected in her eyes as her pace briskened, and she broke into a run. "Y-you're okay!"

"I feel great!" he said, beginning to walk forward himself, "It's all thanks to you–!"

SMACK!

"_Oww!!_"

"That was for trying to give yourself up!"

"H-Hinata–?!"

_SMACK!!!_

"And that was for trying to get me to kill you!" she cried, still in tears.

Naruto drooped, sporting matching red slap marks on his whiskered cheeks. "So I guess you're pretty mad at me?" He cringed away as she cried out in frustration and prepared to slap him again – however, she instead decided to lunge into him and grab him in an embrace.

"_Of – course – I – a-a-am!_" she bawled against him, and soon enough she too was laughing and crying all at once. "H-how could you be s-so selfish...?! Y-you stupid idiot…" I heard her add in a whimper.

And as Naruto wrapped his arms around her, one hand softly patting her back, I soon noticed a new pinkness dusting gently into his already reddened cheeks.

* * *

**Hanabi ****ハナビ**

It had caught me. The cursed phobia had captured me yet again, squeezing my bones to jelly and sapping my strength away until I was left a trembling idiot.

The teams hadn't been able to retreat out of the other exit, as another lookout squad had reported two dozen Oto-nin gathered to block that escape. Anko had resolved to hold off Orochimaru while the others escaped, to atone for ruining the plan. More Oto-nin swarmed through the main entrance, and two Konoha backup squads had moved in to ambush them from behind. They all successfully escaped with the backup help – but disaster struck when the group of fleeing shinobi exited the prison walls. Someone tripped a wire, and the group was caught in a crossfire of kunai knives.

I'd seen two die instantly. Kiba had prepared to rush out to help. Then, in a second wave, hidden Oto-nin had revealed themselves atop the prison wall to batter the group with a rain of shuriken. Even in the instant before the Inuzuka jumped to shield me, I had glimpsed it.

So much of it.

_Blood._

I was dimly aware of the arm around my waist, the rapid _tak_ of two pairs of sandals against the village streets, the sound of soft panting. My mind was in the month before, spying on a meeting, being discovered, chased, cornered by several who despised me…

And further back, three years ago, the horror! Fear never to be banished from my mind – the icy flames of terror that blazed and razed through a young heart when–!

"ACK!" Kiba crashed to the ground, and me with him.

"Kiba!" Sakura cried to the unconscious boy, and as she looked up she flinched. I slowly pulled myself from under his arm, and turned to see an Oto chuunin standing behind me.

He chuckled. "Heh. They scatter like vermin…"

As Sakura reached for a kunai, a second chuunin flickered in to capture her arms behind her back.

"Careful, little girl," the raven-haired woman crooned tauntingly in her ear, "somebody might get hurt…"

The man punched her hard in her stomach, and as the woman released her Sakura fell to the ground.

"S-Sakura," I whimpered.

The man turned toward me. "Run along, kid, if you know what's good for you," he said, walking up to tower menacingly over me.

"No!" I cried in a panic, and my palm shot out to his abdomen.

"AH!" he yelped, backing away a few steps. "Kuso, you stupid brat! That stung!"

"What are you doing?" A grey-eyed chuunin wearing rectangular glasses appeared with his arms crossed, speaking in such a tone that he could have been talking about a ball of lint. "There are more mice to be caught. Best we hurry."

"Tch. Yeah, whatever–." His eyes widened. A hand covered his mouth, and he coughed several times. His eyes shut, and with a horrible sound the fit ended in a cough that sent red splattering past his fingers.

My stomach threatened to reject its meager contents, backflipping at the sight. My heart pounded frantically in my chest, and I embraced myself. It was very hard to breathe.

"What did you _do_ to me?!!"

_There's some … on my _face_…_

The world faded in and out of focus. My ears buzzed. My skull throbbed with my rapid heartbeat. My knees were hitting the earth. Water dripped off my chin. I wanted to scream. Three years ago. She and I had been sparring, when–

"Hanabi!"

–_"Hanabi-chan!"_–

I looked up, too confused to register a thing. The man was withdrawing something from his shuriken holster.

Sakura lunged past him, throwing her arms around me.

_CHING!_

The sound of metal on metal.

"Wh… What?" The older girl turned around, moving away enough that I could see past her.

The three Sound ninja looked surprised. There was a big shuriken sticking out of the ground just in front of us. Demon Wind – yes, that was it. A few normal shuriken were scattered on the ground behind it. They must have been deflected–

"_HYAAAAHH!!_"

With this ferocious battle cry of rage, a black-clothed figure slammed a heel into the back of the man's head. His face was swiftly introduced to the dirt.

"You won't _touch_ her!!" the masked shinobi roared furiously, glowering at the other two shocked Oto-nin.

"Why, you…!" The woman drew back a fist, and he slipped outside of the punch, caught her wrist, and broke her arm without hesitation. The resulting cry was cut short as a foot flew up, connecting with her jaw and sending her instantly into unconsciousness.

Suddenly very alert, the grey-eyed one raised two long kunai in a ready stance. The masked man shot toward him; the Sound ninja quickly moved his arms across himself and swept them outward again in a calculated, practiced motion that scissored his kunai in a decapitating slash.

But the masked one, seemingly reading his thoughts, anticipated the move rapidly. He blurred with speed; suddenly his hands were on the ground and – from safely below the slash – his foot was shooting into the man's abdomen.

"_OH!_" Feet still under him, he was knocked five yards. One of his sandals had just barely reached the earth when a fist smashed against his face. His body bounced and rolled ten yards before his back met a wall, and he fell limp.

The masked figure's fist slowly fell into an open hand at his side. And he began to walk away.

Sakura stood, taking a few steps toward him. "W-wait!" she called. The shinobi paid her no mind, and she began to run. "Stop! Hold on, please–!"

She froze.

Our savior was behind her, hands in his pockets, facing the other way with their backs inches apart. He spoke in a low voice, quick but not rushed.

"Sakura. Naruto is alive – him, and Hyuuga Hinata, and Rock Lee. And they're still fighting."

"H-how…?" she breathed, unblinking. She turned, and he was gone.

A chilled wind blew, and after several seconds her outstretched hand fell.

"…Who are you?"

I shakily stood up, and took a few wobbly steps. "Sakura–?"

My foot had splashed into some kind of liquid on the ground. I looked down.

My stomach finally decided to empty itself, and I promptly blacked out.

* * *

**Neji ****ネジ**

I heard as he flickered onto the rooftop behind me.

"Ohayou."

"Explain yourself. Now," I demanded, turning to face his back. He removed his mask as he turned his head, casting a slight, challenging scowl my way.

"I was good and convincing, wasn't I…? Hey, you alright, Hyuuga? You're white as a sheet today."

"I don't appreciate you undermining my authority."

"Oh? Would _I_ question the '_authority'_ of the elite Hyuuga Neji-sama?"

"I heard every single word. I'm certain you're aware of your direct orders _not_ to–,"

"So what are you going to do about it, _sir_?" he spat the word, rounding on me.

I raised an eyebrow. "…Are you looking for a fight, genin?"

"I thought you'd never ask, Hyuuga. I've been thinking it's about time someone knocked you down a notch."

"You're weak – you _do_ realize that, my dear foolish subordinate? Or would you like a reminder?"

He rounded on me, glowering icily. "How about you climb all the way down from your pedestal for a minute so we can settle this here and now, like _shinobi?!"_

"Hn. A minute's all I'd need to put someone like you in your place. Amusing as it would be, however, we _are_ allies. Whether we like it or not, the fact is we mustn't take such unnecessary action as fighting each other at times like these, when our enemies also reside within the walls. I'm perfectly willing to leave it at that if you will."

He was silent a moment, and nodded curtly. "…Fine." He whirled and began to walk away. I turned my back and did the same, sighing inwardly.

The fool…

_Fwoosh-smat-tak._

I smirked back at his glowering eyes and seething scowl, holding his wrist so that he could not move the kunai, the kunai intended for me, that now rested at his own throat. It had taken the space of a second for me to whirl, neutralize his pathetic attack, and turn again so that his feet now balanced perilously on the edge of the rooftop. My own strength, my hands on his wrists, were preventing him from toppling to his death.

"So you thought when you suggested we settle this like _shinobi_ … that I wouldn't realize your true intentions, hmm?"

"Kuso … _you_…!"

"Careful, genin. Your life is in my hands; it's quite a way down, wouldn't you agree?"

"Tch…" His kekkei genkai relaxed, and I smirked.

"Good boy." I pulled him toward me.

THUD!

"GAHK!!"

The knee in his stomach knocked him off the rooftop. For a nice, too-brief moment I allowed him to think I'd actually let him fall; then I reached out and snagged his ankle, turning and flinging him back to safety.

He got to his knees, wiping his mouth on his shoulder as he hurriedly scrambled to his feet and took a defensive stance, glowing red with fury at such humiliation.

I waved a dismissive hand. "We're done," I said flatly, walking up to him. "Now I'm going to let this one go, but be aware that my tolerance for your recalcitrant behavior is quickly wearing thin." I stopped at his side, casting a look at the shorter boy from the corner of my eye. "Screw up again, and I won't treat treachery so lightly. Understand?"

He held my gaze for a full ten seconds, and then turned his head aside. "Hn…"

"I didn't quite hear you–,"

"Go crawl in a hole."

I frowned. Shaking my head, I continued past him. Malice was all too clear in his enraged eyes, in his voice, in his very posture.

"Genin."

"…Yeah?"

"I wouldn't advise it. Fair warning: You will lose."

I heard a sharp intake of breath, and I knew I'd nailed his thoughts on the mark.

Smirking to myself, I flickered away.

* * *

**Naruto ****ナルト**

"Okay!" I said, shifting my weight back and forth between my feet as I glared at the tree ten yards away. The two watched from the side, waiting curiously. "I already knew that when Kyuubi opened the link, I'd have to relearn my chakra control over again. I promised it'd be one of the first things I did once we were connected again – to see just how out of whack my chakra is, how far off I am."

I formed the seal Hitsuji, focusing my chakra. It flared up vibrantly, electrifying me. _Way too much, _I thought, shutting my eyes as I concentrated on finding the right amount to channel to my feet. _Let's see… The amount I used before the link was severed… that was right about…_

"It … it still feels like too much…?" I muttered quietly to myself. _Okay then … I'll try half this much, and just see how it works. _"Alright! Here goes!"

I began sprinting, and I was shocked by how it felt. I felt _light_; I nearly overextended, and I realized my weights weren't on. I quickly adjusted as I ran, but it still didn't seem quite right – not the same. Nonetheless, I reached the tree and ran up its side. After two steps, I added the chakra–

THUMP!

"_Ow!"_

"Naruto-kun!"

I rolled onto my side, fingers interlocking over the back of my neck where a bump was already forming. _What the heck?!_

"_Itai…_" I hissed. "What just _happened_?"

"On your third step you shot straight into the ground," Lee supplied. "I suppose your chakra is a great deal more powerful than you remember?"

"Must be it… Oh, I need to put my leg weights back on, too. For some reason that sprint felt totally weird… Bushy Brow? Hey, what's the matter?"

"Lee-kun?" Hinata asked.

"Y – your … your leg weights…"

"What about them–?"

"You are wearing them."

"……Right _now??"_

"Yes, _right now!!_"

"…Really?"

"Look!" he said, frustrated, grabbing my ankle and lifting my pants leg himself. I gasped as the weights were revealed.

"N-no way… That's – impossible…" I shook my head frantically, looking at the two. "What the heck is going on?! This doesn't make any sense!"

"N-Naruto-kun!" Hinata cried.

"What?!"

"Look at me!"

I looked into her pale lavender eyes. "What is it?"

She leaned closer. I nearly started in surprise as she reached out, hands resting on either side of my face, and my pulse quickened for some reason. She gasped, stunned. "Y… your eyes…"

"My eyes?" I said, raising my hands and feeling around them as Lee leaned in beside her. "What, what's wrong with my eyes?!" I asked, scared.

"I th-thought – I thought it w-was just the light before, b-but…"

"Just tell me, please!" I cried, growing more terrified with each beat of my racing heart.

"They're … _purple_."

All three of us were silent a moment. I think a crow called out in the distance.

"My eyes aren't purple. They're blue. Aoi."

"No, I'm telling you. They're purple. Murasaki."

"………Right now–?"

"_YES!!_ Go look at your reflection in the water!" she cried, troubled, standing and pulling me by my hand to follow her. Lee joined us as we hurried to the steam, and I knelt at the edge of the slowly flowing water.

Staring back at me was a wide-eyed blonde with messy hair and whiskered cheeks. He wore a blue sweatshirt, an orange vest. Residing on his forehead was the hitai-ate of Konoha. But this youth couldn't possibly be me, for his eyes were a deep, beautiful tone of indigo purple.

Shocked, I reached out to touch the face of the reflection. Only when a reflected hand met mine at the surface could I bring myself to accept it.

The purple-eyed boy was me.

"S… sugoi," I breathed. I grunted, suddenly feeling faint and lightheaded, and my reflection swayed dizzily.

"Catch him before–!"

_SPLASH!_

At the time, I would have defined the day of Hinata's thirteenth birthday simply: The day we fought the Akatsuki and came away with our lives; the day I first learned of a feeling called love; the day I resolved to die rather than succumb to my inner demon, and by some freak stroke of luck survived.

But in time, a mere eventful day of my life began to reveal itself as something more. In time, I began to come to grips with what it truly meant.

Further down the road, I would look back on that day … and it would be known to me as the day that I, Uzumaki Naruto, was reborn.

* * *

_This time for sure!_

"Woah!"

I backflipped, landing on my feet and falling onto my rear. Sighing, I glared at the latest of the charred, lightly smoking footprints left on the tree bark. The surface always repelled me so sharply that I would never stand a chance of marking the height with a kunai; however, these likely more accurate marks conveniently made up for this. Not that I was getting any higher.

It hadn't taken long to conclude that my chakra was far more intense and massive than it had been even before the Kyuubi had cut our link. I wasn't totally sure why this was, but one fact was growing painfully clear: as of now, the smallest amount of chakra I was capable of utilizing was too much to climb a tree.

"How is progress coming along?" Lee asked as he walked up, and I shook my head. I'd adjusted to running, anyways, but that was about it. "Why not take a break? You have been at it for some time, and I was about to go catch some fish from the river. Would you like to join me?"

"Why not," I said, getting up.

We walked together, heading out of the clearing we were camped in; I noticed we would be walking past Hinata, who was studying her seal book in the shade of the trees. In seconds I felt like I could hear my own pounding heart in my ears, and despite the chilly weather my face was growing warm. Why did I feel this way? My throat felt tight as I gulped and gathered up my courage. Finally, I raised a hand to wave. "Hi…" I trailed off as the girl, without looking toward us, closed the book and stood up before we reached her. My hand fell as she began to walk briskly in another direction. I sighed quietly, shutting my eyes.

"Oh!"

I looked to see in an instant that Hinata was slipping on some dead leaves, beginning to fall forward, and though she was ten yards away I turned and unconsciously reached as if to catch her.

_Poof._

"…Woah," I remarked, shocked.

The shadow clone had flowed into existence executing the same move I had, albeit in perfect position. One of its arms was under Hinata's, holding her up, and the other lied across her back. The clone looked as surprised as I was, and I could imagine why; I hadn't even had the time to _think_ of creating a kage bunshin to help her.

"Nice job!" Lee exclaimed to break the silence, slapping me over the back. Blushing, the bunshin gently helped Hinata back to her feet and dispelled itself.

"Hinata, you alright?" I asked, jogging up to her. I picked up her seal book for her, and the red-faced girl tentatively accepted it. She nodded.

"Th-th-thanks," she stammered out, not meeting my eyes.

"Don't mention it," I said with a weak laugh, and rubbed the back of my neck. _Awkward…_ "Just … be a little more careful, y'know…? Um, yeah … we're – gonna go catch some fish!" I said, hurrying from camp with (dragging) Lee in tow.

* * *

I tossed a fist-sized rock into the air and caught it again.

_Time to see what I can do…_

I threw the stone in a high arc, and looked at where it was to land. It was second nature now; with hardly a thought a kage bunshin appeared to catch it.

The clone threw it again and dispelled itself, and at my will another popped up and caught it. The stone was thrown again, and I thought a quick message to the next replication that was to appear; it threw it high into the air, and I focused a moment. Another copy caught it at the peak of its flight, throwing it again. Another snagged it in the air, and after it another that threw the stone to me. I caught it, and grinned as I nodded to myself.

"I'm gonna take the Shadow Fist to a whole other level."

* * *

But before I did that…

"Stupid tree!! I'm just getting started!"

Three seconds later I was on my back for what felt like the thousandth time at least. Growling, I sat up.

"You do not think it is time for a break?"

"Bushy Brow? When did you get here?" I shook my head. "No, I'm not relaxing until I get this thing down!"

"You have been doing the same thing all day. No offense, but when you begin _talking_ to the tree I believe it is time for some rest."

I sighed. "What'll I do? My Kageken Shadow Fist is coming along just great, but I'll never be a medical ninja – I'll never be much of any kind of ninja – if I can't even master basic chakra control…"

There was a thoughtful look on Lee's face. "Naruto-kun, the problem with controlling your chakra lies in its intensity and its amount, does it not?"

"Yeah," I answered.

He picked up a twig, and cleared leaves from a spot on the ground with a few sweeps of his hand. With the stick, he drew a line a few feet long in the dirt between us. "Here – let us say that this line represents a person's chakra." He drew a short tick mark at each end. "This end represents a huge amount of energy … and this one is no chakra at all. Now, the tree climbing technique requires a fairly small amount of chakra, right?"

"Understatement…" I grumbled, though I was paying close attention.

"There is a certain range of chakra output to perform the move acceptably – from the least one can expend to still stick to the surface, to the most one can use without being repelled by it. Do you follow?"

I nodded as he marked off two more lines near the 'zero' end of the scale, about five inches apart.

"However, with the greater intensity of your chakra, I suspect that on this same scale you would both need to use a lesser amount and focus it within a significantly narrower range." He drew in the dirt two more marks an inch apart, even nearer the start of the line than the other two.

"Aww," I moaned, "how am I supposed to do that? I'll bet I'm landing somewhere around here…" I pointed to the low end of the normal range. "And I can't use any less without not using chakra at all!"

"Wrong!" Lee said. "Chakra cannot be looked at that way. If this is zero and this is one, there is always one-half lying between them, and between zero and one-half is one-fourth, and between those an eighth, and those a sixteenth…" He must have seen it on my face that he was losing me. "What I am saying is that there is virtually no limit to how precise your chakra control can become! Normally people don't _need_ to master any less chakra than this, but with enough concentration your chakra can be cut down infinitely smaller. And if you fine-tune your control to such a degree as to gain mastery over a truly miniscule quantity of it and control your chakra in increments of that quantity, manipulating a set amount of chakra should never be beyond you again!"

"That … kind of makes sense, Bushy Brow! But still, how'll I learn to actually do that?"

"Well, while your current method may prove useful again later … for now, you ought to seek a new approach."

"Hmm… a chakra control exercise even simpler than tree climbing?"

"In your case, I would suggest practicing a jutsu that requires very little chakra … one that will not work correctly if overdone–,"

"Lee, you're a freakin' genius!" I exclaimed. "I know a perfect one!"

"That is excellent! I am glad to have helped. Remember, patience is a virtue. Train hard, and I am certain you will succeed, Naruto-kun!" He stood up, about to get back to his own training.

"All right! I'm mastering this in no time!"

"Oh, and Naruto-kun? Apparently you will need to master your chakra before we go anywhere populated."

"Huh? Why's that?"

"Hinata-san told me to tell you she can sense you a mile away."

* * *

_Come on … focus. A little less…_

The first step to mastering my chakra turned out to be overcoming most dreaded enemy.

"Bunshin no Jutsu!"

Thirty half-dead looking illusory copies appeared around me. As I was about to dispel them and try again, something caught my eye.

An hour of practice had yielded this: among the depressing bunch of pale replications, a few were _almost_ normal-colored.

* * *

I turned over the rock in my hand.

_So … if I imagine the shadow clone appearing in the act of throwing the rock…_

I pictured it, and a kage bunshin popped in with a hand outstretched. The copy's stone fell straight to the ground before it dispelled itself.

_But… if I go through the motion myself…_

I drew back my hand, and then lashed it forward.

_And create the shadow clone in the exact moment I'm about to release…!_

POP.

A pair of stones soared into the air together, arcing identically in their flights. At the same moment, side by side, they met the ground.

I smirked at the shadow replication beside me, and he smirked back and voiced my thoughts.

"Then momentum is retained."

* * *

I sighed. Hours of steady improvement had resulted in this – if I created ten clones at a time, all were only slightly discolored and able to stand … but not to move. For the last fifty or so attempts, I'd come up with the exact same result.

I dispelled the motionless, sickly copies. I could create fifty functioning bunshin effortlessly; I could conjure forty perfect ones with ease, thirty with just a moment of concentration, and just earlier that day I had mastered twenty. But now my progress had halted. Why was ten such a solid _wall_ to me?

"…'Patience is a virtue,' huh…?"

My feet had carried me to the base of an enormously tall tree. My hand drifted up, resting on a charred footprint.

"Far from healing … I'd probably sooner end up burning someone I tried to treat…"

I pulled my hand away, observing a palm smeared with black dust. Taking a deep breath, I turned and sat down, resting my back against the great tree's trunk.

"Mastering any medical ninjutsu is about control. Precision."

My eyes shut.

"And the smaller a fraction of my chakra I can master … the greater the precision I ultimately can wield."

My hands met in the sign of the ram.

_I _will_ get this right._

Chakra flared up within me, the same as before yet also very different. Energy that had once been a rolling blue river, bountiful yet gentle, was now inexplicably purple, violent and wild rapids.

Slowly I reined it in, drawing aside the tiniest thread of the power I could. I willed it into a tiny, workable little sphere of energy.

Then, focusing intently, I siphoned some of it back into the now tamed river.

And so it began.

* * *

"I have never seen him so still before… Do you think he is alright?"

Try to scrape off too much, and I would accidentally release it for sure. Not enough, and… this would take quite a while.

I didn't care how long it took, though. I was _going_ to master my own chakra.

Something cold touched my nose. Another, my hand. The cold stuff went ignored.

* * *

_Tk-tk-tk-tk-t-t-t-t-t-tk-tk……_

Something warm gently pressed against my forehead.

"That is not good…"

The sphere was very small now. It was a flame – a flame, the size of a gnat. One rash move, one unwise stroke of the fingers of my will, and I would crush the gnat. It was very small.

I focused even harder. I crept closer, I stretched it thinner, and it seemed larger. Every detail of the little flame grew clearer – but there was far more detail still, I knew. No limit existed.

I prepared to make the next stroke, but I hesitated. My concentration was slipping, beginning to falter, the hand of my will unsteady and shaking as was my entire trembling body.

At my side – warmth. Life.

And a moment later, the other side as well. Very warm. The warmth seeped into me, chasing the cold from my bones.

When my teeth quit chattering, the fingers of my will, patiently suspended motionless in preparation – flowed in for yet another careful stroke, even more painstaking and controlled than the last.

* * *

…

…

…

"………It's time."

My eyes opened as I said this, and the two on either side of me opened their eyes as well.

"You guys…!" I said, surprised.

"Do not mention it," Lee said. "Now, do you not have something to do?"

I nodded. I released the tiny, glimmering droplet of chakra I'd spent the last hours sculpting, allowing it to disappear back into the river.

Lee stood up and gave me a hand, which I accepted. On my feet again, I nearly stumbled, but he and Hinata helped me.

"Careful," Lee said, "You have not moved in about ten hours."

"T-ten?!" I knew I'd been at it for a while, but…

I looked up, and in the distance I could see the sun was soon to begin setting. I'd started this morning; it was true.

"I'm fine," I said in a moment, and their steadying hands moved away. I took a deep breath, let it out, and then strode forward through a powdery down of freshly fallen snow. I inhaled again, and my hands clapped through seals. I narrowed in on and expended the amount of chakra I needed to – not more, and not less.

_Air bullet!_

A sphere of wind hurtled twenty yards and impacted a tree, chipping off splinters of wood and scratching up the bark where it hit.

I focused a bit of chakra as close as I could to that former droplet's amount, falling fairly near it and expertly shaping it down a little further in three more seconds. With this truly minuscule portion of my chakra, I wove three more signs and chose to skip ten altogether.

"Clone Jutsu!"

A lone illusory doppelganger appeared before me, its clothes of correct shade and a healthy tone to its skin. I turned to face the two.

"Identical?" the bunshin and I asked together.

"I cannot tell you apart!" Lee said, flashing a thumbs up.

At my will, the copy sprinted ten yards, drew a kunai, and crouched into a stance. I let the bunshin fade out of existence.

I held the sign of the ram. In a few moments I'd concentrated in again, gathering a bit of chakra as close as I could to that absolute low I'd just mastered, the smallest bit of chakra I could manipulate.

I grinned. "Here I come, stupid tree!"

Lee and Hinata stood aside to watch. I sprinted to the great tree, prepared to channel the chakra to the soles of my feet. I reached the tree, rose four steps … and slipped.

I wasn't repelled. My foot had _slipped_!

I kicked away with a little more chakra, flipping to land on my feet. The adrenaline was pumping; success was inches away, and there was no way I was letting it elude me now.

I sprinted forward. _Let's try five times the minimum!_

I raced upward along the trunk, rising above a mosaic of countless scorched footprints. But at eight steps I began to lose traction.

_Just a little more chakra!!_

"Excellent work, Naruto-kun! Brilliant!" Lee called when I reached the top twenty seconds later.

I chuckled, flashing a V-for-victory sign. "You guys look like ants from up here!" I hollered, and they laughed. Smiling, I looked toward the sunset.

_And tomorrow … I'll summon up Gamakichi, and we'll save the Pervy Sage!_

"Naruto-kun!" Lee called.

"What?"

"We did not want to disturb you; you meditated through lunch and dinner! Do you not want to eat?"

I grimaced as my stomach groaned and growled. "You know, that doesn't sound like a half-bad idea!" I said, starting for the ground.

* * *

Could it be she really had been avoiding me the last few days? It must have been easy if she really could sense me a mile away – but now that I could conceal my chakra, she hadn't detected me coming from behind.

The wind blew at my back, and a second later I saw her start in surprise. No way – could she have really…?

She began to get up.

"Hinata!" I called, and she stopped. Once more finding myself gathering my courage, I jumped to stand beside her on the branch she was on. "May I join you?"

She turned her head, and my breath caught. _Her skin … and her face, and her eyes… In the moonlight, has Hinata always looked so…? Why am I just noticing…?_

"S-sure," she murmured, sitting down again. I nodded and sat next to her.

A broken blanket of wispy clouds drifted across the night sky, lit a grayish blue before the stars and the moon. I glanced to the girl beside me; seeing that she wasn't watching (she was looking the other way), I formed three hand seals.

"Naruto-kun, I – really was about t-to go get some firewood … I mean, Lee-kun looks pretty c-cold down there, don't you th–?"

She gasped as I rested a hand on her own; in a moment she allowed them to be gently coaxed from her lap to lay palm-up in one of my hands. I took a deep breath, and a warm glow emanated from my other hand. I brushed slowly over her palms, and in a few seconds the irritated redness of chakra burns faded from her flesh.

"Naruto-kun, that's amazing!" she said, but flinched slightly when she looked up to meet the remorse in my eyes. My hand fell to rest over hers.

"I'm so sorry … for burning you the other day."

"That wasn't your fault," she said.

"I lost control, didn't I?" I shot back quietly, my head down.

"Maybe … but we both lost control that day, didn't we?"

"I guess so…" I chuckled. "And you did slug me pretty good in the face."

She blushed, averting her gaze as she giggled softly in embarrassment. "I guess I did… That didn't hurt too much, did it?"

I pretended to think over it a moment. "Nah, I'm tough," I answered, and she laughed again. I smiled softly. "H… Hinata-chan?" I asked.

"Hm?"

"I – I mean…" I held out some of the blanket I'd had draped around me. "Aren't you cold?"

She nodded after a hesitant moment, and bashfully she moved closer to accept half of the blanket.

"Naruto-kun…" she said eventually, "I know it m-must have been hard for you, to see me that way. Even I was scared – of what I'd become. But I'm going to train to master it… to control my curse, so it can't c-control me."

"And … when you face your cousin…?"

She nodded slightly. "If he uses his curse mark, I'll have to use mine."

"Hm…"

For another minute or two all was silent but for the rustling whispers of wind through the trees as we watched the clouds float by. Hinata asked me what I was thinking about.

"Heh… It's hard to explain, kind of. I don't totally get it myself, but sometimes it's hard for me to see you fight."

"What? Why?" she asked curiously.

"I don't know, I mean…" My right hand and her left were still touching between us; I felt as delicate fingers absentmindedly traced graceful patterns against my knuckles, and I found myself driven to continue. "I want with all my heart for you to be strong – for all three of us to be strong, and achieve our goals alongside each other – and seeing your skill, your constant improvement out here, well… it makes me the proudest friend in the world! But at the same time, seeing you in _battle_ … even though I'm proud, too, it _hurts_ me somehow to see the fighter, the warrior Hinata. It's like … you shouldn't have to be a fighter. I wish you didn't have to fight, and struggle, and suffer. You shouldn't know pain so well; you shouldn't have battle scars, shouldn't have to know how to take a blow, how to take a life! You shouldn't have to fight so hard. I just wish I could protect you, fight _for_ you, take some of your pain … I wish that somehow _I_ was strong enough that you didn't have to be a fighter!" I laughed, rubbing my head. "Sorry. Guess I'm not making a whole lot of sense here, am I?"

Hinata shook her head, cheeks colored a soft pink. "No, I understand what you're saying… I can understand it, I think … because whenever I fight, it hurts _me_ inside, too... But even if I shouldn't be a fighter, you know as well as I do that I must. I have to fight, and there's no way around it."

"I understand. For your cousin, your sister, and the rest of your clan, right?"

"Yes," she answered.

"I understand, but for some reason it still hurts me… It hurts, and I don't know why – Aw, forget it! Who am I kidding?! Hinata, you're the nicest, most beautiful girl I know; I've never felt this way around anyone else before! It took the horrible pain of thinking I'd lost you so many times for me to realize it, but I really do mean what I said to you the other day! Hinata, I think – I think I really do l–!"

"We sure said some crazy things that day, didn't we?"

Her blunt remark caught me off guard; I looked at the girl, but she was now looking away so that I couldn't see her face. "…Eh?" Hadn't she been the first to reveal her feelings?

"I mean, neither of us were completely ourselves, you know?"

There was a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. I searched for my voice. "I guess we weren't totally ourselves, b-but … what we said then–,"

"Yeah, I know, crazy stuff… Oh, I'm gonna go get that firewood!!!"

"Hinata–?"

She was gone. Shunshin.

I just sat there for a minute. Then I threw the blanket back around myself and buried my face in my hands. "Kuso… Smart, Naruto, very smart…"

* * *

**Hanabi ****ハナビ**

"What do you think we're doing in training today?" I asked as we walked to where we were meeting the others for a group training session. Sakura giggled.

"Someone's sure upbeat today, isn't she?" she said, smiling at me.

Mortified, I realized I was almost – _almost_ – skipping. I corrected myself immediately, tuning my pace down to a controlled, disciplined walk, straightening my shoulders and back, and hardening my expression.

"Very … Hyuuga-like," Sakura commented, surprised by how quickly I had pulled it off.

I cracked a smile. "I know. It's just what … Chihci-ue taught me…" I looked to the ground. "But still – we had eleven captured, and only three dead from the mission a few days ago. It could have been worse, and I'm glad almost everyone made it through… And now it's time to keep training, so New Konoha will be ready when the time comes to protect the village, right?"

Sakura gave my shoulder a squeeze. "That's a good way to look at things. Iruka-sensei says it's about time we learned to walk on water, so that might be the focus today. I think Anko-sensei is well enough to train today, too, and if she's in charge of our group you never know…"

She trailed off, and we both stopped. I scowled nervously; seeing this, Sakura openly glared at the one standing fifteen yards down the road and gazing at us with an apathetic frown.

"…Is there a problem, _sir_?" Sakura inquired.

Neji sighed, uncrossing his arms. "Sorry, Haruno. I really don't have anything against you personally."

Suddenly Neji was beside me, and Sakura wasn't. His Byakugan was active, and one foot was extended in the air from a kick.

"Sakura!!" I screamed, turning to see her crash into the ground. Shaking with fury, I activated my own Byakugan in an instant. "What are you doing?!" I yelled, drawing back a palm and lunging in, aiming for Neji's side.

THUD.

I stared back at my cousin's emotionless Byakugan.

He withdrew the fist in my stomach, and I crumpled to the ground. _O-ow…_

"I'm merely confirming something," he answered as I wheezed, turning away from me and reaching into his kunai pouch. "Just a suspicion…"

"Sa-Sakura…" I gasped, looking toward her. She was standing up, fear and a trace of anger on her bruised face. Neji threw a kunai to the ground before her, and she jumped away just barely in time to dodge as the paper bomb strung to it exploded.

But Neji was already behind her, and as she was reaching the ground he was drawing back a palm.

"Ha–!"

Neji ducked, and snagged a kunai after it whistled over his head. He jumped, and a leg swept neatly beneath him; then he turned, and with a ringing _CLANG! _his knife parried another as a violent strike was thrown by a familiar black-clothed figure.

Our masked shinobi.

"Back off…"

Neji frowned. "So, these people _do_ mean something to you after all."

* * *

**Lee ****リー**

We had put another bright and early start behind us, and we were covering ground at an excellent pace, racing under the rays of the morning sun. On one side of me, Hinata ran with an anxiousness somewhat hidden on her face beneath grim determination; on the other, Naruto gave off that unique air of being ready to take on anything and everything, determined, confident in himself and the two of us, and almost excited. And on Naruto's head sat Gamakichi, looking serious for once.

We were within Hi no Kuni again, and were now heading south-southeast in the direction of its eastern coast.

_Eastern Fire Country… That is where the prison lies, and that is where they are holding Jiraiya-sama. We must succeed here. It is our duty as Leaf shinobi!_

* * *

**Neji ****ネジ**

I jumped away, avoiding a second kunai slash. We held our knives at the ready a few moments, before I sighed and lowered mine. So it was true.

"It's … you again…" Haruno whispered in awe behind him.

"Take that kid and get out of here. Now," he said. Not once did his glowering eyes stray from mine.

"H-hai," she said. She hurried to Hanabi's side as the girl was starting to get to her feet, helping her up. Haruno cast one glance back toward her little savior before the two fled.

I sighed. "I'm assuming you wouldn't care to explain yourself?"

"Why don't you explain what you're doing?!" he barked. "Attacking people you know don't stand a chance against you? Some chuunin you are! Isn't our 'ultimate goal' to save as many of them as we possibly can?!"

"For now they are our enemies, remember? Maybe this task is a bit too much for you, if you'll go about forgetting such basic motives so easily. I was finding out whether you were selling your act or if you really cared – and now it is clear."

"You think you know it all, don't you?" he hissed.

I threw an elbow back, and the kage bunshin that had just spoken vanished as a cry of pain sounded behind me. I turned around to see him sitting up, a hand cradling his nose. "No," I conceded, "but I know enough. That's why I can tell there's more to this than concern for old friends alone."

He glared daggers, black eyes ablaze with loathing. The vicious intent would have been tough to miss.

"It is clear what you are thinking," I said, looking down at him. "You are currently picturing the day of the invasion – the day you charged off alone, got yourself beaten to a pulp, and had to be rescued by your sensei and hauled to safety by a team of genin. Am I right?"

"_You…_"

"Because we are similar, you constantly compare yourself to me. Why am I a chuunin, while you remain a mere genin? And you are now thinking of your defeat at Uzumaki's hands – and Uzumaki's defeat at my hands. You are struggling desperately to redeem yourself in your own eyes, and have arrived at the resolution that the only hope of salvation from your present state of despair lies in defeating me: I, who have already proven myself stronger than the one who defeated you."

"Tch…!"

"But now as your former confidence wavers you recall the night we clashed once before, and the difference in our abilities. Silently you curse me with all your soul, wishing I didn't even exist; for you are now second-guessing yourself and weighing the risks, and wondering whether or not I would hesitate to kill you.

"Deep down, you already know that you will lose, but you are uncertain of whether your survival is assured; unless it is, you have little desire to take chances in a battle that you know will inevitably end in defeat. And now you curse me again for my strength and my ability, but you are blind to the fact, all but unaware that you are truly cursing yourself. Now that it comes down to it, you finally realize that you are asking yourself… 'Why am I weaker than him?' And now, you are going to attack me."

Right I was.

* * *

**Hanabi ****ハナビ**

"So that guy … is working under Neji?"

"It sounds like it – which means that someone on New Oto's side actually helped us." Sakura stood up. "Come on, Hanabi, we need to hurry."

"Why? Hurry and what?"

"We need to tell the others about this."

"But, Sakura … even Shikamaru-san was distrustful and suspicious when we told them about the first time we were saved by that guy. I doubt they'll think much better of him now that we know he's with Oto. What if he loses, and then–?"

"I'll talk to them. I won't let anyone hurt him – not anyone on our side, at least. Now, let's go."

She body flickered from the tree, and I followed.

* * *

**Neji ****ネジ**

I dodged blow after blow, marveling at the comfortable ease with which I saw and avoided his every strike. He couldn't touch me – I knew it and he knew it, and this simple difference in ability meant that he was not destined to prevail.

I ducked, and my hand darted up to lightly tap his calf muscle as a kick passed over me. A grunt escaped him, and as his foot returned to the ground he nearly stumbled. He limped a few yards in retreat and regained his balance, growling in frustration.

"I'm sorry to break it to you," I said, "but looks don't kill."

"Shut up!" he shouted, lunging forward. I caught his fist, releasing a burst of chakra from my palm as I did so; he cried out, and I released his hand to throw a quick punch into his masked face. Turning, I rammed a shoulder into his chest to knock him to the ground.

He twisted his body as he fell, touching a hand and a foot to the earth, and suddenly a foot lashed to the side of my knee. I grunted, trying not to fall; as his foot met the ground, his other heel thrust itself into my shin. I winced, and very quickly he was on his feet–

"_Gah!"_

My upper body snapped forward as the wind shot from my lungs. A strong uppercut had caught me in the gut, knocking me backward a few feet. Arms folding across myself, I looked up with wide eyes to see a fist rapidly approaching my face.

_Kawarimi!_

My opponent's eyes widened as 'I' sailed five yards and burst into liquid.

"Mizu bunshin," I whispered in his ear from behind, and he stiffened.

My palms crashed into his shoulders. I didn't hold back. His mouth dropped open, his stunned face whitening as he was thrown forward.

He hit the ground heavily, and lied unmoving a few moments, his body stiff and teeth clenched in pain. "Not a bad hit," I remarked, spitting a drop of blood near his face. "But you let your guard down, and now you're finished. You won't be using any jutsu for the next hour at least, and I doubt you have much reaction out of your arms, either. This fight is over–,"

"Kuso, I'm not finished yet!!" He rolled onto his back and sat up, quickly getting to his feet without the use of his arms. I sighed, and soon enough found myself dodging a kick. And then another. And another.

_Baka… He's only wearing himself out now, _I thought, dodging all his clumsy strikes. The fire still blazed in his eyes; he hated me. He wanted nothing more than to hurt me. What did he think he would accomplish? He was many things, but I wouldn't have thought he wasn't stupid. _Just what is it that you hope to achieve here…?_

My eyes narrowed. _Opening._

With great speed I deflected a blow and launched myself forward. He was driven off his feet; I slammed him to the ground, my palm on his chest and my knee in his stomach.

"Then perhaps you're finished now?" I asked before getting off him. "If I hadn't held back on that Juuken strike, you would probably be dead right now. So there you have it – I have indeed hesitated to kill you … since we are comrades." My Byakugan relaxed as I turned my back and walked away.

"Teme… Don't walk away … from m-me…!"

I stopped. He was standing again. And it infuriated me.

"There's no way … I'm weaker th-than _you_…!"

My Byakugan reawakened, and I spoke in a whisper. "Dance … of the Quasihemidemisemiquaver..."

"Oi! You freakin' deaf or something?!"

"…Juuken-Oto Ninpou…"

"If you're so tough, turn around and finish me off–!"

"_Storm of Heaven's Orchestra!_" I roared, whirling, lowering into the stance, and racing forward.

_For the first strike–!_

His chakra went hyperactive.

Pain exploded in my jaw.

_H – he's fast…! _I thought, eyes widening as I was thrown into the air. I flipped to land on my feet, disoriented a moment. I blinked and looked up.

I leaped aside, and a black-clad blur slammed into the ground where I'd been. Kneeling in a small dust cloud, he first looked up to glare at me. Then he raised his fist from the ground, and I observed the markings sliding onto his hand as he stood.

"You really are trying to kill me, aren't you?" I remarked, an eyebrow raised. "You don't think you're taking this a tad bit overboard?" He growled as my skin began to pale, and my hair to darken.

"You're pushing your luck," I continued, a vicious razor's edge entering my tone as Darkness, pure and strong, rolled through my veins. I smirked slightly, exposing fangs as they appeared. "I've already hesitated twice. Do you really intend to gamble your life on the chance of whether or not I will decide to again?"

He glared back, fuming.

"What's the matter? Lost your voice?" I snickered quietly, and then tilted my head back and began to laugh. Falling silent, I locked my eyes on his again, piercing him with my gaze. "But the stakes have just been raised. Look around; you see them too, don't you?"

He gasped, sensing it as well. "Wh-what's…?"

"_This_ is what happens when allies bicker within enemy territory. Now the vultures are hidden and waiting … waiting, it would seem, for the outcome of this battle."

He stiffened, and my smirk only grew. I shut my eyes, shrugging.

"So what can we do? Best case for them, we'll wear each other out. Of course, as we are now … I'm certain we'd escape with ease should we work together. But I wonder, are you capable of setting aside your hatred, of fighting at my side? I don't think you are."

I waited, and chuckled when I was not corrected. I tasted intensity thick in the air, intensity and fear – and it set my heart pounding in anticipation.

"Oh well," I said, "I guess it can't be helped." I snickered again, my grin spreading as my tongue flickered across sharp teeth. "Makes it kind of interesting, doesn't it? So I'll start coming at you as seriously as you've been coming at me, and we'll see how long it lasts. And at the end of this battle, _one_ of us will seize his chance to escape … and the _other_ will be left defenseless at the hands of our foes."

"You're insane."

"You're stupid."

Speed – movement quicker than wind.

Two fists crashed together between us.

_Let's dance._

* * *

**Lee ****リー**

She shut her eyes, and the veins raised around them relaxed.

"Kuso…" she whispered.

"Hinata-san?" I said apprehensively. "What is wrong? What did you see?"

She shook her head, eyes still shut. "Kuso!" she shouted, standing up.

"Woah, what're you doing?!" Naruto whispered, rising and grabbing her by the shoulders in attempt to pull her back into the cover of the bushes we were hiding behind. She shrugged him off.

"There's no one _to_ hide from!" she cried, "The place is empty! Abandoned!"

"A… abandoned?" Naruto said, shocked.

"There_ is_ an underground prison hidden there … just n-not a soul inside it."

"So," I said, getting up, "They have either moved Jiraiya-sama or…" My voice faded as I saw their faces; the two had been ready for success, ready to fight for victory with everything they had. "Look – it is not time to give up hope yet. More than likely, they simply are not holding such a dangerous prisoner in one place for too long. Today or another day, we will still find him."

Naruto nodded glumly, and Gamakichi sprang off the purple-eyed boy's head. I watched him hop over to the hidden trapdoor twenty yards away, and then move in a circle around it. "Well, unless one of you knows any friendly ninken dogs, we're at a bit of a dead end here."

"Hm," I groaned. _What … are we supposed to do now?_

"Ninken…"

"Huh? Hinata-san, did you say something?"

"Ken… nin…?" Her eyes widened, and in a light gust of swirling leaves she vanished.

Gamakichi shrieked in terror as Hinata thudded onto the trapdoor next to him on her hands and knees, hunched forward with her nose nearly touching the ground. The position almost made me think of a…

She sniffed. Crawling forward and turning her head, she sniffed quickly and sharply, looking uncannily like a puppy in search of something. Naruto and I exchanged a look.

"Eh… Whatcha' doin' there, girlie?" an equally confused toad voiced our thoughts (if not in those exact words) as she began brushing a palm against the ground. He jumped again when her nails sprang into short black claws, and she raked away a thin layer of dirt and freshly grown grass to expose an edge of the door. She inhaled carefully, a look of deep concentration on her face.

"…Hinata?" Naruto asked.

Her slight transformation faded as she got back to her feet. "No good," she said, dusting her knees off. "My sense of smell is strong, but not that strong. I can't track a scent this faint."

"I see…" I said.

"I'm not even gonna ask. You three are some interesting little weirdos…" Gamakichi grumbled.

"Well, at least," Naruto began, "Shouldn't we check out the inside? Y'know, find out what the place looks like, how we would have gone about sneaking into it, see if the Sound left anything behind?"

"That is a great idea!" I exclaimed, trying to lighten their spirits. "When we do find the right prison, we will be that much better prepared to infiltrate it. Yosh! Let us get started!" I knelt down to begin uncovering the rest of the door; the mood caught, and Naruto managed a grin as he helped.

"U-um…" Hinata said, "While you two do that, would you mind if I went off to work on something on my own?"

"No problem," I assured her, nodding.

More curious, Naruto inquired, "What're you working on?"

"A jutsu…"

"What kind of jutsu?"

"…Kuchiyose."

* * *

**Neji ****ネジ**

He blocked a punch and narrowly avoided a palm before raising both arms to block a heavy roundhouse kick. Spinning, he lashed the back of his fist for my head, and I ducked away to avoid it. Catching a punch just in front of my face, I pushed it away and evaded a kick at my side. I blocked a punch, but as I was blocking another his hand opened to grab my arm; I smacked the hand away, but the genin had leapt into a high kick.

I positioned my arms to defend against the blow, but was sent sailing at the force behind it. I caught myself with a hand, less than a foot from the edge of the river that cut through the village – and upon seeing this, I tumbled back and into the frigid water as if I'd slipped.

_Ushi-Saru-U-Ne-I-Tori………_

Sticking my feet to the bottom, I waited fifteen more seconds after completing the lengthy sequence, and sure enough the fool wandered up to the bank to look.

_Suiryūdan no Jutsu!_

I leapt from the river alongside a water dragon that slammed into him dead-on, blasting him away. I manipulated it to catch him again from below, propelling his black-clothed form upward. I raced up the side of a nearby building and launched myself toward him with a burst of chakra, releasing the jutsu so that he was thrown high into the air. Executing an acrobatic spin as I descended, I met him with an axe kick across his back.

"_ACK!_"

We fell together, and I clasped the back of his shirt from above him, preparing to use my weight to drive him against the ground. However, before I could position myself he reached back suddenly, grabbing a fistful of the neck of my shirt. With a cry of rage he whirled, snapping his body around to bury a foot in my side.

My teeth locked, and blood soon shot past them. Stunned, I couldn't defend myself from the following heavy fist to the cheek and boot in the gut. He grabbed my arm, turning me so that I faced skyward, and suddenly a fist cracked into my jaw. Now beside me, he sank a crushing blow into my stomach; I lost all my breath, and his fist opened. He lightly pushed off me, beginning to turn for a final kick.

He was aiming for my chest, not my middle. My bones were strong, but if my sternum and ribs got caught between that and the ground…

_Byakugan! _His timing was off – I was about to hit ground before he hit me.

Channeling a huge deal of chakra to my arm, I swept my left hand down beside me; it struck into the ground with an intense burst of chakra, setting me spinning to my right.

_Hakkeshou Kaiten!!_

A dome of black chakra was thrust outward from me as I spun rapidly, just above the ground, and the genin cried out as he was smacked away. Ending the improvised lateral Kaiten, I landed in a low crouch and rose to my feet.

"Almost caught me that time," I remarked nonchalantly, and he cursed me with his blazing eyes. He started forward – and jumped in surprise as the remains of the water dragon came splashing to the ground between us.

_Ushi-Tatsu-Tori-Ne-Hitsuji!_

"Suiton: Raining Bullets!"

From the water that had splashed into the air shot a thousand tiny liquid needles, bolting straight for my off-guard adversary and striking into his torso and face all at once. He was knocked a yard back, not injured so much as stunned.

And in an instant I was darting past him, smiling as my claws shredded over the side of his ribcage. A marvelous scent erupted in brilliance as rich blood was spilt generously from the wound.

He stumbled forward with a poorly stifled sound of pain, and I chuckled quietly to myself as I turned to face him, raising my hand to clean my claws. I sighed, but my joy was pierced by a bolt of pain.

_I'm overusing the Blood Seal, _I realized, my mood falling. _Guess I ought to start wrapping it up…_

Down on one knee, he was casting a glare over his shoulder. One of his eyes was shut in pain, and an arm lied across his body, the hand pressed to his ripped shirt and bleeding side.

The wind blew, and my nose twitched.

Still… It couldn't hurt to slice him up a bit more…

_No! _I caught myself, finding my muscles were already tensed and prepared to spring. I shook my head. _He's important – important to Orochimaru-sama. I can't kill him. _The mark throbbed, and though I thirsted terribly for his blood I resisted. I collected myself.

"So tell me, genin," I called condescendingly, "Do you think that if by some insanity you happened to miraculously defeat me … you would be in any condition to put up a good fight against our foes?"

Teeth grinding, he raced through a chain of seals and stood. I jerked to the side, and a small, deadly fireball whizzed past my head; I blurred toward him, cutting to the left to evade a second missile, and the right to avoid a third, all the while growing nearer the younger shinobi. One yard away, I drew back a fist – and he unleashed another blaze at pointblank range.

Ducking sharply, I threw a heavy fist toward his belly. He moved both hands to block it.

I smirked.

"Hidden Snake Hand."

Three serpents raced from my long sleeve, two winding rapidly up his arms and biting hard, latching fangs into his bicep and neck, and the third flying around his waist and coiling twice about his leg before sinking its teeth into the boy's thigh.

He grunted. "What … the heck?! _He_ taught you this jutsu, didn't he?! Why hasn't…?"

"Heh," I snorted, understanding. "What can I say? I guess Orochimaru-sama doesn't trust you like he does me." The snakes withdrew and vanished; free, he pulled away and retreated several yards.

"And why does Orochimaru trust _you_?" he growled.

"He's not the type to trust many, but I have no reasons to betray him, and he knows it. _You, _on the other hand – to say the least, I can see why he might have his doubts."

"What did you say?" he hissed. Then his eyes grew. He swayed, and in a second he fell to one knee. Shaking his head, he gazed at a trembling hand he held before him. He looked up, eyes wide. "Hyuuga – did you freakin' _poison_ me?!"

"Maybe, maybe not."

"I mean it! You'd better have an antidote for this crap!!"

"Making demands of someone you just went all out trying to kill, are we?"

"Teme…" Furious, he forced himself to his feet. "Why… Why is _your_ curse mark … more powerful than _mine?!_" he shouted.

My eyes narrowed. "Jutsu, trust, poison, curse seals… What is it that we're talking about exactly?"

His quivering right hand gripped his left arm firmly. Energy began to crackle in his outstretched palm. His eyes never stopped cursing me.

"Besides, we can't honestly try to judge the seals' power based on _this_ – it would be _unfair_ to your Heaven Curse Mark."

_Chi-chi-chi-chi-chi-chi-chi-chi–_

"For all we know, the seals are equivalent and I'm simply stronger than you." _Or…_

He leapt forward, bellowing an attack cry, drawing back the blazing sphere of lightning concentrated in his hand.

"You already know. You will lose."

_Shlugk…_

His hand plunged through my stomach. I shut my eyes in pain as the hand continued to spark and crackle behind me.

"Or … _maybe_…" Liquid trailed from my mouth. But it wasn't blood.

'I' opened my eyes, threw my arms around him, and sang it in a mocking tone:

"Mizu bunshin."

_SPLASH!!_

The now soaked genin – hand still ablaze with his chakra – shuddered violently as he gave himself a good zap. He staggered backwards.

And he gasped when he bumped into me. He spun, throwing a feeble punch as his mark failed him. I caught his hand with a smirk.

"Or maybe…" I said, leaning forward to whisper in his ear and forcing his wrist back until I heard a painful-sounding pop. "Your mark is becoming starved of Darkness."

I brought a fist upward into his stomach, striking with such force he was lifted off his feet. As he fell, my other hand latched onto his neck.

"Maybe … you don't have enough hatred."

Half-glazed eyes grew wide, a bloodied mouth falling open and breath catching sharply like he'd been struck. Arms cradling his midriff fell limp to his sides.

On that note, I swept my arm back and released. He shot like a bullet into a rickety old wooden shed, bringing it crashing down on top of him.

I spared hardly a glance toward the dust cloud. Then I activated my Byakugan as I turned my gaze full force on an approaching chuunin twenty yards away, snarling with a dangerous growl and spreading my claws menacingly before me. Time to escape before they got a chance to converge on me.

He stopped in his tracks, flinching as he met my eyes. A moment after I was upon him from a leap, bringing my hands to his arm and forehead and my feet to his belly as I fell against him, knocking him to the ground. I jumped off of him into a sharp spinning kick, swatting aside a second Konoha-nin with a heel to the face. I landed and sprang toward a third, the last to bar my path, with claws prepared to slash. He was unblinking in fear, teeth chattering, knees shaking, and hands trembling so badly he couldn't form his seals.

"Don't hurt me!!" he shrieked finally, holding up his arms in front of him.

_Stupid Akimichi… _My foot touched the ground before him, and I shifted my hand so that claws aimed for his face missed; the side of my hand snapped to the side of his neck, dropping him like a rock, and I raced past without breaking stride.

"Forget it! Don't pursue him!" I heard someone call. So, that was that.

_I leave you to fate now, my comrade. It's all up to fate…_

* * *

**Hanabi ****ハナビ**

"Hanabi-chan, give me a hand here!" she said, struggling to lift a fallen wooden beam. Sakura had gotten to him first, sprinting here as soon as Neji fled; a lot of debris had already been cast aside by the time I caught up.

"Right!" I said, helping her with it. Maybe it was an adrenaline rush, but she lifted it mostly on her own and hefted it away. We cleared more boards until the black-clothed figure was fully exposed.

Sakura reached a hand toward him, and froze. I looked to her, and something clenched inside me as I watched the first silent tears roll down her cheeks. I realized that our savior was still. Too still.

At this point several New Konoha ninja had gathered a short distance from us. Shikamaru walked to my side, and looked in a moment at the girl. The girl whose hands bled with cuts and splinters from her haste, her face dirty and tear-streaked, kneeling in the rubble beside the masked shinobi who was supposed to be our foe.

"Sakura…" Shikamaru said quietly.

"You s-saw his jutsu, didn't you? There's only one p-person he c-could _be…_"

I shook my head, stunned. The last time, he had seemed so strong … so invincible. And now, just like that, he was…?

Something dripped from my chin. My face was wet, I realized as I watched my friend sobbing on his chest. I sniffled, whimpering softly, and my hand covered my mouth. I looked down. _Hyuuga … do not cry. Under no circumstances is it acceptable…_

"Don't go!!"

I shuddered. _But maybe … just this once… when there aren't any Hyuuga around to see it–_

"Can't breathe… with you on top of me……"

I looked up at the feeble voice, and Sakura pulled away with a gasp. A tiny, weak cough passed into the air.

I can't much describe how I felt at the moment that I saw his chest was gently rising and falling again. Any words I could have used to express the relief that struck me in the transition from despair to what I now felt would have amounted to understatements.

Sakura, shedding fresh tears of joy, managed in a few seconds to smile and cry out.

"Sasuke!"

* * *

**Neji ****ネジ**

–"'_Double agent?'"_

"_Yes. You will feign a switch of sides; we need to get you into New Konoha, after which you will infiltrate their ranks and pretend to collect information on us for them, while you really do the opposite."–_

That was the idea: feigned conflict, feigned treachery, feigned side switch. The keyword being 'feigned.'

I couldn't help but feel he wasn't the best person that could have been chosen for the task.

–"_You are to join them gain their trust. They need to believe you have traded allegiance to them. Anything you learn, any plans, and ways we could better hinder them, will be reported regularly to me."_

"_So I'll be a spy."_

"_Correct."–_

I knocked on the door and waited patiently.

He had bonds on their side; he truly cared for that Haruno girl's wellbeing. He hadn't been acting today – he had been trying, however futile we both knew his attempts, to kill me.

–"_Do you understand the assignment?"_

"_Hn. I've got it, Hyuuga-_sama_."–_

I frowned. This could be problematic. But I trusted the Hokage had his reasons. Maybe it was intended to be problematic. Perhaps it would reveal where his loyalty truly lied.

"Enter!"

I pushed the doors open and strode into the room, bowing at the waist. I raised my head, meeting Lord Orochimaru's eyes.

"The first stage has been completed."

_I think._

* * *

**Hanabi ****ハナビ**

"Hanabi-chan, you can go to sleep if you want to."

"Huh, what?" I raised my head, blinking drowsiness from my eyes. I brought a hand to my mouth, yawning a long time. "I'm staying up…"

Sakura gave my shoulder a gentle squeeze. "That's sweet of you, but we don't even know if he'll be waking up any time soon. You ought to get some rest."

"I'm not a baby…"

"Seven isn't that old, either."

"Hmph…" I mumbled, beginning to drift off again with my head resting against the older girl. "'M not … falling asleep…"

_I want to ask him … how Nee-chan is doing…_

My eyelids drooped as I gazed at the Uchiha lying on a futon, nude but for a pair of pants someone had lent and the bandages covering much of his torso; two of New Konoha's few medics had tended to him a couple of hours ago. I couldn't keep my eyes open as I observed his tranquil state of dozing, and in seconds I had drifted off.

_But then again … I already know Nee-chan is okay. She made me … a promise……_

How long had it been? I wondered as the sound of voices roused me.

"Please, don't try to move! Your injuries–!"

"I'm fine…"

"Sasuke…"

I blinked slowly, only partially awake. The boy was sitting up, and Sakura had moved to kneel at his side.

"I don't understand why … why did you do it? We're enemies now, after all … so why did you help us? Do you actually, sort of... _care _about–?"

"You're pathetic."

"…?!"

"…And it's because you're so weak … that I just couldn't leave you alone. I couldn't stop thinking about you, no matter how hard I tried. You're not ready for this kind of battle, and I knew it. And the thought of the war starting … the thought of you caught up in this, unable to defend yourself…" He shook his head. "You don't have Naruto or Kakashi to lean on now, and I knew you'd need someone. Maybe I'm the pathetic one – clinging to my old teammate, protecting my enemy from my allies like it's my responsibility or something… And now look where I am, in some type of underground hideout with my hands tied behind my back. I'm a hostage, right?" he asked tonelessly.

Sakura looked down. "Sort of… I mean, Hanabi and I told the others about how you saved us twice. We convinced them to go lightly on you; you won't be tortured or even interrogated. If you'd defeated Neji, he would definitely have woken up to a different situation than yours…"

"But you didn't defeat Hyuuga," another familiar voice said. "Or even come close."

"Anko-sensei!" Sakura said. I looked up again as the woman entered the earthen room, her aura intense and her bruised face calm but for narrowed eyes.

"What happened to _you?_" Sasuke spat, scowling at her air of hostility.

"Took a jump-kick to the face," she answered simply. "For a guy just coming out of battle, your friend was in tip-top shape."

"What are you trying to say?" he said, glaring.

Her frown deepened. "Sakura, could I have a word with our guest, alone?"

"…Um…"

"You don't have to worry."

"Okay…" She walked up to me. "Hanabi-chan, are you awake?"

"Huh…?" I looked up groggily.

She smiled, reaching behind my back and my knees. "Come on, let's go somewhere where you can get some rest–,"

"I can walk!" I complained automatically as she lifted me.

"Okay, okay," she said, setting me on my feet. "You're not a baby, right?"

"Mm…" I nodded slightly, taking her hand as she guided me from the room.

We walked past the sheet that separated the room from the hallway, and had gone some three steps when Sakura pressed her back against the wall. "Shh…" she whispered, directing me to do the same.

I could only catch a few of the hushed words spoken in the room.

"…making a mistake… In the end … tossed aside … not useful anymore."

"I have a goal… don't care … have to do…"

"Save yourself before it's too late… decides you're not good enough…"

"What the heck do you think you know about it–?!"

_THAP!!_

"AH!"

"Anko-sensei!" Sakura shouted. Fully awake, I followed her back into the room; we were greeted with the sight of Sasuke sprawled on his front near his futon, and Anko standing on the other side of the mat with a fist outstretched, eyes closed and teeth clenched in anger.

"What are you doing?" Sakura cried, helping Sasuke sit up again. "He's injured–!"

"He's a fool," she said stonily. The Leaf tokubetsu jounin and Sound genin had entered into a glare-off, Sasuke's eyes angry and hers cold. It was then that I noticed the bruise on the side of the Uchiha's jaw … and the red trailing from his mouth.

Unblinking, I promptly turned myself around and rested my forehead and hands on the wall.

"Do you honestly think," I heard Anko say, "that you and Hyuuga Neji could be the first apprentices the filthy snake's ever taken on?"

He gasped.

"Mendoukuse… What's going on in here?" Shikamaru sighed, entering the room. "…And what's wrong with Hanabi?"

"Oh – Sasuke, wipe your mouth," Sakura said.

"…Great idea," he said sarcastically.

"R-right, I forgot, your hands – I'll wipe it for you, I m-mean, if you don't mind…"

"...Hn."

A moment later, Anko said, "I'm sorry – to _Hanabi_, not to you, Uchiha."

Beside me, Shikamaru sighed. He touched my shoulder lightly, even offering a small smile. "You can turn around now," he said, and I hesitantly did so.

"Anyways…" He turned to Sasuke. "Getting right to the point, we have an offer that you might be interested in."

The Uchiha's eyes narrowed. "An offer…?"

* * *

"So, you want me to turn on Oto? You would let me join you?"

"It looks like your relations on their side aren't going too good, and Sakura trusts you enough, so…"

"And what happens to me if I refuse?"

"You go free," Shikamaru said, causing Sasuke to gasp lightly.

"Just like that? Why would you…?"

"These two claim they owe their lives to you, so they got a lot of say in deciding your fate. Thanks to them, you can make a choice freely."

Sasuke chuckled slightly. "Now wouldn't it get ugly if I, say, joined you – and even spied on New Oto for you – and turned out to be loyal to Oto and doing the opposite?"

"What are you saying?" Anko whispered.

"Nara, I thought you were supposed to be some kind of genius. You're pretty naïve if you didn't consider that might just happen to be my true mission."

"And is that your true mission?"

"It was. But…" His gaze flickered toward Sakura. "I can't do it; not when it might put you in more danger. What Oto is doing to all of you is wrong; I was able to ignore it at first, but I can't any longer – and unlike those other cowards, I'm not afraid of Neji. So, I have an offer for you now. Let me _pretend_ to be Oto's double agent, and really spy on them for you."

"Oh, please," Anko said, "Isn't that just too convenient? How do we know whose side he's really on? He's probably–,"

"If I were just saying this," he interrupted her, "why would I have told you my mission and alerted you to the threat? Why _wouldn't_ I have just accepted your offer to join and started feeding Oto everything I learned?"

"But _now_," Shikamaru reasoned, "for all we know, you anticipated this argument and divulged your plan beforehand solely for the sake of utilizing it as a point to gain our trust. _Man,_ this is troublesome…" he moaned, tilting his head back to stare glumly at the ceiling and undoubtedly wishing he could see through it to the night sky above.

He sighed, lowering his head and bringing his hands together in what I and the rest of New Konoha had come to know as the legendary "thinking stance."

Anko scowled. "Don't tell me you're honestly considering running the risk of–!"

"Thinking…" Shikamaru muttered in annoyance, and Sakura had to stop the woman from whacking him upside the head.

The four of us waited (for the most part) patiently, but the air in the small room grew tense as we did so, Sakura and I anxious, Anko glaring at Sasuke, and Sasuke pointedly ignoring her. We started when Shikamaru finally spoke.

"Letting him join would be an enormous risk. We have no way of knowing if he's really with us or not. We're weaker than New Oto as is, and it's no secret we're already at the disadvantage."

Sakura hung her head, and Anko nodded approvingly.

"_But_," the shadow user opened his eyes. "For those same reasons, I say this is too good an opportunity to pass up."

"Huh?" Sakura said, "You mean…?"

"Oh, you can't be serious!" Anko fumed. "So on the chance that he _might_ be telling the truth…?!"

"Sorry, Anko-sensei; you've been overruled." He looked to Sasuke. "Oto will probably trust you because they think you're just working as their double agent. Instead, you're going to pretend, to Oto, to be pretending to spy _on_ Oto for Konoha while remaining loyal to them – _except_ you really will spy on them because you really will be working for Konoha all along." He rubbed his head. "I think that actually makes you a triple agent… Think you can do it?"

The Uchiha nodded. "Hai."

Shikamaru smirked. "Then welcome to New Konoha."

* * *

**Naruto ****ナルト**

"Hey, kid, I was wonderin' something."

"What is it?"

"How do you guys know so much about what happened to Konoha, if you'd already left before any of it started?"

"Huh? Oh, actually … Come to think of it, I guess that's mostly thanks to Sasuke!"

"Eh? Who?"

I just smiled.

To this day, I still don't really understand why Sasuke gave that information. Maybe he was secretly on the Failures' side, on New Konoha's side, plotting against Orochimaru and Neji from the start; perhaps he'd simply wanted to toss his own two cents into the fountain pool that took in events and spat out so-called 'destiny.' But whatever it was…

"Naruto!"

"Hinata?" I said as she came running into camp, looking excited. "What is it? Is something wrong?"

She shook her head and formed a weird hand seal I'd never seen before. "Do this."

"What … this?" I said as I carefully mimicked the sign. I looked up to see her Byakugan focused on me, and got that unnerved feeling anyone felt when they knew a Hyuuga was looking inside them. She looked at herself a moment, then back to me, and nodded.

"Thanks," she said, smiling before running off again.

"Hey, Hinata!" I called. "Did you stay awake all night or something?"

"Sort of!" she answered, soon disappearing from view.

"…'Sort of,'" I muttered, shaking my head. "What was that all about?"

"But, yeah, who's this Sasuke fella'?"

"Huh? Who're we talking about again?"

* * *

**Hinata ****ヒナタ**

I had found, mysteriously present in my mind after meeting with the Gobi, a few vague hints for how to perform the jutsu it had entrusted to me. It looked like I was expected to figure it out on my own. The first hint to arise was the fact that it was a summoning jutsu, and the second came in the form of an odd handseal I somehow knew. Not understanding, I had stored the knowledge of the sign in the back of my mind.

I had asked Naruto what the hand seals for Kuchiyose no Jutsu were, and he had taught them to me; sure enough, the strange hand seal wasn't one of them. But when I attempted to summon, nothing had happened – nothing at all.

Then a strange notion had surfaced, and I realized it was a third hint: for whatever reason, I felt I needed to use an elemental jutsu with it. But I couldn't possibly use two jutsu at the same time; how was I supposed to overlap an elemental jutsu with a summoning jutsu? I had felt pretty foolish as I attempted again and again, without a clue as to what exactly I was trying to do, spitting a fireball and then trying to do a Kuchiyose after as if it would make some kind of difference (which it didn't).

Finally the weird handseal had come back to mind, and I'd wondered – why hadn't the five seals of the Art of Summoning been among the clues? Shouldn't that have been a crucial piece of information?

It wasn't.

I formed the sign again, succeeding in simultaneously shaping my chakra to the correct form. I had it down, and now that I knew what to do I could sense it was right. It felt right.

Taking a deep breath, I opened determined eyes and brought my hands together.

"Mi! Hitsuji! Saru! I! Uma! Tora! _Ookami!_"

Ookami. Without thinking, I had called it Ookami.

Sign of the Wolf.

Rearing back, I filled my lungs with air.

And as I was coming forward and opening my mouth, something rather different from the expected 'Goukakyuu no Jutsu' leaped across my mind.

_**Youkai Ninpou: Reikuchiyose no Jutsu!**_

The fireball erupted from my mouth – and I felt like I'd been dealt a staggering blow. My vision flashed at the bone-jarring force, and I fell confused to my hands and knees. Where … had all my chakra _gone_?

I looked up, and my breath froze in my throat.

The fireball was ten yards away, hovering and swirling wildly in front of me. A blood-chilling, disembodied growl rumbled in the air, and the churning sphere of orange darkened rapidly to crimson and then to black. The blaze streaked toward me in a bolt of darkness before halting sharply, and it then spiraled upward extravagantly with incredible speed. In a flash it blasted into the ground before me, sending a shroud of flames billowing outward all around it. These faded…

And left standing there in front of me, five feet high at the ears, head and tail raised tall, and eyes black, red, and furious, a monstrous wolf of rolling black flames unleashed a terrible, earth-shaking roar of might.

"_Who DARES summon me, Child of FIRE, ruler of the inferno, SON of the great black-blooded Houkou – Gobi no Ookami, master of all elements of this world – Grand Ookami __**KUROGIBA**__, the __**BLACK FANG**__**?!!**"_

* * *

**ナルト ****/ ****リー ****/ ****ヒナタ ****\ ****ハナビ ****\ ****ネジ**

**End Chapter Eight**

**Naruto: **Wah! Now I look like a radioactive Star Ninja!!

**Sasuke: **Itachi…

**Itachi: **Go away. You don't interest me at the moment, worthless halfbreed.

**Sasuke: **…What the heck is a 'halfbreed'?

**Itachi: **I … have no idea, actually…

**Sasuke: **O-_kay_…

**Itachi: **Yeah, sorry, just sort of slipped out there…

**Hanabi: **You! Must you _beat someone down_ in every chapter you appear in?!

**Neji: **I'm not sure I understand the insinuation.

**Hinata: **E-everyone! We need to do the preview now! (-_static-)_

**Kurogiba: **I _refuse_ to serve a pathetic little human girl, and a cripple at that…

**Hinata: **Please, then, K-Kurogiba-sama... what can I do to prove myself to you…?

**Hanabi: **Torn between the Darkness and the Light – which path will Sasuke-san ultimately take?

**Lee: **And with no way of following a scent and no leads, where are the three of us to go now?

**Naruto: **The journey goes on next time in … um… **Chapter Nine**!

Phew… How was the chapter?

Yes, Naruto's eyes are permanently purple. Any hypotheses to how he survived, why he healed so fast? Oh, and the Kageken is going to be so awesome!! Just wait… (chuckles evilly) Also, any guesses on the origin of Hanabi's hemophobia? There were hints in this chap.

Yes, a river runs through the village. Says who? Ultimate Ninja 3! Okay, yeah, I needed there to be a river…

Kurogiba won't be a main character, but I wouldn't say he's a minor character either. I made his name out of 'Kuro' (black) and 'Kiba' (fang). I spent an hour researching rendaku and Lyman's Law, trying to figure out if 'Kurogiba' or 'Kurokiba' would be more correct, but I gave up eventually and just used the one I thought sounded better.

_T_**i**_M_**e**_S_**k**_I_**p** _**a**_L_**e**_Rt!1! That caught your attention, right? But not now, there's still some more events to get through first. Just so you know, coming up I'd say within the next four chapters. For obvious reasons, it definitely won't be 2 and a half years; it'll be more of a mini time skip of a few months.

How was the interaction between Neji and Sasuke? Was the action scene good? How was the Naruhina-ish part? Did the scenes switch around too much in this one?

Okay, I'm done rambling! Good or bad, please review and tell me what you thought of the chapter! Please? Reviews fill authors with joy and joyness and make them all happy and fuzzy inside!

Laters!

:o)Hinata0321:o)


	9. Of Lupines and Lycans

J3F\\\ Journey of the Three Failures

Chapter Nine

Helloes!

Thanks and hugs go out to **narutojazz19, Rena the pirate jedi wizard, Chewie cookies, Omega the darkness, Naybi, soundless steps, korbaton, Kakashi's Missing Icha Book, foxsadist712, Universal Hope, jgirl1984, Monte-chan, Keymort, Okami Kage Hachi, chibi heishi, FantomoDrako, Stygian Styx, Lil Biatch** and everyone else who's reviewed!

Late again, I know… but school's been tough the last six weeks (In particular, I think my geometry and biology teachers are a little insane)! Also, things get pretty chaotic when the biggest tests of the year are coming up… And between studying and homework, (as a result of Naruto withdrawal, I suppose) you could say I've been increasing my 'anime literacy' lately. I've watched a lot of different anime in the last few months… but none of them top Naruto!

Lol, okay, so maybe I'm not _'old'_… but still, it's like, I'm not a little kid anymore! Like, I'll probably be learning to drive soon! It's crazy!

Once again, Gaara will show up at a certain point in the story! So will Tsunade! Both will appear after the mini-timeskip (mentioned in the A/N of last chap). I'm estimating that there are about two or three more chapters after this one until my timeskip.

**Disclaimer: **If I owned Naruto, I would do SOMETHING to try to get Cartoon Network to AT LEAST air some freakin' re-runs, if nothing else!!!

* * *

**Journey of the Three Failures**

**Nine: Of Lupines and Lycans**

**Hinata ****ヒナタ**

The words that were stammered out in reply to the bold demand came off sounding more like a confused question than anything – which I guess wasn't too bad, considering I was trying my best not to pass out as I sat there on my hands and knees staring up at the wolf made of fire towering menacingly in front of me.

"A-ano, ah… m-m-me…?"

At this squeak, the beast looked down to notice by chance an insignificant little flea at its feet.

"You've got to be kidding me."

That kind of stung.

I gulped, trying to get to my feet. This 'Grand Ookami Kurogiba' wouldn't hurt me – he was apparently the son of Gobi, right? The Gobi and I had an agreement, and we were on good terms, right? So it wasn't like I was in any danger here … _right?_ But my arms and legs were leaden with weakness as well as fear, and I had only half-risen when I fell again to my knees.

The wolf began growling at my attempt. "Rrrr… You're _serious_? _You're_ the human we're supposed to be working with?"

"I – I am. I am Hyuuga Hinata," I said, struggling just to keep from trembling under his eerie, drilling gaze.

"So _I_, the Fifth Grand Ookami, am supposed to help _you_, a scrawny excuse for a koinu who could only just barely manage to summon me in this size?" He had grown closer as he spoke, so that his snout was right in my face and his seething eyes, slits of dark fire containing a shimmering crimson splash of iris and a soul-stabbing glimmer of silver as a pupil, were inches from my own. Vicious teeth, which like his claws were flames simply a darker black than the majority of his body, were bared in fury.

_H-he hates me … but why? _I tried again, and this time succeeded in standing up. "U-um…" It was hard to talk with him glaring so intensely! "K-Kurogiba-sama…"

He blasted a roar in my face, and I shrieked and fell onto my backside.

"Kuso!" he cursed, storming past me. "Is this a joke? I can hear them laughing already, the whole filthy lot of them! Kuso, why me?! Why am I the one to get stuck with this, this…" He looked back at me to see me looking back at him, growled in frustration, and continued on his way.

My teeth clenched, and something certain clicked inside me – and I realized I didn't want to be dismissed that simply.

I body flickered.

"Kurogiba!" I shouted, barring his path. Even if putting myself in the angry fire wolf's way didn't seem like the healthiest idea, I didn't care right now. "What do you have against me?"

A low growl escaped him. "Out of the way, scrawny koinu…"

My hand was brought to the hitai-ate at my neck. "I am Hyuuga Hinata, a kunoichi of the Village Hidden in Leaves and the Hyuuga Clan's rightful heiress! I will be a great ninja someday! I'm not about to sit by while you make conclusions and write me off as a weakling!"

"Heh… What should I care? Even as you spout these things your hands tremble in fear. What reason do I have to accept you? You're terrified of me. You're a puny runt. And…" He trailed off as he seemed to notice something, and I tried not to fidget as he gazed intently. His eyes narrowed in a few moments. "And your _arm_…"

"I-it's … a severe d-disability, but–,"

"You're a cripple."

It was as if I'd been slapped. _You…!_

My hands curled slowly into fists. Indifferent, he began to stride past as I shook in rage, moisture collecting in my eyes.

–"_Failure."–_

I turned around. "Stop! Don't walk away from–!"

**THAM!**

My back hitting the ground, wind shrieking from my lungs in one clean burst. _He's… fast… _I thought absently as fuzziness danced over my sight. A paw was pressing heavily on my chest, and one nail poked unpleasantly against my neck – but the flames weren't burning me, I realized. They weren't even hot. I blinked in confusion, and I could see the wolf's face above mine.

"I _refuse_ to serve a spineless, unworthy little genin runt – and a cripple, at that…" Releasing me, he continued past. Gasping and coughing, I lied there several moments. Then, in a low whisper on a tiny breath:

"…A cripple, am I…?" I rolled over, and began getting to my knees.

"Eh…?"

"Maybe my chakra network is dead in my right arm. Maybe it's a little tough to control my chakra … maybe my handseals don't work quite right…" Head down, I started to stand.

"What are you going on about now…?"

"But I'm not about to be overlooked for it – no way in heck." I wiped my mouth, and then looked up to meet Kurogiba's eyes squarely. "I've worked hard to get around my disadvantage because I'm no longer a person who backs down when things get hard. And that's why … I'm not afraid of you!"

Our eyes held a very long moment. He regarded me with curiosity. And slowly, he turned to face me.

"Show me what you've got … scrawny koinu."

I dropped to the ground, and a blazing black blur flashed over me. I rolled aside, just barely avoiding two front paws that came crashing down where I'd been.

_He's not messing around!_

"Not that it'll take over a minute!"

* * *

For being made of fire, I had to wonder where his weight even came from. He was just _leaning_ against me, and I could hardly draw a fraction of a breath.

"Give up," he growled, pressing me into the tree. I noted a collection of tiny crackling noises behind me.

"Not … gonna happen!" I managed stubbornly, voice tight.

He pulled away. I drew in a huge breath, and when my feet hit the ground I started to fall. I saw his shoulder lurching toward me again – and substituted away in time to see the tree get knocked down.

A moment later the wolf came flying toward me in an incredible leap; I dodged his claws and hurriedly raised my arms to block a kick thrown by powerful hind legs as his front paws met the ground. I flew five yards, grunted as my back connected with a tree, and jumped aside to avoid being rammed by that crushing shoulder. With one hand I backflipped away from a lunging claw slash, and I took a quick jump backwards as he pounced. Then, a meter away, he opened his mouth and loosed a blazing sphere of crimson fire.

I caught enough balance to leap forward, over the missile. I would have gone over the wolf, too, but–

"Agh!" I cried as he clamped down hard on my lower leg. Having reared back to catch me, his fangs suddenly grew painfully hot.

Pulling me out of the air, he slammed my back into the dirt. I was blinking in confusion when I felt myself being lifted again and flung aside as the lock on my ankle released.

My back stuck across a tree's trunk. If I had and wind left in me, I lost it then.

I crashed to the ground in a stunned heap, blinking at the cloudy murkiness invading my sight, coughing and retching and struggling to take in air.

"It's over."

I looked up a bit to see the blazing wolf before me, and I tried to start working my way to my knees. "No … it's not–,"

Something lashed into my face, throwing me onto my back.

"Say something," he challenged coldly.

I lifted my head an inch or two. My lips parted to speak, but my strength failed me and my head fell again, turning to the side so my mouth could expel a glob of spit and blood.

_Chakra… I think I'm out of chakra…_

My eyes drifted shut. I … didn't feel so good…

"Hrmph … scrawny little pup…"

I had scrambled like a mouse and gotten kicked around like a ragdoll for the entirety of the "fight" with a demonic opponent faster than me and more than twice my size.

_But … still … there's no qu-question that…_

* * *

**Lee ****リー**

"Hinata-san!"

"Hinata!"

Concerned, we were hurrying in the general direction of the ruckus we'd heard when something stopped us in our tracks.

The … whatever it was had been walking in our direction, but stopped as well when we caught sight of each other. I doubt I could have cared much less about the wolf creature, however, as my eyes were drawn to the limp, petite form dangling by the back of her shirt from its teeth, burned, bruised, and bloodied from battle.

"You're her friends, right?" it said before we could voice any shock or anger; flames seemed to roar softly in the shadow of its voice.

"U-uh … y–,"

"Here." It tossed Hinata's unconscious body toward us, and Naruto moved to catch her gently as he could and lower her to the ground. The wolf turned its back and walked a few steps before casting a glare our way.

"Stupid koinu … lasted more than a minute." He muttered something like that as a small shockwave hit the air. The fire lost form and went orange, and in another instant the flames had dissipated.

"Is she alright?" I asked as Naruto was giving Hinata a quick check-over.

"She must be exhausted. I can hardly feel her chakra at all…"

"What could have happened?"

He gently brushed a few strands of hair from her face. "She was working on a summoning jutsu, right? Maybe that wolf-thing was what she summoned, and it didn't feel like listening to her."

"So it just attacked her?!" I said, fists clenching.

"Nah, I doubt it. Knowing Hinata, I'd say she ended up challenging him." He was not standing up for the strange fire wolf, however; I knew he too felt angered to see Hinata in such a state. "Let's get back to camp. She's a quick healer; she should be fine."

He carefully lifted the girl in his arms. With a whispered 'Hang in there' and giving her shoulder a gentle squeeze, he started back.

_Hinata-san, _I thought with a sigh, looking toward her pale skin, her dirt-streaked face, her bloody mouth. _Is that what happened? You did not back down and stood up for yourself, challenging such a fearsome opponent… You really have changed so much…_

* * *

**Neji ****ネジ**

Three arrows embedded themselves in three bull's-eyes of three targets forty meters away.

"You're good, alright," Hyuuga Hiroshi said. "With such a strong Byakugan, I guess that's little surprise."

"Hn…" I said, lowering the bow. The old bow stood not much shorter than my own height. It was strong and sleek and had been crafted of the finest, most durable wood. And I hated it.

This filthy thing belonged to Hyuuga Hiashi. It had been passed down through the dirty hands of the Main Household for generations. I didn't want it – but it was mine. It had been decided that I was now the new rightful owner of the most prestigious weapon in the clan's possession, and I was expected to master it.

"Heh," Hiroshi went on with a chuckle, "I remember trying to help Hiashi-s…_an_ teach Hinata. The poor girl … No talent whatsoever."

_What a surprise._

"Man," Hiken sighed. He was one of few Branch Hyuuga who still practiced the way of the bow. "Why even train anymore? Neji-sama hits the bull's-eye just about every time…"

"Don't say that!" Hiroshi barked. "Practice is–!"

"The key to improvement, and there is always space to improve. Hai, oji-san." A twinkle lit up his eyes. "Hey, Neji-sama, try to hit this!" He threw a shuriken into the air in front of us.

I notched an arrow, jumped, and let fly the projectile. It caught the shuriken twenty meters away – and thudded into the bull's-eye twenty more meters away, pinning the shuriken by its central ring.

I landed in a crouch. "Satisfied?" I asked with a smirk.

"Sugoi… Onii-sama, you're amazing! I mean, not like I thought you couldn't do it…"

"But to hit both the shuriken and the target…" Hiroshi whispered.

I unstrung the bow. "Excuse me," I said, bowing my head slightly. "I have a meeting to prepare for."

"Of course," Hiroshi said. "Excellent work today."

"Arigatou."

* * *

**Hanabi ****ハナビ**

I blocked a kick at my side, and he rapidly followed up with another aimed for my head. I raised my arms as if to block, but instead I ducked under the attack. Kiba was too good to be thrown off-balance and leave his back open; as I was standing again he caught himself and lashed his heel back toward me, quickly banishing the thought of attacking from my mind. I prepared to block high, leaning away from the blow as I did so, and the kick met my arms with such force I would have been knocked down. However, I utilized the force to roll neatly, ending up back on my feet and sidestepping in time to avoid a strike by a hair's breadth as Kiba lunged past me.

_Now's my chance!_

He grunted as I drove my shoulder into the side of his ribs. Well … 'drove' might come off as misleading since the strike (which I'd put the whole of my weight behind) hardly altered his course of pushed him away at all. Nevertheless, where he would have probably landed on all fours from his leaping strike, my blow had enough impact that he stumbled and hit the ground.

I drew my practice kunai and lunged toward him, preparing, for once, to be the one to claim victory–

I saw him flip over, and I yelped as a leg slammed my lower shins with such force that my feet were hacked from under me.

I hit the ground hard, scrunching up my face in pain. Before I could move, I felt the tap of a too-familiar cold, blunt edge at my neck.

"Almost," Kiba consoled, and I nodded glumly, wincing as I started to get up.

"Kiba!" Sakura shouted from the log on the sidelines where she, Shikamaru, and Chouji were sitting. Sasuke was leaning against the wall of a partially collapsed house, watching silently with his arms crossed, and Anko-sensei stood near the other three. Sakura continued, "That was uncalled for! You could have hurt her!"

"A real enemy won't pull any punches," Sasuke pointed out.

"Besides, she's getting a little too strong to hold back on," Kiba said. "Don't you think, Hanabi-chan? Huh? Hey, Hana… Aw, no…"

It must have been when I fell. Probably a rock or something. I began to tremble uncontrollably as I stared at the red slowly dripping down my arm from the cut on my palm. Kiba called something to the others before he knelt down next to me.

"Let's get that cleaned up," he said, lifting me up. I nodded gratefully, even as I innately cursed myself in frustration. _How pathetic…_

"What's wrong with her?" Sasuke asked, the lightest traces of curiosity present in his tone as Kiba began walking.

"She's a little hemophobic," Kiba explained, lying me down. Sakura wiped the cut with a damp, stinging cloth, and Anko-sensei pulled out a roll of bandage.

"Pfft. A 'little?' _Right_…"

"L-leave me alone," I whimpered, ashamed as I was angered.

"She's really petrified…" He shook his head. "A Hyuuga, scared of blood. That might become a bit of a problem later on."

"What are you doing here, anyways?" Anko snapped. "If you ask me, he shouldn't even be allowed to watch your training."

"Not this again…" Shikamaru groaned.

"I don't think I'll get too much delicate information watching friendly sparring matches," the Uchiha retorted. "If you really want me to spend all my time with Oto instead, then fine – except at some point they _might_ start to realize that _I'm not spying on you_."

"Cut it out," Kiba said. He looked down at me. "You alright?"

I nodded slowly, too choked up with shame to trust my voice.

* * *

**Hinata ****ヒナタ**

_Itchy…_

Still listening to the conversation, I absentmindedly lifted a hand to my neck, rubbing the irritation with two fingers.

"Well if that's the case, why not go this way?" Naruto asked, gesturing from the other side of the open map.

"Are you serious?" Lee said next to me. "If we hope to avoid trouble and collect as much information as possible, our best bet may be…"

My brow furrowed as my mind drifted off of the boys' words. I moved my fingers, scratching lightly; the itch only seemed to grow worse.

I scratched a little harder, trying my best to follow what they were saying. I shut my eyes in annoyance, clenching my teeth.

_Why is this mark itching so much?!_

"…Hinata-san?"

My eyes snapped open, and I froze. Two pairs of eyes were sending odd looks my way, and I could sense my cheeks glowing red. At some point the simple movement of my fingers had ceased and been replaced by quick movement of my entire arm by my shoulder, bringing my nails back and forth over the spot on my neck. In a way, I was scratching…

Like a dog.

"A – ah – gomen!!" I stammered in embarrassment, giving an awkward, high pitched laugh. "I-it's th-this mark, it's itching a little bit…"

"The mark?" Lee said, looking toward it. Surprise painted his face. "It is glowing."

"Say what?" Naruto said – but Lee and I nearly jumped out of our skins when a kage bunshin appeared behind us, leaning over to observe the curse seal himself and saying the same.

"Naruto-kun!" Lee snapped with rare annoyance, "Focus!"

"Sorry! I can't help it!" the purple-eyed blond defended, dispelling his doppelganger. Not long after our Akatsuki encounter, the boy's shadow clones had begun popping up frequently at barely a thought on his part; interesting as it was, the habit annoyed us to no end.

"Weird!" he said as the copy's memory enlightened him. "It's like it's … bleeding darkness."

"But the energy drifts upward and dissipates," Lee put in, looking closely. "Has this ever happened before?"

"No…" I grunted, suddenly clasping a hand over the mark.

"Hinata!"

"I'm fine." I looked up slowly. "I think … I think I'm supposed to summon that wolf again."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?"

I shook my head. I wasn't sure, not by a long shot. _What do I do…?_

* * *

**Hanabi ****ハナビ**

"Here it is," I said to myself, reading the katakana 'Kiba' scratched into the canteen. He'd forgotten it down here earlier, and I was glad to fetch it for him since I wasn't sparring anymore for today. With it in hand, I headed out the door (or rather, the doorway) of the earthen room to an adjoining one, setting off for the surface from our underground base/ hideout/ headquarters that had been formed by many a chuunin and tokubetsu jounin and many more a doton jutsu. Halfway across the room to the hallway, I stopped.

"Sasuke-san?" I said, turning to see the Uchiha leaning against the wall near the corner of the room.

"Little Hyuuga," the boy greeted, nodding. "You know, according to your cousin, you're some type of prodigy."

I didn't need to ask to which cousin he was referring, but it did surprise me. "How did you get away from your escort?" I asked, curious. "Don't tell me you actually shook off Anko-sensei…?" When in New Konoha, he was supposed to be with one or two of our shinobi at all times.

He shook his head. "I said I was leaving for New Oto for a few days. I left, entered again about two hundred meters off, and snuck into the tunnels. You all really ought to tighten up the security around your 'turf.'"

I raised an eyebrow. He must have long realized the trouble he'd land in if the others found out he was here. "Surely you didn't go through all this sneaking just to see me."

He shrugged slightly. "Actually, I'm curious. After seeing you fight, it's a little tough to believe what Neji's said about you."

"And what exactly did he say about me?" I asked, turning to fully face him.

His eyes held mine. "He says you have as much potential as he had at your age, if not even _more_."

I drew in a breath.

"I have no idea what he bases this hypothesis on, but to be perfectly honest … _I_ don't see much potential at all."

We were silent a long ten seconds. I knew what he was about to say the moment his mouth opened again.

"You're scared of blood. Why is that?"

"I – I don't know…!" I shook my head. "It's been that way as long as I can remember."

"A terror that great doesn't just come falling out of nowhere."

"Well I guess mine did. It's always been like this," I persisted firmly.

"You use the Byakugan, right? With that doujutsu of yours activated – can't you see blood _then_?"

"_That_ blood is flowing peacefully inside a body, right where it belongs."

"You hate Juuken, don't you?"

"Huh? Wh-what?!" I said, caught off-guard.

"I said you must hate the Gentle Fist. The style isn't suited to you at all; if your enemies start bleeding on the inside and they happen to end up puking it out, won't you be paralyzed with fear?"

I lowered my head. It was true; it was something I'd thought of hundreds of times before. I was excellent in Juuken sparring, but how many times had I actually _used_ the technique against a real enemy?

Once – when we were fleeing the failed prison recon. And it hadn't turned out all that well.

"In a real fight, every move _you_ make will work against you. If you happen to draw your enemy's blood, you only succeed in finishing yourself. Not only is your style useless to you – you can't risk hurting your enemy and can't be hurt yourself."

"Okay, I get it already! So what are you trying to say?!"

His eyes narrowed. "You can't fight. You'll never become a ninja."

I flinched. The harsh words stung, but what truly hurt was that they were very likely to be correct. My teeth ground. "You're wrong! I will be a strong kunoichi–!"

"How? You can't do a thing until you get over your fear. What about kunai and shuriken? What's the point of training to hit a consistent bull's-eye if the second you come up against a real opponent, you find yourself throwing weapons hoping they'll miss? As things are now, all the strength you gain in training is _worthless_."

With a whimper, I looked down in defeat and hurriedly wiped moistening eyes. "So what am I supposed to do? All I want is to help my friends, b-but I… I…"

I could only glare at his feet when he walked up to stand in front of me. "You want to be strong? First you'll need to get over that phobia."

"And h-how am I supposed to do that?"

"The very first thing you have to do … is remember."

His hand landed on my shoulder, and I looked up only to be instantly captured by two crimson Sharingan eyes. Three tomoe slowly circled each pupil, and my breath froze as liquid ice rolled down my spine. A chorus of the same ghostly voice echoed in my ears.

"_Even if you don't want to…_

"_Decide that you must…_

"_And whatever it is…_

"_**Remember**__…!"_

* * *

**Hinata ****ヒナタ**

"Lee-kun, are you sure this is going to work?"

"It cannot fail! I am positively certain, Hinata-san – by the way you have described Kurogiba-san, he must be suffering from loneliness! All he needs is for someone to show him a friendly face! It is foolproof!"

Naruto rolled his eyes. "I don't know, Bushy Brow. I think he sounds more like the type to attack someone for saying that. He'll think she's mocking him or something…"

"I am telling you, even if you may have gotten off on the wrong foot, a friendly approach cannot go wrong. I guarantee it!"

"If you think so…" I began the handseals and drew out a small bit of the curse's power.

"Just say it exactly as I told you to!" Lee said, finishing off with an enthusiastic thumbs-up.

"Right." I inhaled deeply and braced myself.

_Reikuchiyose no Jutsu! _I thought, spewing a grand fireball. It wasn't as bad as the last time; the drain was immense, but somehow I managed to stay on my feet as I endured the sensation of being struck by a crushing force. I had to brace my hands on my knees as I gasped.

I looked up as I caught my breath. Naruto and Lee were awestruck as they watched the magnificent beast, the Fifth Grand Ookami take form in front of us. The blazing ookami formed facing away, and remained moodily silent.

I gulped. _Okay. I can do this. Lee-kun may be right – all he needs is a friend. _I walked forward, halting a bit behind him, raising a hand in greeting, putting a pleasant smile on my face, and calling cheerfully:

"Hey there, brother! It's nice to see you ag– GAH!"

I saw his hind legs flash out, just barely had time to look down with suddenly wide eyes and glimpse a large paw's shooting into my midriff – and my wind was long gone before I even felt it.

…_Naze?_

Then my back smacked against a tree, and my arms weakly curled across myself, a trembling hand clutching my middle and my teeth gritting as I waited for my diaphragm to start working again.

"Hinata!"

"Why did it not work? I do not believe it…"

I curled forward with a grunt, coughing softly. "Wh-what w-was that f-for?" I wheezed, my eyes squinted shut.

"Don't get cocky, scrawny pup," he snarled. "You are no wolf-sister. You are a wolf-ally, nothing more."

What?! So I had unwittingly violated some sort of terminology rule – that was his excuse for kicking me?!

"What the heck does that even mean?!" Naruto complained loudly. "Hinata was just–!"

"You – quiet," the wolf ordered sharply. I looked up as he turned to face me.

"Scrawny koinu," he said, looking down at me. "Whether I like it or not, I am the first one you summoned, and this makes me your … _familiar_," he spat the word out like something unclean. "If it were up to me, you and your little village could take a hike. Unfortunately, as your … _partner_, my responsibility to the wolves requires me to aid you. I will teach you to control that filthy seal, and that's it."

I nodded. "H – hai."

"Now get up already, and follow me."

"U-um, hai!" I said, getting to my feet and following as Kurogiba stalked off like he didn't care whether I was coming or not. "Guess I'll see you later!" I called back to the other two as I hurried to catch up.

* * *

**Hanabi ****ハナビ**

_A seven-year-old, gently pressing a colorful bandage to her baby sister's knee and kissing it._

"_All better?" A tender smile that warms a young heart._

"_Yes!" The toddler, beaming affectionately._

"_Dry those tears now. We don't want Otou-sama to see that, do we?" She dabs with a handkerchief._

"_Hina-nee? I want a piggyback ride home."_

"_Sure!" The elder giggles._

"_Arigatou!"_

"_You're so light … my sweet little Imouto-chan…"_

* * *

"_Nee-chan, Nee-chan… Who was that boy?"_

"_That was your cousin … Neji-nii-san."_

"_I don't like him! He was mean to Hina-nee-chan!"_

"_Don't say that, Imouto-chan. He's a little cold, but he's had a … complicated past."_

* * *

_Why? Why am I remembering these things now…?_

* * *

_Two sisters, lying side by side in the shade of a great oak. "Your training… It's been going well, hasn't it?"_

"_Hai, Nee-chan."_

"_Otou-sama can be a bit harsh, I know… Just do your best, and do exactly as he says."_

"_Okay, Nee-chan."_

_The elder, looking to the younger, must see how tiny and small she is, utterly young and innocent, and there's sadness in her eyes and her sister wonders why._

"_Everything may be different after today … Imouto-chan." Her lips cherishing the slowly spoken word, like it's something precious and delicate and they don't want to let go of it._

"_Hina-nee-chan?" Not understanding, reaching up, patting her sister's cheek. "Don't cry, Hina-nee…"_

_The older girl pulls her sister in close, tenderly wraps her up in the fondest embrace. "No matter what happens … we're sisters, Hanabi."_

_And she doesn't know why, but now she's crying, too, hugging her sister's waist, snuggling in close. "What do you mean, Nee-chan?"_

_Her mouth, planting a kiss on her sister's forehead, her nose, burying itself in the child's soft hair. And they are content to stay this way for hours before they fall asleep._

"_I l-love you … s-s-so much… I love you, my precious Imouto-ch-chan…"_

* * *

_She was crying … because she knew._

* * *

_Hot tears. Screaming. Pain._

"_Please! Please, no!"_

_Being told she is a bad influence, told she will live with some uncle on the other side of the estates._

"_Nee-chan! Nee-chaaaann!!"_

_Told she is never to speak to her again._

_A losing battle, and still they fight._

_Yelling, Anger. Crying, Despair._

_They don't want to let go. He pulls them apart, shoves the older down, drags the younger away._

_The three-year-old, yanking her hand free,running to her Nee-chan's side. Caught again, reaching out, taking her sister's outstretched hand._

"_Hina-nee!"_

_He slaps her arm, and she yelps; he pulls her away, picks her up, and she flails and fights all the while._

_The older, who thought she was strong enough of mind. But she finds she isn't, and so she runs after them._

_Her soft, loving hands clasping her Imouto-chan's for an instant._

_And the death of hope as he kicks her, so terribly hard, sends her sprawling to the ground in pain._

_Wanting to fight for her. Unable to move._

_Wanting to run to her. Unable to escape._

"_Imouto-chan!" she wails, but the pain is too much._

"_Nee-chan!" she screams, and she doesn't even know why. She doesn't know why this is happening, happening to she and the only 'Kaa-san' she's ever known._

* * *

_But that … wasn't the reason, was it…?_

* * *

_He tells her so many poisonous things, fills a confused, malleable young mind with lies._

_And she learns to drink up every word of it._

_At first she doubts him. This is erased soon enough._

_She forgives him, because he is all she has now._

_She has her 'priorities' straight. She knows what's 'important' – because she knows the 'truth.'_

_And he continues to train her, in body and mind. Training her, for her 'purpose.'_

* * *

_All for this day. The day she will become heiress, because he wishes it. Because it is her destiny._

_She glares at the nine-year-old standing across from her, and the girl stares back with apprehension, wondering why she's been called here, unsure of whether she ought be relieved or wary._

"_My apologies, Onee-san, but I will defeat you." With cool fury, settling into her stance. _

_The elder's eyes, widening. "Imouto-chan … w-w-we're sisters…!" The fool, trying to protest, surely trying to deceive her. She isn't falling for it._

_She sees not her sister before her, but an obstacle, an enemy. Someone who wishes for nothing more than her failure. A manipulative, two-faced witch who truly despises her, who would have wished her to stay a weakling forever._

_But she isn't falling for it, not today. The horrid girl's name of heiress will soon belong to her._

_That IS all that matters._

"_Begin!"_

_Almost finishing it in a single blow. Her stunned sister, yelping, barely dodging in time._

_She will not lose. All has been for this day._

_Channeling everything she's got into taking the older girl down – but try as she might she can't land a strike. The enemy dodges, blocks, flees, deflects everything thrown her way._

_A sharp palm thrust, nearly grazing her side. "Stop it! I don't want to fight you!"_

"_Shut up!!" The younger, frustrated, infuriated. She's making her look bad. Chichi-ue's eyes are boring into the back of her skull by now, and she knows it._

_A careless move under the pressure. The first retaliation, a hesitant kick in the stomach._

_Folding over, looking up to see remorse welling in the enemy's eyes. And then attacking again._

_The older, this time meeting her head-on. A forearm crashing against the striking palm; greater size and weight easily reversing her little sister's charge, driving her off her feet._

_She can, but she doesn't slam the four-year-old to the ground. She makes the landing light as she can, tackling her slim, frail frame gently as possible._

_She struggles, but she can't move. The older has straddled her and grabbed both her arms, pinning her down._

"_Get off me!"_

_"What has he done to you?!" she screams. "You promised, Imouto-chan! I thought we were sisters no matter what!!"_

_Struggles, ebbing – water, dripping onto her face._

"_This fight is over," the father declares in disgust. He refuses to look at either daughter as he exits the dojo, four council members in tow._

"…_Hanabi-chan… I'm sor–,"_

_As soon as the grip on her arm loosens, the back of her fist lashes up into her sister's jaw. She slips free, getting to her feet._

"_Just go away!"_

"_H-Hanabi-chan…"_

"_Leave me alone! I hate you!"_

_Her lip trembles. She flees the dojo, fighting tears._

* * *

_It's growing … more and more vivid…_

* * *

"_Hinata-san!" She's found her again._

_Deadened eyes and a glum frown, a miserable rain- and tear-streaked face turning to greet her. "Why must you call me that, Imouto-chan…?"_

_She only glowers back._

"_Fight me. Fight me now."_

_Lightning – everything flying into violent contrast, shadows and demons leaping across the earth. _

"_Does Otou-sama even know where you are? It's late, Hanabi-chan… Get back to your room, you'll catch a cold…"_

_Sinking ever so slowly into an offensive Juuken stance, Byakugan locked intently on her foe. _

"_I'm not going anywhere, Onee-san."_

_Head shaking in despair, face distraught with anguish beyond nine years._

"_This is too cruel." A whimpered whisper. "Sisters shouldn't fight like this… I've lost my Nii-chan. I've lost my Imouto-chan. Why do you torture me?! Wh-why?"_

_The monotonous roll of falling rain. The sister's response._

"…_Prepare yourself."_

_Crackling thunder._

_She can't dodge in time. Her left arm is out._

* * *

_No… Why did I…?!_

* * *

_Dodging, shifting, deflecting, like it's all she knows how to do. Having taken a number of blows, and still refusing to strike back._

"Fight_ me!"_

"_No! I don't want to!"_

"_I don't care!"_

"_Hanabi, calm down! You're confused!"_

"_Stop holding back!" A sharp palm to her abdomen. "Come at me!" Another, sharper. "With everything you've got!" A punch in the face – staggering away, buckling knees, spattering into the mud, panting weakly._

"_Stand up."_

_Two sisters under the pouring rain._

"_Get up and fight–!"_

She has never seen her move so fast.

_Breaking thunder drowning out the sound of surprise, of protest, of pain that shoots up the younger girl's throat as the older smashes her stomach in with a not-so-gentle fist._

_The older is by no means especially big nor is she especially strong. But at twice the age of her sister, she is easily a fair deal bigger and stronger – so when she tears her knuckles open on the younger girl's teeth before she can hit the ground, it hurts. A lot._

_Lying bewildered and breathless, more than a little scared to get up. As soon as she tries, two hands are grabbing her shirt and firmly slamming her down again, and her hurting body is splashing into the mud._

_Cringing – in the darkness a fist, rising up … thudding to the sodden earth beside her._

_The elder sister's tormented face, running with fresh tears of remorse even as she shakes in fury. "Why?! Why do you want me to do this?!! We have to stop this now, Hanabi! I've had enough!!"_

_The younger, still short on breath, tearing her eyes from her sister's miserable stare._

_Lightning, splitting the sky. Thunder, shaking the earth._

"_Y… you… You…!"_

_A fistful of mud, flung suddenly into the elder's face, stinging eyes._

"_There's no way you're better than me!!" A forceful shoulder in the blinded one's sternum, throwing her off. She scrambles to her feet._

_It's all her fault. _

_Palm racing for her chest._

_Flash of lightning – split-second evasion, relief of the bulging veins framing shut eyes._

_The disappointment on Father's face._

_She parries, parries, dodges, parries. Not given another chance to strike back._

"_W-wait! Hanabi, please stop! Stop it!"_

_The disdain in his eyes…_

_Hand diverting a furious palm – entire body shuddering as it grazes her ribcage._

"_I'm not kidding! Please–!"_

_The disgust in his voice…!_

_Advancing, striking, attacking, unrelenting._

_Retreating, stumbling, dodging, weakening._

_Palm thrust. A backhand swing smacking forearm aside – and leaving her wide open as the other hand sneaks under her arm, jamming into her shoulder._

_In the flash of lightning, her mouth is flying open._

_In the bellowing thunder, her scream is lost._

_The pain on her face, tugging something unpleasant inside her sister. Desperate plea._

"_Hanabi-chan!"_

_She doesn't care. She won't fail._

_The older retreats. The younger doesn't let her._

"_All because I couldn't defeat _you_!!"_

_Instant, clashing contrast – lightning, painting all black and white._

_The younger, darting in, a palm drawn back._

_The elder, lunging forward, a palm drawing back._

_The crash of thunder – the younger's furious palm lashing into her sister's stomach._

_The roar of thunder – the elder's cry of pain even as her palm drives into her sister's chest._

_Two strikes: one with chakra, one without._

_The younger, crashing into the ground and sliding, thoroughly soaked and filthy. Looking up she sees the older, standing stiff and unmoving in front of her, head down, mud and grime oddly streaked down her front._

_Distant blare of lightning._

_Purest blaze of terror._

_The trail of mud and grime is __**red**__._

"_H-Hi…na…ta…?"_

_Eyes unfocused, her figure sways._

_Her sister, leaping to catch her. Thunder, crying out just as she cries her name._

_Her sister had not used a single Juuken blow the entire time. Because her sister loved her._

_Tears, falling on the girl she holds in her arms._

"_H-Hinata, say something! Hinata!!"_

"_It … hurts…"_

_White hot fear – _This can't be happening, except it is right now.

_A hand on her chest, finding a pulse._

_Half-lidded white eyes, staring off into nowhere. Trembling hand, fondly grasping her arm. Tiniest smile, gracing her lips. "My beautiful, precious Imouto-chan… I'll always love y-you … no m-matt-er … what…"_

_Lightning, tearing across the sky. Crimson, spurting from her mouth._

"_G-get…… help…"_

_Her hand, drifting off her sister's chest, slowly rising to rest before her._

_Wh-what… have I…?_

_Lightning flares._

_There is blood on her hand. Her sister's blood._

_She clutches the girl tightly and screams into the night._

"_Somebody, help!! Please – SOMEONE, SAVE MY NEE-CHAN!!!"_

* * *

The moment I came back to the present, I wailed out loud in distress.

"Oi, hey! Calm down–!"

"_I'M SORRY!!" _I screamed, eyes tightly shut and hands clutching my hair as my knees hit the ground. I cried out again.

"Hanabi–!"

–"_Hanabi-chan!"–_

"_WAAAAAAHHH!!!"_

"Uchiha…!"

I was barely aware of the others now in the room, of the blur bounding across the floor to slam the boy against a wall.

"_What the hell did you DO?!!"_

Concerned hands rested on my shoulders, and I started.

"What's wrong? What's wrong?!"

"Did he hurt you?! Are you in pain–?"

"_I could've KILLED her!!"_ I screeched. "_She begged me to stop, but I wouldn't listen!! BUT I DIDN'T MEAN TO!!! I NEVER MEANT TO HURT MY NEE-CHAN!!!_"

"Just try to calm down!" the girl's arms wrapped around me, and I continued bawling and wailing and yowling madly.

"Start explaining! _Now!_"

"I killed two birds with one stone. I'll admit I was interested in testing out my Sharingan's hypnosis capabilities; while I was at it, you could say I broke a barrier she'd created in her own mind, something that would have come down eventually either way. All I did was speed it along. With any luck, she'll be able to move forward now; now that it looks like she knows where her fear of blood came from, she might be able to overcome it."

"And what about if we're not lucky, huh?! What then?!"

"If not … then I guess she'll just remain frozen in place forever."

"Teme…!"

"It's not like she was going anywhere with the way things were. Before you attack me, stop and consider this – who's been training her all this time even knowing she didn't stand a chance? Kind of cruel, isn't it? Letting her believe she had a shot at being a ninja despite the way things were? What I've just done doesn't compare. Now get off me, Inuzuka."

"Ngh… But just _look_ at her…!"

"Whatever it was, the Hyuuga just remembered something she'd wanted desperately to forget. She's shocked right now, but once she gets over it … she may have some decisions to make. Or maybe even some rethinking on her shinobi career."

"Hanabi…"

I heard these words, but they meant nothing to me at the moment: not a single one was either processed or interpreted as I trembled in Sakura's arms, drenched in a nervous perspiration. I wept steadily, my breath coming and going in ragged, shuddering gasps, and I sucked on a finger I held to my lips as I clung to the girl, whimpering and staring blindly ahead at nothing in particular.

* * *

**Hinata ****ヒナタ**

"S-so, Kuro-sama…"

"Don't call me that. You could just as easily be referring to any one of my siblings."

"You have siblings?" I asked, hoping to maybe start a conversation.

"Yes, I do."

Realizing he wasn't keen on continuing, I sighed softly as we walked, I a good few meters behind him.

He halted to cast a look my way, and I flinched. "If you must know," he said, "there are five of us, each a master of our specific element. I'm the youngest and the Hi no Ookami. There's Kurochi, the Wolf of Water; Kuroshin, Wolf of Earth; and the girls Kurorei of Lightning and Kurosei of the Wind. Satisfied?"

"U-uh, hai, I mean – thank you…" I looked to the ground.

"…Hn." Glaring eyes, cold and blazing, relented as he turned his head to keep moving.

"Kurogiba-sama?"

"_Yes?_" he snapped.

"Why do you … dislike me so much?"

"'Dislike?' Don't flatter yourself, scrawny koinu."

I hung my head. "I don't understand–,"

"What, did I hurt your feelings?"

"What have I ever done to you?! You've looked down at me with loathing since the first moment you saw me!"

While I was mid-step something sparked up beneath my sandal. My foot jerked away, and I looked down in time to glimpse the vanishing of a curious little flame on the ground.

"Ack!" Suddenly I found my head unpleasantly stuck between a paw and a tree. "K… Kurogiba-sama…!" I whimpered, eyes tightly shut.

"The legendary Senjuu Hashirama and Black-Hearted Kuroshin of the Earth," he growled steadily.

"What…?"

"The great Senjuu Tobirama, along with Black-Blooded Kurochi of Water," he continued. "Though actually, your Shodai Hokage was so immensely powerful that both Kuroshin and Kurochi were willing to fight at his side."

My eyes cracked open, and the meaning of his words struck me.

"But let's stop talking about things of the _past_, shall we? Apparently the time to seek vengeance on that cursed snake is upon us! We're told a _new_ wolf-ally has joined the predecessors, a powerful human whose partner will be selected soon! Well, of course that Kurogiba won't be the one chosen – but wait, he's actually being summoned! Fate knows a cruel brand of irony indeed. I _would_ be the one to get partnered with _you_ – a pitiful little brat who's even weaker than me!"

I grunted as he pressed harder. "Don't you get it?! You're the go-between, the Summoner, the vital component necessary for us to exact our revenge on the one who brought shame on the Ookami and uphold our pack's sworn oath to Konoha. It's unfortunate that a dead weight like you is the human we're forced to work with: a nobody who can do nothing. And now, entrusted with this mission, I'm stuck as the one to fail with you."

The pressure vanished; gasping, I fell to the ground. "Y-you think … we'll fail?"

"No, I _know_ we'll fail. And those four will never let me live it down…"

"If you're so sure I've doomed us all, why are you even here?!"

"Oh, we'll try. A nice, honest attempt will put us Ookami in compliance with the oath of loyalty toward Konoha. But don't get me wrong, we will fail."

I got to my knees. "…That isn't an option. Even if you're completely prepared to fail, I'm not. There's a reason I definitely must succeed here, and I will."

"Fool," he snarled darkly. "Are you trying to tell _me_ not to hold _you_ back? With the power of the Ookami on their side, a different shinobi might just have stood a chance. _You_ are weak – a burden, a hindrance. But when we fail, who do you suspect they'll blame?"

My gaze broke away from his. "For someone who said it himself that if it were up to him, my little village could take a hike, you seem a little too upset over our supposedly destined failure. Even as poorly as you speak of your siblings … are you anxious of how you look in their eyes?"

"…I suppose that's part of it, yes," he stated. His voice then turned cold and vicious. "_But even more so … I __**personally**__ thirst for Orochimaru's blood._"

I shuddered suddenly, my breath catching.

"My vengeance … and my redemption." He glowered. "Now they can never be. You have no idea…"

I lowered my head, teeth grinding. _Am I really … that weak? Thanks to me, there's no hope for us…?_

"Have I answered your question, then? Yes, I feel a bit more than 'dislike' toward you. Now get the hell up."

I swore under my breath, wiping the blood beginning to trail down the side of my face with the back of a hand before I stood with the aid of the tree's support. "What … What about Gobi-sama? It said that–,"

"Honestly, I have no idea what Okaa-sama saw in you."

I blinked. "O… 'O_kaa–?'_"

"You got a problem with my mum?"

I turned bright red. "A-ah, no, not at all! She's a very beautiful wolf!" I stammered, fearing I'd be hit or kicked or spontaneously ignited or something. _Now that I think about it, the Gobi did have a rather feminine tone to its – her voice._

"I thought so," the short-tempered wolf said crisply, and he continued walking. Exhaling softly, I took this as the cue to start following again.

"So then … what _did_ Houkou-sama say about me?"

"It's baffling, really; it's not like her to joke about such things. Mum talked about you … like you were the most powerful we'd ever meet."

I briefly flinched mid-step.

"She made it sound like someone easily on equal footing with the former wolf-brothers. In the moment I realized _I_ was the one being called as the chosen familiar, I was almost a bit apprehensive that I might be overwhelmed by the ninja's power. So imagine my surprise when I pop out and see, well … _you_. A scrawny little crip–,"

"I get it!" I protested, anticipating he was about to get started on all that again. "Still, for all my flaws … s-surely there's some redeeming quality? Even one…" I halted.

"What's wrong now?" came an annoyed bark.

I shivered, a whisper ghosting past my lips. "_Imouto-chan…_"

_What's happened to her? I can't remember ever feeling like this before. What happened? What's gotten her so distraught? _I lowered my head and embraced myself, gasping softly. _I can almost feel it…_

But there was nothing I could do. Hanabi-chan was far, far away, and I wasn't there for her now.

"Redeeming trait, huh…?"

My eyes focused, and I noticed with a start that Kurogiba was staring intently from right in front of me. His expression was unreadable.

"…You have … an incredibly powerful spirit. And that's it."

My mouth opened in question, but he had already whirled again to head briskly away.

"C-come on, before you're left behind – I won't be held accountable for you getting lost or something…"

Cheeks burning at the insult, I hurried after him. Short as it had been, miniscule as it might seem compared to all the derision Kurogiba had to offer, I hadn't missed it. Albeit odd, he'd actually sort of given me a compliment.

We emerged in a clearing, and I blinked a few times after being in the shadow of the trees for so long.

"This is a good spot. I trust we're far enough from those friends of yours…?"

I understood and nodded hesitantly.

He sighed, and then said with about as much enthusiasm as a genin (a normal one, not someone like Lee or Naruto) about to run ten miles for daily conditioning: "I guess it's time to get started, then…"

* * *

**Lee ****リー**

"In… Incredible…" _So fast that before I even knew what had happened…_

"Pretty cool, huh?" he said, grinning as he moved the dull kunai from my neck. I got up.

"'Pretty cool' is an understatement! Do you realize what you could do with this skill…?"

"Actually, that's kind of what I was hoping you could help with. It isn't perfect yet, but I thought maybe you could help me with working the technique into my taijutsu – tips to polish it off, y'know?"

"Anytime, my youthful friend! To begin, let us see how far you have already progressed!" I said, settling into my Goken stance.

"Alright! I owe you one, Bushy Brow," he said.

"Do not mention it! This shall be an interesting type of battle indeed! Combating your technique will be a pleasure and a challenge for certain, but now that I have figured out how it works I am certain I can find a way to counter it!"

"Ha! We'll just see about that, won't we?"

I grinned. "Prepare yourself!"

I rushed at him, trying to get near before he could use his trick. However, the boy was quick enough to sink into a sharp leg sweep while I was still a few yards away.

There was an impact at my shins. I tripped.

Rolling forward, I sprang into an attack to catch the boy off-guard. He leaned away in surprise, unable to react swiftly enough.

_The first weakness, it would appear – if his enemy can get close enough to him, he doesn't have space to use the–_

My fist met his stomach, and he burst into smoke.

"Oh…!" I gasped as blunt metal slid to rest against my throat. I turned wide eyes on the boy behind me. "No way…"

"I've got a few more tricks than just that one up my sleeve," he boasted with a smirk.

"I was certain that was the real you. The whole time–?"

"No, not the whole time. That really was me. It _was_," he said, emphasizing the word.

"Ah…" I said, figuring out how he had done it. "Very clever."

He released me, and we separated. This time, I would not underestimate him. If I lowered my guard for even an instant against this, it would be over. _In a real fight between enemies, I would have died twice over already…_

"Yosh! Now, let us continue!" I said, tucking an arm behind my back and holding the other out in front of me, bent at the elbow._ What is this feeling? I… _I glanced down at the hand before me; almost unnoticeably, it was trembling. _I feel I am intimidated… _

_Naruto-kun… The longer I think about it, the more I appreciate the power of this new skill you have honed. But also … I grow more and more certain of a sense that if I were capable of using this technique, I would _never_ want to master it. No… I would never want to possess such an ability to begin with. At least … at least not now._

_I wonder, my friend… Do you yourself even fully realize the immensity of this art you happened to stumble across and develop? If you are ever truly pushed to fight seriously… many an enemy will likely meet with death before they see it coming. But this power is yours now. I can only pray that the day you need stain your hands in blood does not arrive anytime soon…_

_Kami-sama… If I have not been already, I think I am soon to be surpassed. _

_The great deal of power that you already wielded, Naruto-kun… _I forced a deep breath, and had to will my body to stop shaking before it became visible. _It is utterly miniscule before the potential you now possess._

_This technique … can be deadly._

* * *

**Hinata ****ヒナタ**

"Now I'm going to observe you. Go as far as you think you can without losing yourself…"

"Hai," I said, nodding at the wolf seated in front of me. I formed a hand sign and focused, shutting my eyes. Very carefully I tapped into the mark's power.

My breath caught when the black energy began to flow eagerly through me. I felt fangs and claws develop, and my teeth locked at the brief burning sensation in my wrists, ankles, and neck.

"That's an interesting look for you, koinu," I heard him remark. "You almost look menacing enough to take down the average academy brat."

_Ignoring… _I thought with a scowl as he went on to warn that I might, however, be pushing it to try taking on the brighter among said academy brats. I continued to concentrate on drawing out the mark's power in the most controlled manner possible.

"…Okay," I said.

"That's _it_? Didn't you once pull yourself back from the fifth level at will?"

I opened my eyes, blinking a few times at the too-sharpness of my vision. I saw the pale, claw-tipped hands in front of me, the wrists adorned each with two black rings. "That time was different…"

"I want to see how far you _can_ go, not how far you'd like to. Your mind and consciousness are still completely yours; I think you'll be safe going further."

"Hai…"

I gasped as I slipped into the third level. For what seemed like an eternity he didn't speak; I began to fidget restlessly.

"It's been all of one minute and you're trembling. Your breath is unsteady. Are you uncomfortable?"

_Very._

"A little…"

He fell silent again. Eventually:

"How about now?"

"Yes, Kurogiba-sama, I am quite uncomfortable."

"Go back to the second level," he said abruptly.

With a sigh of relief, I gladly complied.

"Feel better?"

"Yes."

"Go to the third again."

"Wh–?!"

"Just do it. Trust me."

_And why should I trust you again…? _I thought as the third rings returned.

"…How old are you, anyways?"

"Thirteen," I said, surprised.

"Hm… Those friends of yours, what are they like?"

"Naruto-kun and Lee-kun? They're…"

He went on asking about the most random things, and I ended up telling him about myself. The talking felt good – it helped me focus on remaining myself – and it was nice to have a civilized conversation with him. While it was a nice distraction at first, soon enough his questions grew to seem annoying, my answers grew shorter and sharper, and I began to fidget.

"What the heck do you care?!" I snapped at last, glowering viciously.

"Fine, I'll stop talking. Stay still for as long as you can." He lied down, resting his head on crossed paws.

I growled in annoyance, casting my gaze aside.

He was silent for even longer than before. I wanted to scream – I wanted to move! There was too much power surging through me to be standing still! My claws should have been tearing flesh – _wait_ … No they shouldn't! My teeth were grinding constantly now. Every so often my body shuddered. I growled softly.

"Are you done observing yet?!" I demanded.

"Are you in pain?" he replied with another question.

"Ye– well, no, actually, but – I don't know!!"

"You're anxious and restless … but you are still mostly yourself. He stood up. "Just standing here, it's relatively easy for you to keep your head, but being realistic… You would only advance to the third level in a serious fight, right? When your emotions are in a frenzy and there's someone you really want to hurt…?"

_Uchiha … Itachi. I didn't care if it was impossible; at the time all I wanted was to see him in pain…_

"I guess so…"

"Then the question is, what would you do in a realistic situation? Would you be able to pull yourself back during battle, or would you draw on an amount of power you know you can't control?"

"I would suppress it," I growled firmly. "I won't turn into the monster I was that day ever again…"

"Tell you what, scrawny koinu… Move your hands a little higher."

I did so, moving my hitsuji-locked hands up in front of my questioning face.

"Now close your eyes – Just do it. I'm not going to hurt you."

I did as told. "What are you doing?"

"Just creating a little stimulus."

"A what–?"

_**THUD!**_

My eyes flew open with the harsh expulsion of air and phlegm from my mouth as Kurogiba rammed his head full force into my stomach.

I grimaced as I was driven back, and I staggered when my feet returned to the ground. Shaking with rage, I bared my teeth and glowered violently up at the wolf.

"_You bas–!!_"

I gasped as the fourth set of rings appeared. _Shimatta…! _I thought, and lost myself.

I dropped to all fours, yelling in effort, fighting and failing to drive the curse back. My shoulders shook as my back arched, as my mouth drew back from my teeth.

"Careful there, koinu. You might want to come back now, I think you're losing control."

My eyes met his.

"_RAAAAHHH!!!_" I leaped toward him, claws raised. My hand plunged into his chest – and pain shot through my arm.

I cried out, withdrawing my arm and sinking to my knees, yowling in pain and fury as I cradled the hand at my chest.

And suddenly something met the back of my head, and my face crashed into the dirt. I started to struggle; my cheek was only pressed harder against the ground.

"Listen. The pain is so great, I know you must hear me. Push the mark back."

"Grrr…" My teeth clenched.

"Come on, scrawny koinu, I know your soul isn't that weak. Break free of it. Now."

"G… _GYAAAH!!_" With this miserable cry I banished the Darkness from my being.

Kurogiba's paw released me. Whimpering, I rolled onto my side, curled up around my burned arm, and cried.

"Stop crying."

"Wh-why did you d-do that?" I squeaked.

"The third level is unpleasant because it forces you to walk a razor's edge between the human and the beast. Now we know that you can't balance on that razor's edge forever; eventually you'll reach your breaking point and be forced to go one way. Until you can control yourself at the fourth level – if you ever find yourself forced to a breaking point at the third you need to make sure you are able to choose to revert back over pushing yourself further. Your own soul and will must always hold power over the mark's influence, koinu; whatever happens, you can't give in to angry impulse and let yourself be so easily knocked off-balance. Otherwise, well … look what happened. In recklessness you actually struck at something made of fire…"

"I u-understand…"

"Count yourself lucky this time; what if I'm not around at the next, and your Naruto and Lee are?"

"I _won't_ l-lose control ar-round them…"

"Just like you wouldn't 'turn into the monster you were that day ever again,' right?"

"Ngh…"

"Learn control. Never let the strength of your resolve falter…"

Sniffling, I tightly shut watering eyes and parted my lips to release a tiny whimper-cry of pain.

I heard a sigh. "…Come on. Get up, and stop crying. While the wound's still fresh, let me teach you how to heal yourself…"

I slowly uncurled my body. My eyes cracked open to take in the horribly reddened flesh of my left arm, held in my quivering right hand. I sat up, holding back further tears.

"_Gh…_ Hai…!"

* * *

**Naruto ****ナルト**

"Oi! Eyebrow kid! Chakra monster! I've brought your koinu!"

"What the … Kurogiba?" I said as he came into view.

"And Hinata-san!" Lee gasped.

Anger came along with the sense of déjà vu as he approached, carrying a limp Hinata by the back of her jacket.

"What did you do to h–?!!" I was cut off as she was thrown at me; I caught her carefully and looked her over. She'd bled at the mouth, there was a cut on her temple, one side of her face was bruised, she was missing most of her left sleeve, and her chakra was nigh undetectable. "What did you do to her?!!" I decided to yell again.

"Hm? I didn't do much. She baked her arm trying to punch me, and then she passed out after repairing it. And it's not like I _had_ to teach her how to repair it."

"What happened to her face?"

"It met the ground."

"_Teme–_!"

"Hey, I had to pin her down to keep her from attacking me again."

"Oh, so you mean you didn't give her any _reason_ to attack you, she just did, right?"

"Look, as much as I'd like to play twenty questions, I've got places to be. Well, I really don't, but seeing as I despise you three…" The flames turned orange, burst outward, and dissipated.

"I … am coming not to like Kurogiba-san very much."

"Naw, really?" I said, lying Hinata down and forming three hand seals. Palms aglow, I moved my hands over the very slight redness on her arm.

* * *

**Hanabi ****ハナビ**

The sheet that served as the door to the room rustled softly. I thought it was someone bringing food and water. Then he sat down next to me and spoke.

"Hey."

"Sasuke-san…? How did you–?"

"Snuck in again. It was a little harder this time, anyways."

"What do you want with me?" I asked quietly, shifting from my curled up position on the futon so that I was sitting up beside him.

"It's been four days. How long do you plan on staying down here? Isolated, crying … sitting in the dark, staring at a rock wall…" He nudged the bowl on the ground with a foot, causing half-eaten remains of a meal to almost spill out. "Not eating enough, even though you all _are_ short on food…"

"Please, Sasuke-san … I just want to be left alone…"

"To go on sulking and living like a prisoner? A pretty pathetic existence for a Hyuuga prodigy like you. Don't you care about helping your friends anymore?"

I lowered my head, declining to answer.

"…Believe it or not," he said eventually, "once I did the same kind of thing you are now; locking myself away, trying to believe something never happened… But when it came down to it, it _had_ happened. I created a goal for myself, and decided there was nothing I could do but stand up and move forward if I wanted to achieve it… You'll have to do the same sooner or later. Accept that it happened, and move on already."

Tears were falling silently. I embraced myself. "F-for so long I didn't remember why I was afraid of blood… all these years I never realized why I detested the thought of leading the Hyuuga Clan…! I'd forgotten what I didn't want to remember, and Nee-chan never told me… She was p-protecting me from the truth…!"

An awkward hand rested on my back and began to rub gently, soothingly. Looking up in a few moments, I was shocked by the softness in the boy's eyes.

"Talk to me," he offered quietly.

And I began to explain.

* * *

"…And th-there was so much p-pain in her eyes, b-but she smiled! She smiled up at me to try and say everything w-would be a-alright, ev-ven though she was hurting…! She s-said she loved me, even after I w-was so horrible to h-her…! There was s-so much bl-blood on me, and I screamed for help, and I was scared! I was s-scared … that n-no one would come…"

"But Hinata did survive, didn't she?" he said, even though he knew the answer.

"Y-yes…"

"You didn't kill her; she's just fine. You're sorry for what you did, aren't you?"

"Yes!!" I cried.

"And she's forgiven you; it sounds like she'd already forgiven you the moment you held her."

I nodded. "Nee-chan … even af-ter all that, she didn't love me any less… She c-couldn't be angry at me, even after I…"

"What happened happened," he said. "You can't change the past, so accept it and move on. Now you know where your phobia came from – you'll have to overcome it and move on if you ever want to be any help to your friends. If you don't want to try to get over it … well, that's fine, too. You can choose what you'll do with your own life."

"Wh-what should I do…? I'm not sure anymore… I j-just don't know…"

"It's your decision. Your father can't force you to do anything now. You need to decide whether or not you really want to become a ninja."

He stood up. "Now come on out of here. The others are worried sick about you."

I looked up at him as he took my hand encouragingly, but his eyes bore their regular coldness again. Nodding, I got to my feet.

"H-hai."

We crossed the room together, and he pulled aside the sheet for me to pass through the doorway.

"Erm… Sasuke-san?" I muttered softly.

"What is it?"

"…Arigatou."

"Yeah, whatever."

I managed to smile. _You do have a good heart, Sasuke-san… I can tell._

* * *

**Hinata ****ヒナタ**

Training with Kurogiba was now a daily routine (much to his own infinite displeasure, as he frequently made certain I was kept aware). After a few days of meditating at the third level, which was a trying task in itself, he'd announced after today's meditation that it was time to step it up a notch.

"AGH!" I cried as a fire blast nearly grazed me.

"Dodge faster!"

_I'm dodging as fast as I can already!!_

The wolf moved in a furious blur of speed easily on par with my own, and I struggled to avoid every rushing strike he made.

_Can't keep this up much longer… _I dodged aside as he pounced. _Time to hide and revert back–!_

His head whipped around – crashing against my own with blinding force.

"Uh…" I staggered away, twirling in a confused circle as I tried to stay on my feet. Something jammed sharply into my stomach and then lashed up into my jaw. Then a great force came in from low and shoved against my midsection, bodily throwing me to a tree trunk.

_Shoot… I'm losing it…! _I shook my head, brushing away stars. _Go back – go back!_

My eyes snapped open. The fourth and third rings vanished.

_I did it?_

"He-hey, not bad!" came an alarmingly cheerful voice in front of me. A flaming paw lightly rested itself on my breastbone, and I looked up to see Kurogiba was momentarily balanced on his back legs.

…_Kuso._

On that note, I was shoved clear through the tree and sent crashing into the ground behind it.

"_Itai_… AH!" I cried, rolling aside as the felled tree struck ground. I scrambled to my feet, but a step later stumbled and collapsed again as the mark's power faded.

"But you don't honestly think a real enemy will sit back and let you spend five seconds trying to rein yourself in."

"Of course not…" I murmured into the dirt.

"Oh yeah, feel free to go ahead and pass out on me, we were all done for the day…" he was muttering in annoyance as my eyelids drooped shut.

* * *

**Naruto ****ナルト**

_There go my hopes that Hinata-chan might actually be able to spar today… _I thought as I sighted the dumb wolf sauntering up with Hinata, the latter out as a light.

"Don't throw her!" I said, hurrying over to retrieve the girl.

I was aware of him watching us as Lee and I looked her over for wounds. I glared up to the beast's black and red eyes. "Why do you have to be so hard on her?" I asked, staring evenly. "Why do you have to work her to exhaustion every single day?"

"Feh," he snorted. "If she wanted a day off, she wouldn't summon me. But we don't have forever, after all; as long as I'm called here I won't waste our time taking it easy."

Lee spoke up. "You said 'our' rather than 'my.' Does that mean you actually care about wasting Hinata-san's time?"

He growled a grunt, looking away. "The scrawny koinu's a determined one, I'll hand her that much…"

Lee nodded. "So in a way, you mean you hold some degree of respect for her desire to improve, do you not?"

"I guess that may be…" He looked down at the unconscious girl. "I've told her again and again that it's not going to happen, that we're simply not going to succeed, but still she refuses to accept it and keeps giving her all like the most desperate fool…"

"Hinata attacks your training with everything she's got because to her, failing isn't an option."

"And what might that mean?"

"In Konoha, Hinata-san was the heiress of the Hyuuga Clan, but was looked down on by her family as the weakest Hyuuga of her generation. All her life she has suffered from her clan's hatred and been labeled a failure… But despite it, she still loves all her family and seeks only to help them someday as a strong leader…"

"But now," I picked up, "things have gotten a lot more complicated than that. Hinata refuses to fail because she has someone precious to her – a real jerk – that she has to protect. Someone she's not going to lose no matter what."

Lee nodded. "She will never give up on him. My former teammate, her cousin… She wants nothing more than to save him from Orochimaru. For that she will do whatever it takes."

"…What a joke."

"What did you just say–?!"

Lee's hand landed on my shoulder. "You too have a reason for wanting to succeed, do you not?" he asked, staring with a cool seriousness into the wolf's eyes.

"What's it to you?" he asked.

"I wonder, Kurogiba-san … are you perhaps a bit envious of this steadfast determination she holds?"

Lee didn't flinch nor did his cold gaze falter when the beast unleashed a deafening roar of fury in his face.

Growling, he turned, leapt skyward, and vanished in a burst of flame.

* * *

**Neji ****ネジ**

I pored over the report, reading each line thoroughly. It would be analyzed by others later, but I was curious to see for myself what he'd come up with. "So far, the most useful intelligence in this would probably be the weakness and flaws to their security…"

"Forgive me, sir. I'll probably be able to collect more useful information once they trust me."

I continued reading the account of what had happened and what he'd learned in the time with them. A close watch was kept on him at all times, and his movements were heavily restricted … except…

"'_I snuck in again to comfort Hyuuga Hanabi and convince her to come out of her seclusion'_?" I quoted, an eyebrow raised. "Elaborate."

"I got her to talk about the things she'd remembered. She explained the incident in which she injured her sister a few years ago."

I recalled that; the clan had been in an uproar the next morning, chaotic rumors had flown, and the Sandaime himself had soon enough come knocking on Hiashi's door. When all was said and done, the sisters became practically inseparable again. "That wasn't quite what I meant. _Why_ did you do it? It's not like you."

"I was responsible for traumatizing her in the first place, and it didn't exactly help where I stood with New Konoha. I had to sneak in because they wouldn't have let me see her alone."

"So you don't believe that, say, sneaking into their headquarters has a negative impact on where you stand with New Konoha?" I asked.

"I had to. It was well worth it."

"Do you sympathize with her?" I asked, silently activating my Byakugan.

He met my eyes blankly. "I couldn't care less about the girl's problems, but I think it may be beneficial that she trusts me. She's close to several key figures of their organization, and so I took an opportunity to get close to her. She's still a child, which gives her a greater chance of lowering her guard and slipping up around me. She is valuable as a potential source of information."

"I see…" I said. My kekkei genkai deactivated. _And he left and came here not long after…_ I thought, finishing the last page. "Alright. You're dismissed."

"Hai, Neji-sama," he said, bowing moderately at the waist. He rose and took his leave.

I stared at the door long after Sasuke had left. Then I punched the wall next to me. "Aren't you just the perfect underling all of a sudden?" I whispered coolly. _I couldn't read a single thing on his face. It's hard to believe he really learned his lesson, but… _I shook my head. _If said a word of lie just now, he did beyond an exceptional job of hiding it._

* * *

**Hinata ****ヒナタ**

"'Soul Link'…?"

Kurogiba nodded. "It's an advanced Ookami technique possible between summoner and familiar, and it won't be easy to perfect. The Senjuu boys had been with their partners for far longer than we've known each other when they first began practicing it. Though it's only been two weeks, since we're rather short on time Mum told me we ought to start today."

"So in other words, we'll be rushing this technique."

"Sounds like it. The goal is to have this down for the most part by the next full moon, which doesn't give us much time."

I frowned just at the mention. "Why the full moon?"

"On the night of the full moon, you turn into something dreadful, something far beyond the fifth level that you don't stand a chance of mastering on your own. If you and I are able to join at the mind, I might be able to help you learn to control yourself in that form."

My breath caught.

"If you want to fully master it, the absolute quickest way is to first perfect the Soul Link with me. So, let's get started."

"Hai!"

* * *

I breathed in and out, in and out, slowly, rhythmically. My eyes were shut, but I could feel the cool, calmly rippling flames of his forehead, which rested against mine.

"Good, koinu… Now, open your mind…"

_Open… My mind…_

"Alright. My mind – do you sense it now?"

Yes… The energy was warm, like fire, but not hot. Wise, in his own way … powerful … hard … lonely…?

"Yes or no, a simple question…"

"H-hai… I – I can _sense_ you, Kurogiba-sama."

"Okay… Now, don't draw away when I–,"

"Eek!"

"_GAHAAH!!_"

My eyes snapped open. "Kurogiba-sama!" I cried in surprise, seeing him hissing and shaking his head a few meters away.

"What'd you kick me out for?!"

"Well you could go about waltzing into my mind a little more gently!"

"Okay … that was a natural reaction, I guess. Let's just try again."

* * *

I'd never seen the wolf more motionless than he was now, lying exhausted in front of me. The flames composing his body seemed to churn in slow motion.

"G-gomen," I said again. "Are you okay to go on?"

"…You know… I think our bond just isn't strong enough. We're not ready for this…"

"Mm… Maybe… But I've noticed something, Kurogiba-sama…"

"And what's that?"

"My mind, well… Each time it's been a lot more open than yours. In fact, I think if mine were as closed off as yours from the start, it wouldn't be possible. It's not a one-way technique, is it? How are our minds supposed to become one if it feels like an invasion?"

"Tch…" He looked away, rolling onto his side and stretching out with a yawn. "Not everyone finds it that naively easy, Miss Sunshine Happiness, to open up their mind to another. Of course I've never Soul Linked with a human before, but I particularly detest the idea of sharing my mind space with _you_," he said, casting a sidelong glare. "To be quite frank, I don't exactly like you that much."

"Even if you don't, we still need to try to work together here!" I urged.

"Fine, fine… Just give me a few minutes and we'll try again.

I lied down next to the resting wolf. "You know…" I started, looking up at the cottony white clouds decorating today's sky. "Even though you know a lot about me, I hardly know anything at all about you–,"

"Are you about to try to get to know me or something?" he snapped.

"Okay, never mind…" I assuaged.

It sure was a nice day… I twiddled my thumbs, watching the clouds sail by overhead.

"What if…… How about we take a minute to think about all the things we like about each other?"

"I should kick you, saying something so dumb."

"Let's just _try_."

"…Well that didn't take long."

"Kurogiba-sama, that was mean…"

"I don't care."

…

…

…

"Kurogiba-sama?"

"Scrawny koinu."

"What do _you_ see in the clouds–?"

"_AAAH! _If it will get you to SHUT UP about all this _crap_ then _fine!!_ I'll try to open up! Get up, we're trying again!!"

* * *

Lacking most of the defensiveness from before, I didn't automatically recoil and shut him out when his spirit made contact with mine; approaching with fairly equal openness, he didn't come off as dangerous or hostile as he had before. When his soul did hesitantly brush up against mine, it was unlike anything I'd ever experienced. I was frozen stiff despite the warmth that flowed into me, paralyzed with confusion even as an electric thrill pulsed in my veins.

'_Breathe, stupid runt, you're not breathing!'_

I drew in a gasp of air in surprise as much as necessity.

'_K… Kurogiba-sama, I can hear you!'_

'_No crap. Dang you're slow…'_

'_It's just … so unreal…' _It was phenomenal to take in. I could smell everything around me; the wind blew, and – this scent, a deer… How did I even know what deer smelled like? Was this Kurogiba's knowledge…? Birds – I could hear two – no, three? – far away, squawking at each other…

'_Like an awestruck little pup… Listen up, koinu. Until you grow accustomed to it, the sensation can be overwhelming for mortals like you. In time you must learn to both maintain constant self-awareness and be fully conscious of me at the same time; be able to distinguish between what's me and what's you, to remain yourself, know yourself, even while we are one…'_

'_I think I understand.'_

'_Now … if you can handle it, we ought to get a taste of the true Soul Link.' _A very real wave of apprehension radiated from him.

'_I'm ready, Kurogiba-sama, but I'm not so sure about you – wait, did you hear all of that?'_

'_Scrawny koinu… Just don't pry.'_

'_What?'_

With no further warning – his mind, a part of mine, mine a part of his. Light and foreign images, memories not my own – frustration in oneself – sounds of all the forest around us – decades of existence – smells, the scent of the scrawny koinu, wait, _me_ – so much unfamiliar – _sadness_–

Amid the assault of so much, so alien, that one seemed familiar–

It wasn't.

* * *

"_This duel is over."_

_Pain, a broken leg, many slashes. My fur matted with blood._

_Looking up at the larger, black-and-white wolf. Kurochi's blue eyes piercing me._

_Trying, failing to stand._

"_Stop embarrassing yourself! You fool, Kurogiba…" Words of disappointment, flowing cool and calm._

"_A…Ani-ue…"_

"_Ahahahaha!!" Kuroshin cackles coldly. "Honestly, why does he even bother? You're only the Fifth Grand Ookami, and Kurochi's First! No matter how many times you challenge him you'll never beat him, or any one of us for that matter!"_

_Pitying sigh from Kurorei. "Why do you do it to yourself, Kiba-chan? Just call this off…"_

"_I'll say, while some of his pride's still intact…"_

"His_ pride? What a laugh! The runt's just so plain weak! He's gonna stain the name of the Grand Ookami one of these days…"_

"_Watch your tongue, Kuroshin…"_

"_I-I… I am no d-disgrace… You'll see… S-someday I'll surpass you … _all_ of you…!"_

"_Ha! You'll never top me, much less a monster like Kurochi. Heck, you can barely hold your own against Kurosei, who you ought to have the advantage against! It's no secret you're an embarrassment. Far as I'm concerned, you're no Grand Ookami at all! Nothing but a scrawny little koinu who doesn't know his place!"_

The world shimmered, dissolved in a furiously blurring mosaic of colors, evaporated.

* * *

_Man with long black hair, white skin, evil golden eyes of a monster._

_Not good. Thought it would be easy. I was wrong._

_This mortal – strong. Not an average shinobi. Fast as me. No … faster?!_

_Time to get away!_

_The man, leaping into my path as I flee, cackling, taunting._

_Cornered, attacking furiously, madly. Desperately._

_Sinister snake showing a sickening smirk._

_My eyes – only a moment to widen._

_And his blade is tearing through my neck._

* * *

Heart pounding out of my chest, I half-leapt, half-staggered away, running my back straight into a tree. My legs remained tensed under me, trying to push me further away regardless as violently shaking hands grasped at my neck.

"I told you not to pry!!" he roared.

_Breathing – I'm not breathing…_

I drew in a huge but shuddering breath, some relief coming as cool air rolled surely down my throat and into my lungs. As I exhaled, my legs relaxed and I slid unblinking to the ground, though my hands twitched frantically about my neck, fingers searching furiously, assuring and reassuring that my head was firmly attached to my body.

"Stop that. It's mental, all in your head…" I heard him growl.

My mouth moved, and after a moment of effort and choked nonsense recalled the ways in which it constructed words. "I… I'm sorry… I didn't mean t-to…"

One hand still resting protectively over my neck, I looked up to meet his eyes and gasped.

"You're … dead…?" I breathed, more a statement than a question as realization sunk in.

"What, you thought I was _born_ this way?" he almost snapped back, his voice low and cutting. "I've long forgotten the luxury of flesh and bones; a body of flames is the highest form that exists to me now…"

I shook my head in disbelief. Having felt terror and helplessness, seeing fear through his eyes – eyes of someone so brazen and strong…

"My existence is nothing more than that of a mere disembodied spirit. I can utilize my chakra while bound to my element, but I'll never be half as powerful as I was before. I'm dead … because Orochimaru killed me. Just for some filthy mortal's silly experiments and fancies…"

Grunting softly, I got myself to stand; I walked up, stopping when I was beside him. "Losing to Orochimaru… That's not something to be ashamed of. I mean, he's one of the most powerful shinobi in–,"

"It doesn't _matter_!" he cried, his voice blazing ferociously past bared fangs. "Don't you get it?! Things have gotten worse since then. To the other four, who died before me in wars, or great battles, or fighting at their partner's side – to them, I'm nothing more than 'that one.' The incompetent waste of space that tarnished the family name by managing to get himself slain by a _mortal_…" He shut his eyes as his voice simmered out in a seething growl.

I reached out to him, slowly stroking the wolf's coat of cool, rolling flames that ever so faintly pulsated and fluctuated beneath my hand. "Oh, Kurogiba-sama…"

"_Save your pity!_" he barked, and my hand jumped away as his temperature spiked sharply against the sensitive skin of my fingers. "Like _you_ could understand what it's like to be the weakest of the pack! Like you would know how it feels to be a failure, looked down on with disgust everywhere you turn… You have no idea of the Hell I've been through! How would you know what it feels like to be seen as something f-foul, something disgraceful, b-by…"

"The ones who mean the most to me? Actually, I might."

His eyes snapped open with a gasp.

"I've been through it, too." With slight caution my fingers touched his blazing pelt again. He only looked ahead, not meeting my gaze. "Your eyes are a lot like mine, Kurogiba-sama … in that they should be unreadable, and yet still I can see sadness in them. I can see it… Your eyes have the same suffering, the same loneliness that mine do. I used to be like you are now; all I could do was cry, and mope, and give up."

"And what changed that?" he muttered gruffly.

"Then…" The wind tousled my hair; his 'coat' flared up gently in the breeze. "Then I met someone who inspired me. Someone who never backed down no matter what came his way. He told me I could change myself, and I believed him; I still do. I decided to _be_ like him. Now I don't run away and I don't go back on my word. And that's why… That's why I have to save my cousin and the village, no matter what it takes. We can succeed here, Kurogiba-sama. We have to."

"Foolish…" he muttered, shaking his head. "What exactly do you think a bunch of outcasts can do? Heed my words, that way of thinking ultimately yields only frustration and pain. You'll be disappointed in the end."

"I won't," I said firmly.

His eyes rounded on me intensely. "Look, brat, I know it's _fun_ to believe in such petty ambitions, to pretend anything is possible if you try hard enough – but in the real world things don't work out that way, and that's the unforgiving truth. Learn it well, before it's too late… I'll be fine, but try too hard and you might not be. I'd very much like to have revenge on the snake, but there's little point in trying when it would result in my failure and your early death…"

"Ku… Kurogiba-sama…" _Does that mean in some part of him … he actually_ cares _about me…? _My hand gently mussed with his blazing 'fur.' _I understand, Kurogiba-sama. You don't want someone else to go through the same thing you did. You don't want me to suffer the way you have, to lose what _you_ lost…_

I raised my head, gazing for a long time out into the vast blue sky and watching two distant birds that danced on the air. "…Alright," I said at last, "I've made my decision."

"Decision?" he echoed curiously, and I nodded.

"If you won't believe we can succeed, fine. I'll just have to have enough faith for both of us."

His flinch of surprise was near imperceptible as his eyes narrowed sharply. "What are you _saying_? Didn't you hear a word I just said…?"

_Succeed and fly – or fail and die. That is all that's left to me. _An appeasing hand on his shoulder, I continued to observe the two birds in flight.

"Listen, scrawny little pup, you'll–!"

"Hyuuga Hinata and Black-Fanged Kurogiba of Fire… Sound like a team?"

"Wh… what?"

Grinning brightly, I turned to face him. "I'm no Hokage, but I'll work to become a strong ninja someday. I promise you, Kurogiba … that I'll be a kunoichi you can be proud to fight alongside."

Our eyes held for several moments, passing meaning well beyond mere words.

"…Heh. I won't count on it, scrawny koinu," he said, looking away with a wolfish smirk.

I smiled back, glowing with determination. "I wouldn't have it any other way, Kurogiba-sama."

Now it was up to me to prove him wrong.

* * *

**ナルト ****/ ****リー ****/ ****ヒナタ ****\ ****ハナビ ****\ ****ネジ**

**End Chapter Nine**

**Neji:**…

**Naruto:**…

**Neji:**…

**Naruto:**…

**Neji:** _Wolf Fang Fist–!_

**Naruto:** KAMEHAMEHA!!!

**Hinata:** (stares at them) …Eh, why not. Charizard, I choose y–!

**Kurogiba:** #$?& YOU!!

**Hinata:** (Sigh…)

**Lee:** Have no fear, I shall protect you! _Wind scar!!_

**Neji:** I should so Iron Reaver you for that…

**Hinata:** But you know, we really should quit making fun of other manga.

**Hanabi:** Other… manga…?

**Lee:** _Woah_. Where did _that_ come from?

**Hinata:** (scared) I… I don't _know_!!

**Neji:** A-absurd. Utterly outlandish… Such a thought…

**Naruto:** To – to _suggest_ we're all just figments of the imagination of some supernatural being from another dimension… Our very thoughts, our lives, our dreams, our every move dreamed up in an office for some entertaining storyline by a thirty-something-year-old manga artist…!

**Neji: **Or even worse... by one of his f-_fans_... (everyone happens to look toward camera)

–SiLeNcE…–

**Hinata: **Phew, good thing it's not like that.

**Hanabi:** Yeah.

**Lee:** You said it…

**Neji:** Cra-zy stuff.

_(static–)_

**Hinata:** At this level, my sense of smell might just be strong enough to…! Yes, it is!

**Naruto:** Yatta! Ero-sennin, we're coming for you!

**Lee:** The time has finally come, but we must proceed with caution. Compared to what we need to do there, _finding_ the prison may just be the easy part…

**Naruto:** This is what all that training's been for! We're ready… I know we are.

**Lee:** Naruto-kun's hands are still clean, but he has perfected an _assassination_ _technique_ without even realizing it. I hope he is not forced to use it today, but sooner or later, if he must fight for his life, he may be left no other choice…

**Hinata:** Next is **Chapter Ten**, which currently lacks a title!

A little shorter a chapter, anyways … but I already estimate the next one's going to be long. But I'm also fairly horrible at estimating, so who knows?

Reikuchiyose no Jutsu: Spirit Summoning Jutsu

In the chap title, I already know I used 'lupine,' an adjective, incorrectly in reference to Kurogiba. 'Lycan' I used as an abbreviation of Lycanthrope (werewolf) to refer to Hinata.

I don't think this chapter turned out very good… Sorry for so much flashbacking ;) ! If you feel it's a rip-off since a lot of the chapter focused on an OC, good news for you is that a number (probably five) of familiar faces debut in the next!

What did you think of Hanabi's flashbacks? Were you surprised at the origin of her phobia? A few guesses were kind of halfway-ish-ly close, but no one guessed that Hanabi had actually hurt Hinata. How was the interaction between Hinata and Kurogiba? Was Kurogiba's character developed well? Oh, and there was a little more foreshadowing on Naruto's Kageken!

Please review! If you're only reading, I still love you… I just love reviewers more! ;)

Laters!

:o)Hinata0321:o)


	10. Rescuing the Hermit

J3F\\\ Journey of the Three Failures

Chapter Ten

Yay for double digits!

Thanks for all your reviews **T-Biggz, Omega the darkness, Stygian Styx, SaphireShade, Rena-san, Naybi, Gamerof1458, FantomoDrako, chibi heishi, Adran06, Monte-chan, sixth seraph, pdorn1, Cybergades, **and the anonymous reviewers who signed as Zzz, Z, Person, and creativelyspacey!

No, the Kageken has nothing to do with the Hiraishin! Literally, virtually, absolutely and positively nothing! It's called Shadow Fist because it is based on shadow clones. Naruto cannot teleport, instead he… well, that's going to be explained this chapter! ;)

Remember, in this story Naruto _has_ met Jiraiya before, only in the one month of training before the chuunin exam finals.

Wondering what was the holdup? I was preparing for a Pokemon competition for a month! I would have been just fine if you could use Ruby or even Diamond, but no, only Platinum! As soon as I found out about the tournament I spent my birthday money on the game, and then I went the whole nine yards and beyond to get ready.

I mean… rushing to complete Platinum so I could migrate … team balance, team planning, attack planning, a ton of training, trading, Ditto catching, and breeding throughout my own R,S,E, FR, and LG … getting excellent IV's and desired nature through hours upon hours of breeding, selective breeding, training hatched pkmn in the daycare to a high enough lvl input their stats into an IV calculator and jotting down the info in a notebook (I must have hatched at least 200 or so eggs in all, selecting the best in each group to be a member of my party) … super careful EV max-out training for all six (also consuming hours) … getting them to the required lvl with an exp. share (with my lvl 100 Ruby starter I beat the Pokemon league about 20 times over in all) … coming up with the most b-a Japanese nicknames you've ever seen! … migrating the team to Platinum … and practicing in the battle tower (during a several hour car ride to the city the tournament was in).

Yeah… so that pretty much took up 95% or so of my free time for a month, meaning no writing got done (and I hardly got on the computer, so some reviews didn't get replied to. Sorry :(... ). And guess what? After all the time, blood, sweat, and tears of building my awesome team, I didn't get to compete. Random drawing, and my number didn't get picked… I couldn't stop crying for thirty minutes… :'(

Anyways! I ended up chopping this chapter in half because it turned out really long… to celebrate the story's one-year anniversary, I might post the next half pretty soon!

**Disclaimer: **I don't own _NARUTO_.

That's it. Seriously. What? I can't have a normal disclaimer every once in a while?

* * *

**Journey of the Three Failures**

**Ten: Rescuing the Hermit**

**Hinata ****ヒナタ**

'_It's not working…'_

'_Go on,' _he thought, _'try again. Raise your hand – Nope, you're trying to move my paw, too!'_

'_Is this even possible?'_ I was sure we'd been at this exercise for an hour; I needed to learn to 'remain myself even while we were one.'

'_Quit complaining. Now, just raise _your_ hand – No, don't pull away! Where're you going?'_ he asked, mentally approaching again. I sighed, opening my eyes.

"Kurogiba-sama, it's getting late. Can't we continue tomorrow?" I said aloud.

He pulled out of the Soul Link and eyed me curiously. "But we're having so much fun," he said sarcastically. "Besides, since when do you like to put things off to tomorrow? I thought you never give up and all that crap…"

"I'm not giving up," I protested. "It's just that… I promised to help Lee-kun with something today."

* * *

**Lee ****リー**

"I cannot thank you enough, Hinata-san…"

"Don't worry! It was a challenge, but now I have that much more experience with seals. I'm glad to help – that's what friends are for, right?" she said with a cheerful smile.

"Friends…" Sheathing the katana, I walked over to sit down beside her on the log. "I just hate to bother you when you are already tired out after Kurogiba-san's training…" My gaze lowered, falling toward the ground from the half-moon lighting the night sky. I sighed. "The truth is, there is something else I want to talk to you about as well."

"What is it?" she asked, puzzled by my solemn air.

I looked into her white eyes. "I fear for our friend's wellbeing."

She gained an expression filled with concern. "Wh–?"

"There is nothing wrong with him," I quickly assured her.

"Then … what are you worried about?"

"You have not seen it yet, have you?" I noted. "Naruto-kun's Advanced Kageken… It is not yet a complete technique and he is still working to master it, but it is already extremely powerful."

"B-but isn't that a good thing…?"

I shut my eyes. "Indeed, he has added a unique and formidable form of taijutsu to his arsenal, but… This technique has the potential to very easily be made lethal."

My ears caught a soft gasp.

"Do you see? Naruto-kun's hands are still clean, but with so much strength suddenly at his disposal, I fear the Kageken will either make or destroy him. What I know for certain is that with the way we are now, he will soon blaze past you and me both. We cannot allow that to happen, Hinata-san – we must work harder as well. We must be strong enough to protect him."

She knew I was not speaking entirely of physical protection from foes. "…So that he hopefully won't be forced to resort to a lethal form for as long as possible, right?"

"Yes," I said. "For that, we must be strong enough to protect him, ourselves, and each other. For should he need to protect us or himself, in a desperate situation … the result could be disastrous."

"Naruto-kun…" She clasped a hand over her heart. In a moment she looked to meet my eyes again, nodding determinedly. "I understand. I'll work harder, too."

* * *

**Naruto ****ナルト**

"Did I stay out training too late?" I thought aloud, standing on a tree's roots as I examined an almost half-moon's position in the sky. In a second, though, I felt lightheaded from looking upward; I lowered my head, rubbing it gently as my eyes shut. I groaned, not feeling all too great. My present weariness and depleted chakra reserves didn't help the matter.

_I need to get back to camp… _I trudged along, hands brushing trees I passed to help my balance.

Dots speckled my vision, and I tried to blink them away. Before I knew it I was grasping at a tree trunk at my side, leaning against it for support. I shook my head. _My face… _When had I started sweating? It was freezing out here. _This is bad–!_

"GAH!" My head throbbed, dull and pounding. I clasped a hand in my hair, eyes locking shut, and soon I was on the ground in a trembling heap.

_M-my body … What's happening?! _My strength was vanishing rapidly. I gasped as my head throbbed again, as though impacted by a blunt but crushing force. _Did I … push myself … too far…?_

I forced my eyes to open again, and with far more effort than it should have taken I slowly raised my head an inch. The world was rolling and shaking around me, getting blurry and jumbled…

I tried to move; my body didn't seem to register it. It was like the effort got cut off somewhere a long way off from being translated into an action. That terrified me. _Why can't – I m-move…? _my mind whimpered. I tried harder, and my body didn't respond in any way. _Kuso…! Move, Naruto… Move!_

A cloud of smoke popped up next to me, vanishing just as suddenly … almost like a failed shadow clone, when I didn't have the chakra or focus to maintain it. Right now, I probably didn't have much of either.

Distraught and desperate, I threw all my will into getting myself to move in any way at all. Several more bursts of smoke appeared and flickered out of existence in rapid succession randomly around me, but I was so panicked I paid the oddity no mind.

_Stand up!!_

I rose to my feet.

_POOF._

No… I'd _thought_ I rose to my feet. But that was just a shadow clone. That brief glimmer of relief was extinguished cruelly as I found in confusion that I was indeed still on the ground, still paralyzed.

_I get it…_

So my mind had been split and merged again so many times in the last few hours…

That my body was … confused.

I'd screwed up.

"H…" No good – I couldn't talk. Unless…

"_Heeeeelllp!!!_" a shadow clone bellowed before it vanished.

_That works… _I decided, and was content to slip into numb unconsciousness.

* * *

"The shadow clone jutsu is a forbidden technique, after all." I flexed my hand again, shivering briefly. My skin was still crawling. Thankfully I could move again, but my body still felt strange; my head felt too light, and thick lethargy pressed down on my limbs. "It puts a huge strain on the mind, and the way I link attacks probably makes it even worse."

"But you've never had this problem before?" Hinata asked.

I shook my aching head slightly. "Never like this. It must've been from using the Kageken too much. It was so weird … like my mind was disconnected from my body or something…"

"Just be more careful next time, Naruto-kun," Lee said. "Even if you have plenty of chakra, you must be mindful of the limitations of your mind."

I nodded. "You don't have to tell me twice; I definitely don't want to feel that way again anytime soon."

* * *

**Hinata ****ヒナタ**

"You know, I'd almost forgotten you even _had_ a bloodline limit. Why don't I ever see it?"

"When even a little of the curse's power is in my system, the range is so far, and the depth and detail so strong that it overwhelms my senses–,"

"Start practicing to use it."

"Hai," I called idly to the wolf behind me as I finished up the last stroke of the brush. "This pattern has to work…"

"Why do you do that, koinu?" Kurogiba asked from where he basked in the sunlight. "Desperation? Denial?"

I cast him a look. "I already have a seal formula that kind of works, but it locks my hand to whatever I touch, leaving me pretty open to attack until I can get the chakra to release. I need a formula that doesn't let any chakra rest on my palm before I release it."

"So to fight your disability you waste time drawing on yourself instead of focusing on important matters like–,"

"Mastering the Soul Link in the next eight days?" I said, double-checking for symmetry where it was required. "I think we're getting pretty decent at it, actually."

He snorted. "We're not even close…"

Paying no mind, I sprang from where I was crouched, clearing the meters between us to land in front of him. "Look!" I exclaimed, pointing to my palm. "This one in the center draws the chakra to my hand, and these around it work by blocking it so the chakra can't blanket my palm!"

"…And?"

"Weren't you listening, Kurogiba-sama? This solves my sticking problem! Then when I strike I only need a one-handed seal to let the blocks release it!"

"You know, somehow … I _don't_ think that's going to work."

"It will!"

"Yeah, whatever." He stood up, shaking himself from nose to tail and in the process sending small embers rolling off his body; I fell onto my rear in surprise. "Just hurry up and test it so we can get back to work. You've run over the break time already."

"Right," I said, getting to my feet. Turning away from him, I struck out. I channeled chakra to my arm, watching closely with the Byakugan as it raced toward the attracting seal, met the barrier of the blocking seals, and–

"Ack!"

…Shot straight back up my arm.

With a jerking shudder, I stiffened and toppled onto my side.

"Told you so. Scrawny koinu…? Hey, you alive?"

I rolled over, hissing. "Th-that felt really strange," I said, massaging the triceps. My face paled. "It's a good thing I d-didn't use a lot of chakra, o-or…"

"Are you done? How about getting back to work before you manage to screw that arm up even more?"

I got up, eyes downcast. "Hai, Kurogiba-sama."

* * *

**Lee ****リー**

I blinked salty sweat from stinging eyes. My chest was heaving for air; hot breath baked a parched throat. My knees shook under my weight, and aching arms trembled with the swords locked in hurting hands, stiff knuckles and fingers practically ablaze and throbbing hotter.

_Not … enough!!_

I grunted and shot forward, clearing ten yards in an instant and jerking to a halt. Then I was blazing back through a hundred now falling leaves in another instant, and screeching to a halt at the same place in which I'd begun in a low crouch with both katana outstretched behind me.

Wheezing, I flung a desperate, almost pleading gaze back over my shoulder.

Dozens upon dozens of leaves split cleanly in two behind me. And one leaf, undamaged, was the last to drift to the ground.

My teeth locked.

A tremendous burst of will managed to shove me to full height once more. I turned around. That was not good enough.

My arms were trembling violently as I assumed my stance. "This … is nothing at all… I am just … getting st-started… _Unh!_"

My left arm twitched sharply. A katana clattered to the ground.

I reached toward it. "K-k-kuso…" My knees gave when I started to lower myself, and I shoved the other blade into the ground, head down as I clung to it for some measure of support. "I am not … d-done yet," I whimpered between gasps, my left arm stiffly folding itself across my middle as I curled over in pain. I could feel heat radiating from my body in heavy waves, from my throbbing head, from sides drenched in sweat. My vision blurred as I reached for the fallen blade, fingers awkwardly fumbling at the hilt. Eventually they collected it up in a feeble grasp – which quickly failed again.

"Kuso… I am not…!" My shoulders shook. My vision blurred for a new reason, and tears began to feed the puddle of facial sweat quickly forming on the ground.

I growled as I raised my head. "Sitting an feeling sorry for yourself … while the others are blazing past you?! Gh…!" My hand popped in several places as I firmly gripped the hilt of the sword once more.

"Naruto-kun … and even Hinata-san…!"

I got to my feet yet again, bent my knees, and shakily crossed the blades before me.

"For them as much as for myself, I will not back down!"

My foot dug into and shoved against the ground, and I sprinted forward.

"_YOOOOSSH!!! SEISHUN!!!_"

* * *

**Neji ****ネジ**

"I was great on that last mission, wasn't I?"

On my right, Tenten scowled and rolled her eyes. For all his reaction, Shino may as well have not heard a thing, and I simply smirked.

"Yes, Ino, you did a good job. If not for your swift thinking the client's cargo may have been endangered. I'm ashamed to admit as your leader that I nearly allowed such an incident to occur, but thankfully I have teammates who are able to handle matters when there is the occasional slip on my part."

The girl beamed, clasping her hands beside her face, dancing ahead and twirling once. "Oh, I only wish _Sasuke-kun_ had gotten to come along on this one! It's too bad he's busy in New Konoha…"

I halted on the road.

The three looked back as I inhaled slowly and deeply. "Neji-san," Shino inquired shortly in a tone better suited to statements, though the slightest elevation of an eyebrow revealed it as otherwise.

"Speaking of New Konoha…"

A figure came crashing through a few crates piled at the mouth of a small alleyway, bursting onto the street and in front of our group, sliding past Ino on his back, and yelling to watch out as he backflipped and hurled a fistful of shuriken in the direction from which he'd come. The four shuriken met four opposing throwing stars squarely (and right in front of a petrified Yamanaka), clattering to the ground as Inuzuka Kiba called out "Snake Squad alert!!" and shot into the adjacent alley across the street.

_What the–?!!_

Facing back, Nara Shikamaru flew next into the open, hands flashing though three seals before one foot met the ground and he tumbled backwards. As he began to slip into a one-palmed handstand, four branches of darkness leapt across the ground.

"Gomen, ne!" he called smirkingly to the four of us as two more blurs burst at once onto the street. The Akimichi landed in a backwards roll, drew a kunai, and rapidly deflected shuriken at Nara's back; Haruno briefly touched foot on the ground, flinging the better part of a pouch of makibishi spikes toward the alley and some more toward my frozen group for good measure before she leapt to the next alley. Chouji wasn't far behind in following, and Shikamaru, having completed his backflip in the time the two passed and releasing us as his hand left the earth, executed one more handspring off his momentum before vanishing down the alley with a chakra-packed leap.

…They had passed in _four seconds_. Maybe nearer three.

"Ah! Spikes!"

I started forward. "Halt!"

Five furious Oto-nin rushed past; they ran along and jumped from the walls of the alleyway to avoid the scattered spikes completely before taking off in pursuit. One, hopping on one foot, lost balance and toppled over before me.

"U-uh, Hyuuga-sama!" the chuunin stammered, scrambling up to his knees. "Good aftern–!"

"_What is the meaning of this?!_"

"Hehehe…! Um, you see, they're s-sort of stealing food from the market…!"

Shivering, he trailed off as I growled deeply. My knuckles were white at my sides. "We're gone for three days and they're sewing mayhem in the village streets…?"

"Neji…" Tenten warned quietly.

Ignoring the hand that crept for my shoulder, I bolted off in pursuit.

* * *

**Hanabi ****ハナビ**

"Open the door, open the door!!"

That was my cue; I unlocked the door and pushed it open to see the hazy cover of more than one smoke bomb obscured the street outside. The next moment I was scooped up in Kiba's arms, and soon we were falling a six foot drop down a trapdoor in the corner of the room. In quick succession Sakura, Chouji, and Shikamaru joined us, the lattermost's hands already forming a seal.

"Kage bunshin…!"

A _pop! _issued from above, and the trapdoor was promptly shut. We heard the dusty old shelf hastily pushed back into place, where it would fully conceal the trap. Then we waited, motionless in darkness and silence.

I held my breath at the rattling of the doorknob above.

"It's locked…"

"Move over."

My heart rate climbed as I heard the door get busted down. This was supposed to be a low risk mission! How had it turned out like this? Kiba's hand carefully stroked my hair.

"Nothing here!" someone called. Footsteps from above grew faint and vanished.

I let out a breath.

"Phew… Shikamaru, you okay?" Chouji whispered.

"I'll manage…" the Nara drawled.

"Heh!" Kiba's voice softly came from near me. "While they're looking for us, I'll bet the other teams are making all the cleaner a getaway – and unlike us, you can bet the Oto-nin don't know the nooks and crannies of this place! I think it's pretty safe to say 'mission successful!'"

"Arr, arf!" Akamaru agreed happily.

"Not yet," Sakura reminded gently, though there was relief in her voice as well. "We still need to get back to base."

"Right. If memory serves me, this tunnel's only a little over sixty feet. Stay close and watch your step," Shikamaru ordered.

"Hai!"

We worked our way single file down the narrow tunnel; in under a minute we reached another basement. Shikamaru climbed on Chouji's shoulders to push up a trapdoor, peeking out carefully before he crawled out. After Sakura and Chouji followed noiselessly, Kiba boosted me out into the room before emerging himself. The dog-nin lifted me onto his back, and I didn't complain; we'd need to move fast to get to safety, and the last thing I wanted was to be in the way by slowing them down.

Shikamaru glanced at the four of us, shooting a thumbs-up. "Let's go."

He opened the door and stepped outside.

"Hello."

My heart skipped a beat as this word – and more significantly, the voice which spoke it – reached my ears.

Shikamaru flinched in surprise. His eyes were wide as he turned to his left, raised his hands into a seal, and tried to back away. Before he was allowed to cast the Kagemane, a lightning fast palm thudded into his chest as Neji lunged toward him.

"_Kuso!_" Kiba set me down, already launching himself forward as he barked, "Run for it!!"

Glancing at him, Neji dodged elegantly by flowing into a flexible back bend. His hand met the ground as Kiba flew over him, and he lashed up with a sharp kick that impacted the Inuzuka's stomach with sufficient force to send him crashing upside-down into a wall.

"Shikamaru-san, Kiba-san!" I cried.

"Come on!" Chouji said, punching out the room's sole window with his bandaged hands. Sakura slipped outside, and quickly I was collected up in Chouji's arms before he hopped out.

Sakura threw a kunai tagged with a paper bomb toward Neji, who quickly jumped away, retreating further down the alley. Heedless of the explosive, she rushed forward hurriedly helped a wincing Kiba to his feet, half-dragging him back to us: the tag was a fake.

Having recovered, Shikamaru flung a smoke bomb to the ground, and we turned to flee. "Hurry!" he said as we neared the alley's end, "We'll lose him in the crowd!"

We broke into open air and the midday clutter and bustle of the market. "We split up!" Shikamaru declared as we raced down the street, dodging and weaving through the crowd. "Find somewhere to hide, do whatever you have to, just get back to the base as soon as you can! Okay, scatter–_!_"

Where he had come from so suddenly I had no idea. All I knew was that Neji was in front of Shikamaru, his fist smashing into the boy's face in a brutal swing. His head snapped to the side, his face contorted in pain. And blood flew _everywhere_.

"No…" Sakura breathed.

I trembled. The civilians were frenzied, women were shrieking: a ninja fight had broken out. A startled toddler nearby burst into tears.

"Hanabi, escape with Akamaru!" Kiba said as Shikamaru hit the ground.

"B-but–!"

"Just go! You'll only get in the way!" he yelled, preparing to attack.

I whimpered as if struck. _I'm in the way…_

Neji swept out his arm. "Detain them!"

A shinobi flickered into existence between them, slamming into Kiba and pinning him to the ground. Four more Sound ninja appeared, and I could only stand frozen in fear as my friends were swiftly captured.

"S-Sakura … Kiba … Chouji-san … Shikamaru-san…" I squeaked. What could I do?

My eyes fell on Shikamaru; he was bleeding heavily at the nose and mouth, a bruise already darkening on the side of his face. And his trembling hands were inching together to form a seal.

_CRUNCH!_

"_Aaaahhh!_"

"Honestly, how foolish do you think I am?" Neji asked, his face disturbingly calm as he crushed Shikamaru's hand under his sandal. It would have been less frightening if he'd been furious, or even taking a sadistic pleasure. But this, the look on my cousin's face … he was emotionless.

His foot rose up. He stomped.

The tortured Nara's cry stabbed into the silence of the still street, sending a shudder through my body. _What … c-can I…?_

"Consider yourselves warned!" my cousin shouted coldly, raising his head to sweep his stern gaze over the crowd that had fallen a safe distance from the commotion. "Let this be a message to all those who oppose Godaime-sama, and all who dare associate themselves with them!"

"…T… teme…" Shikamaru's tightly shut eyes cracked open. "Those truly loyal to this place … to our village … As long as we live, Konoha will never die!"

Neji's eyes narrowed slightly. Then he drew his foot back.

THUD!

"Agh!"

I whimpered as I watched Shikamaru get kicked, as he cried out, as his back met a wall.

_I'm the only one that wasn't captured … but I can't … There's nothing I can do!_

Neji strode toward the boy. "There is no future ahead for those who fail to accept reality. Fate is not something that can be shaped to one's own will and fancy; this truth is absolute. Do you see? The only future awaiting you who will not yield to Destiny … is death."

"Oh, brother," Shikamaru groaned. "Destiny this, fate that, reality in between–!"

_Kick!_

"_Agh!_"

_Kick!_

"_Ah!!_"

_Kick! Kick! Kick!_

"Sh-Shika…maru…" Tears spilled out of my eyes. Men were watching in horror, women appalled and some crying; parents covered their children's eyes. Chouji, Sakura, and Kiba shouted in protest, struggling despite warnings from their captors. Neji's team had shown up, and Shino held a furious, tearful Ino back from interfering.

_What am I doing…? It's true. I'm … I'm just in the way! _

My watering eyes shut as I turned away, whimpering at each cry of pain. My hands rested over my head as I slowly crouched down, crushed under the weight of my own disgusting helplessness. My despair. My cowardice.

_I d-don't … w-w-want to get h-hurt…!_

* * *

**Neji ****ネジ**

"Had enough?"

Arms cradling his abdomen, he coughed blood onto the street. "…We won't ever … back down…" he whispered.

"Fool," I said, "What can you accomplish? Futile is futile, no matter the manner of way you approach it."

"So resistance is futile? Well, we won't know for sure … unless we try, now will we? None of us … will forgo our loyalty like you cowards have… I'll keep fighting you even of it means the end of me, Hyuuga, you hear?!"

I shut my eyes. "You think yourself noble as you speak of prideful self-righteous _nonsense_. There's a fine line between courage and idiocy, Failure."

"Without a doubt, between the two of us, there is one noble and one idiot … and I'm also pretty sure that these civilians have decided well who is who. They know what's right… and what's wrong…"

"Yet they do not act against me."

"Out of fear…"

"Because they see reality and understand it. They know they can't overpower shinobi, and so they wisely do not act."

"That's what we're here for, Hyuuga. Our civilian citizens won't be made to risk their lives, not while we're around. Their will as well as our own burns inside us, and I for one am ready to do whatever I have to to fight for the ones who lack the strength to fight for themselves! That's why we won't ever give up!!" He punctuated the declaration by spitting at my feet.

…_That look in his eyes…_

–"_I'm not giving up ever!!"–_

_So you carry on _his_ will – is that it?_

My frown deepened.

I dealt a kick that cracked more than two ribs.

"I've shown mercy today," I said coolly as an agonized scream died out. "I have permission to kill you. These four are going to the prison!" I ordered, raising my voice as I turned to face the Oto-nin who had restrained the others.

"Sir!" they answered, and began to bind hands in rope.

I turned back to their leader. My foot nudged the shuddering heap on the ground before me as I looked down on his pained face in disdain.

"Hn. I wonder who the idiot is now, Shikamaru… don't you?"

"That's ENOUGH!"

I looked back to see Akimichi inflate forcefully, knocking away the Sound ninja next to him. The boy reverted to normal form and charged toward me, enraged. "You get away from my friend!!" he roared, drawing back a fist.

I was faster – much faster. Two fingers hit a tenketsu on his neck, and he fell, stunned.

"Pathetic," I spat. "And there you have it; if you will never yield to New Oto, then may you spend the rest of your days rotting stubborn fools within the village prison, never again to see the light of day…" I reached into my pouch for a length of rope…

Something glinted near invisibly in the sunlight. I blinked – then my eyes widened. _Sh–!_

Wires snapped taut. Already having wound several times around me unnoticed, they pinned my arms to my sides. In the same moment a body pressed against me from behind, and two arms snaked across my front, one hand locking firmly on the underside of my jaw, and the other resting against my hip. Then I felt something quite different from wires or arms wrapping around me; I gasped as a serpent, after circling me twice, slipped over my shoulder to flick its tongue at my cheek with a malevolent hiss.

Mitarashi Anko's chin rested over my other shoulder. "Careful, little snake…" she crooned menacingly in my ear. "We wouldn't want you getting bit."

I failed to suppress a shiver. With her hold on my jaw, I couldn't turn my head enough to see her directly. Even from my peripherals, however, I could see demonic eyes that were calm and deathly. She wasn't playing. A cool and murderous aura blazed icily from her, and I felt that should I attempt to escape she would slice me to pieces first and twist my neck after.

"Hyuuga-sama!" an Oto captain called.

_Watch out! _I thought, not finding my voice.

Few of them saw it coming, and in the next moment all of the five Oto-nin keeled over, unconscious.

All at once, in a grand swirling of leaves, over a dozen renegades joined the scene. Ready to fight, Izumo, Kotetsu, Iruka, Ebisu, Genma, Ibiki, Aoba, Iwashi, Raido… too many to list appeared, all dressed in full black and masking any fury behind an icy seriousness as they stared down my team.

"Sorry, adorable students," Iruka said, a pair of kunai in hand, "but if you move so much as an inch we will be forced to hurt you."

_So many came … just to help this lot?_

Tenten raised her hands, and the others followed suit. "Please, just don't hurt Neji!"

"Aw, not even a little?" Anko asked. "Then for starters, how about calling off the four reinforcement squads positioned on the rooftops?"

I grunted as fine wires bit uncomfortably into my arms. I was soon bleeding. "Please, fall back!" I called.

"Good boy. Now let's hope your little friends can stand _perfectly_ still, ne? Squad A, take care of Hyuuga's team! Squad B, help out Shikamaru's team! And someone see to Shikamaru!"

As eight of the renegades quickly set to the tasks of freeing the Failures and tying the hands of my team and two more helped the Nara, Iruka addressed the crowd of market-goers and all else who could hear.

"Fear not, citizens, for with the will of fire we will forge a path to victory! On our honor, Konoha shall live and Orochimaru shall fall!"

_This is bad! _I thought, growling as a roar of cheers boomed from the crowd and filled the street.

Anko chuckled. "Not bad, dolphin boy, not bad at all."

"Great lengths to go to for a few foolish children," I hissed, glaring out of the corner of my eye. "This little demonstration of yours may well be taken as a declaration of war. Was it really worth it?"

The woman glowered back, and I tried not to yelp as wires constricted further. "A few children? When the rest of the village thought hope was truly lost, those four were the very _first _to begin a resistance. Hopeless or not, their efforts and determination gave us the courage to begin fighting back as well, and as that courage grew and was passed along New Konoha was born. Embodied within each of those foolish _children_ is the will of this village at its purest; I believe that with all my heart. And besides… we can't just let you take our _Hakage-sama_ without a fight, now can we?"

"'Leaf Shadow?!'" I whispered. "You mean... the 'kage' of New Konoha is…?"

…_Shikamaru…?_

"Correct. Which I suppose means we aren't the ones who instigated this; after all, _you_ just made quite the demonstration of assaulting our leader. If the civil war does begin, then so be it. We're ready."

Suddenly wire and arms and a snake released me, and a hand smashed solidly against the back of my neck. I toppled over with a yelp, crashing to the dirt.

And then my limp body was lifted up and hoisted over a shoulder. Realization slammed into me, and my eyes widened. _No!_

"All teams, depart!"

"_Aa!_"

The renegades all body flickered at once, and I was unwillingly brought along with them.

_I'm … a hostage…_

On that thought, the world was swamped in nothingness.

* * *

**Lee ****リー**

"Amazing…" _So they are practicing the 'Soul Link?' _I thought, watching as the two sparred. Hinata's headband served as a blindfold, and Kurogiba simply kept his eyes shut. Neither of the two ever stopped moving for long; one was always attacking, the other defending, and in fact quite often it seemed one was already dodging the instant before a strike was thrown. _I see … if they are within each other's minds, then theoretically it is a battle that could never end! But…_

As Hinata hopped backward to dodge an attack, she nearly bumped into a large stone. Instead, with her back inches away, she pushed off the ground and hand-sprung over it.

_There – she did it again! I know she did not see the obstacle through Kurogiba-san's eyes, because they too are closed. She cannot be cheating with the Byakugan, for the wolf would notice immediately … so how did she know to avoid it?_

I shook my head, entranced by the movements of the two. It was as if they were entwined in an elegant dance as they struck and evaded, evaded and struck. Frequently the two locked into close combat, during which time the tempo, the rhythm flew into a furious pace, and they moved at outrageous speeds that from here my eyes could barely follow. All the while, Hinata's expression remained calm, if not a bit focused.

_Right, _I thought, watching her avoid both a set of blazing claws and the tree behind her. _I guess now is a good time…_

Stepping off the branch I was perched on, I dropped to the ground and dashed toward the two. From behind Hinata I leapt into a flying kick. The attack was inches from contact when she suddenly ducked, avoiding the strike – just as Kurogiba had said she would. As I landed in front of her she jumped back in precaution.

"Kurogiba-sama–?"

"Next exercise, the Eyebrow Monster here is helping out. You'll dodge his attacks using my vision and not yours," he instructed, opening his eerie eyes.

My blindfolded friend flinched in surprise. "Avoiding a stone or a tree is one thing, but even _with_ the chakra aura to help, a moving opponent–,"

"Actually, no chakra aura either."

"What?!"

"Well, you can try it on your own if you'd like, but it won't be very effective without my aura overlapping with yours…"

"B-but, that's…"

"It _isn't_ impossible, scrawny runt. Take the perception you gather from me, augment it with what you can collect with your own senses, and act on it in an instant. To truly master this will be a giant bound toward mastery of the Soul Link."

"I understand!"

"Good. Then let's get started."

"No."

"Lee-kun?"

I crossed my arms, turning away. "You heard me. The 'Eyebrow Monster' does not feel like helping!" I declared, making up my mind that I would not help until I received an apology.

"Oh, please excuse me," Kurogiba said. "…Apparently the Eyebrow Monster feels like being ground into the dirt–,"

"You will _not!_" Hinata said, spreading her arms to block his approach. "Kurogiba-sama, you really need to work on your people skills!"

"No thanks – my wolf skills are telling me to clobber someone."

"Lee-kun is spending his valuable time helping us–!"

"You could make a shadow clone or something, right–?!"

"A shadow clone's attack pattern would be too similar to mine!!" she full-out yelled back. She turned back to me, flustered and blushing as she poked her fingers together. "Which is why we're very grateful to have Lee-kun's assistance today, and I'm sure Kurogiba-sama apologizes for his remarks–,"

"_You putting words into my mouth?_" he growled darkly behind her, and she flinched.

"N-n-n-not exactly, but it would certainly be nice to say sorry to–,"

"Don't be apologizing on my part, scrawny pup!!" he shouted, causing her to shrink away. "I'll name call whenever the heck I feel like it!"

"Kurogiba-sama, you're mean!" Hinata cried accusingly.

"I! Do! Not! Care!"

It was at about this point, at which I believe my sweatdrop sweatdropped, that I chose to intervene.

"Forget it!" I cried. "Let us be starting. It is fine."

The wolf muttered something along the lines of, "It better be," and Hinata clasped her hands in front of her still-blindfolded face, beaming.

"Arigatou!" she said, and her smile did not waver in the least as she ducked and Kurogiba's jaws snapped shut on the space her head had recently occupied.

I could only stare blankly.

_These two…_

* * *

To say the least, the feeling of soundly pummeling a near defenseless opponent at full power was one I had been glad to forget as Hinata had grown strong enough in her taijutsu training to protect herself against me. Frankly, I was not happy to revisit it.

She was not doing horribly, and – apparently due to the effects of the curse – she was a great deal sturdier than she had been back then. Even if she could take a hit in stride, she was _blindfolded_ and judging my moves from an unusual perspective; I could only imagine how difficult it had to be. And frequently, when she failed to respond to an attack altogether–

_THAM!! _

"Hinata-san!"

No matter how numerous they grew, these instances did not fail to boggle my mind.

First, I had naturally expected her to dodge. She had not even moved. Second, my foot had just crashed across her face with force I would not have used if I had _not_ expected her to dodge, and her head had snapped to the side, drops of black blood shooting from her mouth. Third, just as I was struck by the previous two and crying her name in concern, she faced me again and recovered her stance, mostly unaffected. And finally, as frazzled and confused as this sequence of events left me, she seemed fully unfazed.

My teeth clenched; she was going to kill me with worry! "Why did you not dodge?!" I demanded.

She shrugged slightly. "The wolf was at a bad angle and I was confused. I guess I was thinking for a little too long."

"Oh, so it's my fault?" Kurogiba snorted. "If it takes you that long trying to figure out whether to dodge left or right, you could at least _move_."

"Gr… I could go a little easier, until you get the hang of–!"

"No," she protested, shaking her head. "I only have a week left to learn this!"

"You are bleeding!" I said, watching the dark blood dripping off her chin.

"I'm fine, really. It'll heal quickly…"

"Are you sure I am not hurting you?"

"Hai," she said. Her eyes were not visible, but her mouth was set in determination. I sighed.

"After this, you are never making me train with you in this way again."

"Deal."

"Okay. Let us continue."

* * *

Two hours and several blows later, improvement _was_ evident after all. Hits were thankfully growing rare, and she at least reacted to every strike. Occasionally I was even forced to take the defensive when she found opportune moments for a sudden attack.

"Good, good…!" Kurogiba said, moving to keep a good eye on us. "That's it, koinu!" he went on as Hinata blocked three jabs. "You're learning to read!"

Sharp teeth grinding in concentration, she blocked a hard kick at her side and another at her head, than a sharp backfist, a punch thrown by the other hand, and a kick aimed for her middle. I threw another punch – and she leaned outside the attack, causing my fist to just barely miss her cheek.

In the same move as her evasion, her foot rose and lashed toward my gut.

_Shoot–!_

There was something dark at the corner of my eye, and a breeze at my side. Then a wide-eyed Hinata was ten yards away, her back at a tree, her jaw hanging slack, and her stomach area being intruded upon by the top of Kurogiba's head.

I stared in confusion as Hinata's hitai-ate clattered to the dirt between us. The wolf pulled away; the girl grunted, her eyes shutting as a wheezy cough sprayed black from her mouth. Embracing herself about her middle, she slid to the ground.

"Tell me what you did wrong."

"I d-don't know…" she whispered feebly.

"Did you see me coming?"

"No, but–,"

"Look at me," he commanded.

Slowly she opened her eyes. She raised her head.

"Think. What did you do wrong?"

Realization dawned on her face.

"Correct," he said, seemingly having read her thoughts. "You focused solely on my sensory perception, fully neglecting to mind my thoughts or actions. You had a full two hours and didn't bother trying to go further. I spent five minutes cursing you and your entire family out in my head, and you had no idea. I gave you three firm warnings in the last minute: 'I am going to attack you. I am going to attack you. I am about to attack you–' and you didn't notice. Now that you've mastered remaining yourself, you became too self-absorbed. Your mind. Your body. Your perception. Your surroundings, your position, your condition, your actions, and all the same for me – you must remain at least _aware_ of it, all of it, constantly. I know it's a huge amount of information to register, but we're focusing on the Soul Link, not on combat. So for today, you fail."

She bowed her head. "…I understand, K-Kurogiba-sama…" She flinched, and then her body relaxed, her head hanging as her hair shifted to blue and the pair of rings on each of her wrists faded. The pallor of her skin remained all but unchanged, however, and that alarmed me.

"Hinata…!"

"Exhausted." The wolf shook his head. "She's sleeping what's left of the day and through the night at least. Let her get some rest…"

With that, the blazing wolf abruptly bounded away and vanished.

_Quite ruthless … but he seems to mean well…_

I sighed. Then I walked over to Hinata and lifted her easily in my arms; very softly, the girl was already snoring. "Let us get back to camp, then."

* * *

**Naruto ****ナルト**

"Wake up!"

"_Gah!_" I cried as I was 'punched' by Gamakichi's tongue. "Aw, you got slime gunk all over my cheek!" I complained, trying to wipe off sticky toad spit and succeeding in smearing it around. _It smells like…!_

"Hey, not my fault you don't have the focus to keep from falling asleep," he berated as I attempted to clean my face.

I sighed, dipping my head. "I know…" I gathered up the book again from where it had fallen, closing it and balancing it on my head. "Gosh, I hate meditation! At least when I practice my chakra control I have something to focus on, but this is just so _boring!"_

"You're the one who asked me to help out, buddy," he pointed out as he hopped back onto my head to rest atop the book.

Muttering, I closed my eyes again. _I don't even know if this'll solve my problem or not, but it's worth a shot anyway. My body's grown a lot stronger; maybe I need to strengthen my mind._

* * *

**Hinata ****ヒナタ**

Gasping on my hands and knees, I watched as the seal's effects faded from my hands.

"What's wrong? It's hardly been half an hour! Hey… Koinu – koinu, can you hear me?!"

His voice was so far away … even though I could see him right there, right next to me… I shook my head. "I f-feel faint… What's wrong w-with me…?" I rested my forehead on the cool ground.

A paw shoved me just hard enough to roll me onto my back. "Breathe," he ordered quietly. A steady tremble shook my hands; my face was flushed against pale skin. I shut my eyes. "It's strange," Kurogiba began, "As long as you limit contact with the evil part of the seal, you ought to be immune to the deteriorating effects… yet each day your stamina falls short of the last. It should be the opposite – the more you use the seal, the longer you should be able to sustain it."

"I just … need to rest for a few minutes … that's all…"

"Hm…" He waited silently for two minutes before he spoke again. "Tell me, scrawny pup … what do you usually eat?"

Wiping beads of sweat off my brow, I slowly sat up. "What do you mean?"

"Just that – what do you typically eat in a day? Like yesterday for instance."

Thinking back, I briefly recounted what I'd eaten the day before.

"I see… So you've been having trouble hunting, then?"

"W-well…"

"When was the last time you ate any kind of bird?"

"E-eto…"

"Rodent?"

"Um…"

"Hare."

"…"

"Raccoon, duck, squirrel, anything–!"

"Okay! I haven't really eaten meat in the last two months – except fish, sometimes, when I really had a s-sort of craving…"

"YOU IDIOT!!!" he roared. "Good lord, why are you still alive?! Wait here!!" he yelled, and ran off.

"…What was that about?" I wondered, startled.

A few minutes later he returned and dropped a dead rabbit in front of me.

"Eat this."

I looked at it a long moment and blinked. Then I looked at the blazing wolf. Then: "What the _heck_, Kurogiba-sama?! _Seriously!!_"

"I'm not joking," he said sternly. "You've malnourished yourself. The occasional fish may be the only reason you're even functioning. But _quite_ seriously, scrawny koinu, if you keep this up you will die."

I started. "Wh-what?"

"Human – omnivore. Wolf – carnivore. A freak like you – omnivore with an _especially_ strong leaning toward carnivore, I'd say. Surely your body's been telling you what it needs? Why would you ignore it and refrain from eating meat?"

I looked down; my eyes landed on the lifeless rabbit, its broken neck, and I winced and looked away. "The first and only time I transformed, on a full moon, I…" I trailed off, deciding rather than finish to observe my hands in my lap.

"Ah… I see," he said. "Mum told me about that little rampage of yours; she was watching you at that time. Well, when I was alive I doubt even I was ever cruel enough to tear a bunny's steaming innards from its body while it was still squirming – huh? Whoops, my bad…"

I grimaced as my stomach lurched again. When I was sure I was done, I spat a few times and wiped my mouth, trembling.

The wolf sighed. "But even so, starving yourself will solve nothing. Listen to me. More than anything, I think the full moon transformation is largely for _feeding_. By using the aconite you've already skipped a full moon since your first, and the longer you defer the hunt, the more bloodthirsty you will be when you _do_ finally transform. The lack of meat in your diet makes things that much worse; the damage you did last time wouldn't even compare. As things are now, upon transformation you would most likely enter a violent frenzy, continuing to slaughter anything you could find even after your belly is full. And should you lose yourself to such a destructive rage I won't stand a chance of stopping you no matter how powerful the Soul Link's become."

"Tch…!" I looked away, not meeting his eyes.

"It's nothing to be ashamed of; the transformation is something you can't control, and even a scrawny little mutt's got to eat. What we can do is improve your chances of transforming into a state where you're able to maintain enough control over your mind to kill your prey as swiftly and painlessly as possible."

I grunted, grinding my teeth. If there really was no way around it… Finally I nodded.

He nodded back. "Good. Now, eat.

"Raw," he added when I started to get up for some wood, and I blanched. For a moment I felt I might throw up again.

"Kurogiba-sama … no offense, but I'm not a wolf. I'd be diseased."

"How many times do I have to say it? You're no ordinary human."

He was dead serious. I looked down at the rabbit, horrified.

"Go to the second level, and it won't feel so strange. I would say the third at least, but with the condition you're in you'd probably snap and jump to the fifth instantly."

Whimpering, I got on my knees in front of it. I looked back to him.

"Don't even bother giving me that look," he snapped. "Go on."

"…I c-c-can't…"

"You know, Lee's quite fortunate he never started bleeding during training the other day. You may have wound up taking a bite out of him–,"

"Don't even say that!!" I shrieked.

"Go on, then. Activate the mark."

I looked down a long moment. I took a shuddering deep breath … and drew out two rings of the curse's power.

I gasped, eyes widening. Bending over, I laid a hand on the rabbit and thrust my nose into its side. It smelled so…

My claws rested on it and faltered. My hand trembled. I realized, somewhat with disgust, that I was salivating.

Then a familiar presence nudged at my mind. I let him in, and the indecision was scorched out: My claws raked across it, shredding skin.

My teeth sank into muscle, and with me, through me, the wolf savored the first bite – a sensation long forgotten. Then, having gotten me started, he somewhat reluctantly left me to myself.

Only now realizing my great hunger, I ate ravenously, tearing, snapping, swallowing, tearing again. I devoured the warm, rich nourishment; little more than bones would be left behind.

The wolf sat down to wait. "When you finish that, we go hunting. Consider it practice for next week."

* * *

**Naruto ****ナルト**

Lee and I were finishing up sparring for the day when the wolf came trotting up, Hinata mysteriously absent.

"She's washing up now," he explained before he was asked, in an oddly good mood. "She'll come back soon." He promptly vanished.

Lee and I shared a look. Hinata was coming back to camp on her own? _Conscious_? That hadn't happened very often since she'd started training with the dumb dog…

Sure enough she arrived twenty minutes later, fully conscious and even seeming to possess a new energy about her. I couldn't even remember the last time I'd seen such a healthy glow to her skin. She gave a cheerful hello, and I smiled.

"Hey, Hinata-chan! How was training today?"

She blushed slightly. "It was … different."

* * *

**Lee ****リー**

"KONOHA SEMPUU!!!"

THAM!

Her crossed arms easily took the full and normally bone-crushing impact of the kick. Smirking, Hinata pushed me away and spun from the path of a rocketing mass of black fire. I jumped a safe distance away as Kurogiba skidded to a halt and began bombarding her with fire attacks, and I launched kunai after kunai from behind. She evaded it all, spinning and shifting and leaping and twisting and rolling smoothly from each projectile's path.

Kurogiba conjured a fist-sized sphere of fire within his mouth and spat it toward her; this one swerved to attack repeatedly as she dodged, and I was certain it was sheer ability to read his mind that allowed her to avoid a string of rapid fire attacks. At one evaded move it flew to her right, screeched to a halt, and shot toward her at ankle height. She jumped at the last possible second, and the fireball curved around to zip toward her head from behind; she bent forward, dodging even as her feet were returning to the ground.

Predicting their next moves, I launched a kunai. As the fireball shot back toward her she leaned away – and cut the kunai to pieces with a sudden cross-slashing of claws when the knife was inches from her head. I saw her left hand clench so that nails quickly bit the palm, and two fingers flicked out to send two bolts of darkness lashing into a returning fireball, dissipating it.

Hinata backflipped and immediately jumped up; in the same instant a ring of fire appeared, snapped shut, and vanished at her recent elbow level.

The wolf reared back, his tail lashing strongly at the air. Hinata reached the ground and jumped again, higher this time, as he swung his head around to unleash a great, sweeping wave of towering flames from his mouth.

I flung a kunai toward her, swiftly followed by two shuriken that arced around from either side. Her arms crossed her body, and I saw a hidden kunai slide from each sleeve into her hands. She leaned forward and uncrossed her arms; my kunai knife flew over her head, and the shuriken glanced off her kunai – one deflected up, and the other down – so that they whizzed harmlessly above and below her.

Whirling as she descended, she flung a kunai my way. I darted forward to avoid the speeding knife, certain its blunt tip would have easily knocked me unconscious had it hit–

"Kuso!" A kunai from directly ahead was narrowly avoided, grazing my cheek as I leaned aside.

And while my eyes were on the knife, Hinata lunged past from low on all fours. My jaw dropped, and she didn't even face me as her knuckles brushed lightly across my neck – a move that signified the slash of claws and certain death.

_Such speed…!_

Then Hinata was gone, and a blazing black wolf, butting his head forward, had taken her place.

_She_ was in the process of flipping over said wolf's back, balancing on one hand at the base of his neck. Her other hand slashed lightly across his neck as she slipped into a crouch on his back and sprang away.

"Aaaahh, I'm dying!" Kurogiba howled dramatically, staggering to the side and crashing even more dramatically to the ground. I grinned, and Hinata chuckled as she shook black fire from her claws.

"Urg…" She grunted as her skin colored and her hair lightened, fangs and claws morphing back to normal as the sets of three rings faded. She sank heavily to her knees, panting to recover her breath. "H-how was that, Kurogiba-sama?" she asked, pulling her headband away from her eyes and grinning weakly.

"Not half bad, I've got to admit," he answered, getting back to his feet. He was making half an effort to conceal it, but there was a note of pride in his voice. "We're just about ready, and four days early at that."

A few seconds of panting later, Hinata's eyes shut as her smile began to widen. Her teeth clenched, and she giggled quietly. Then she sprang upward. "Yatta!" she cried, fists in the air, for that one second looking and sounding for all the world like Naruto. She leapt toward Kurogiba, throwing her arms around his neck.

"I knew we could do it, Kurogiba-sama, I just knew it–!"

"Whoa, hey, back up!! Bad koinu! I said back! Three seconds before I burn you!" He semi-dissipated, reforming a safe distance away with his ears low and his tail tucked down.

"Thank you, Lee-kun!" she cried without missing a beat, hugging me next. I laughed.

"Do not mention it – that is what friends are for, is it not?" I said.

She nodded slightly before pulling away; her face grew a little more serious. "But, Kurogiba-sama…"

He flinched, clearly fearing another hugging attack. "…Yeah?"

"There's something I've been wanting to try."

* * *

"The prison?" I said as Hinata opened the trapdoor. "I thought you already said you could not follow a scent…?"

"I couldn't, then. But maybe…" Her Byakugan activated, and she jumped down through the trap.

"Um… Wait up!" I called, heading after her.

She ran down hallways, not seeming to mind or notice the dark. "I couldn't follow it on my own," she began as we went down a staircase. "But when Kurogiba-sama and I Soul Link, it's like our senses are combined! In ten seconds, his own, personal vision gains color. My hearing gets so sharp that it overwhelms me at first. And…" She turned sharply; I passed the hallway, backtracked, and went after her. "And even though Kurogiba-sama normally no longer has a sense of smell, he gains it back when we Link and my own nose becomes acute! What I'm saying is…"

She entered a small cell, slowing to a graceful stop and crouching down near one corner. I remembered. Here we figured they had kept Jiraiya-sama, and we had noticed a spot on the ground where it appeared he had attempted to write something. A small symbol was chipped into the floor, but he must have been interrupted; the half-complete kanji was illegible, holding no meaning. But more important now, I realized, was what he had gotten written was colored with his blood.

"I may be able to track him. This is the strongest sample of his scent I can get…"

She sniffed at the floor, spending a long, careful few moments memorizing the scent. Suddenly she grabbed my hand and bolted from the room, heading for the surface.

We emerged into daylight soon enough. I blinked as my eyes adjusted, and by the time they had Hinata was already crouched on the ground, the first ring of her curse seal active.

"Mind telling me what's going on?" Kurogiba asked irately, and I explained as Hinata slowly circled the door on all fours.

"Sure enough, I still can't pick up the scent on my own. It's too faint." She looked up. "Kurogiba-sama, could we…?"

He sighed. "I suppose."

In a moment she lowered her head once more, circling the door at a slightly wider radius.

_Will this really work? _I wondered, skeptical in spite of myself. _Will something actually go our way…?_

Hinata's eyes widened, and she halted. The girl sniffed so sharply I wondered how she had not drawn dirt up her nose–

"Achoo!"

She had. "Bless you."

"Thank you."

She smelled the ground again, and then turned slightly to her right. She took a few strides from the trap, and then looked back at us, shocked.

"I – I think I found it…"

I remained silent a moment as it sank in. Soon I found myself smiling. "Then I guess it is time to pack up camp?"

"Hai!"

* * *

**Neji****ネジ**

_I have. To get. Out of here!!_

This was bad. They didn't believe me. They thought it was a poorly constructed bluff, a threat. They had laughed – because who would be fool enough to fall for so ridiculous a story?

I'd told them to ask Sasuke.

Apparently he too had laughed and assured them it was a lie and that I was merely attempting to conspire with him, a call he wouldn't answer.

What was that stupid Uchiha playing at? Did he realize the extent of the damage I could cause?

...Did he _care?_

_Kuso… Kuso! I don't want to kill anyone!_

I had to escape. If not…

Then in four days, I doubted they would be laughing anymore.

* * *

**Hinata ****ヒナタ**

"Byakugan!" I whispered after weaving a string of seals. It had taken a full day of travel – with frequent rests due to excessive use of the Blood Seal – but we were here. We'd found it.

My gaze penetrated the boulder behind me and moved to the small lake and the waterfall twenty meters away.

"The entrance is ten meters north of the shore by the waterfall, covered in dead leaves," I said to the four; Gamakichi was here to see the outcome. "The layout is the same as the other prison. There _are_ people inside…" I was pushing my range, and focusing through solid rock was already difficult enough. I let just enough curse energy into my system to change my eye color, and gasped as my vision was sprawled out too far in every direction, hitting me with a hundred jumbled images.

_Come on…! _I concentrated on the underground prison and it alone, snapping my vision into focus, and it became as though I were there, racing down hallways, walking through walls…

There – a white-haired old man in ragged prison garb, lying on a futon in a small room, his breathing and heart rate unusually slow.

"I see him!" I gasped, panting for breath as my Byakugan deactivated. I rubbed my eyes until the trees in front of me quit swaying, and then looked to Naruto at my left. "Jiraiya-sama – he's the only prisoner there, at the lowest level, eight floors down."

Naruto nodded, handsom– deep purple eyes serious. "Got it. Leave it to me."

"What do you little brats think you're doing here?"

Lee and I whirled, moving hurriedly away from the boulder. A middle-aged man was balanced atop the stone, arms crossed over a chuunin vest as he glared suspiciously down at us. A bandana wrapping his head was adorned with a plate bearing the emblem of Oto.

"U-um… Selling cookies?" Lee tried.

The ninja raised a dusty blond eyebrow. "You should have had the cute one say that. Woulda' been a heck of a lot more believable…"

While he was saying this Naruto, who had yet to move from the boulder, shoved firmly at the air in front of him.

"Wah!" the Oto-nin cried in surprise, suddenly falling forward as if…

As if someone behind him had pushed him.

As I was busy blinking in confusion, Lee was already leaping forward and hacking the man's feet from under him with a kick so that he tipped forward. The moment after Naruto had done his shoving motion, he'd turned quickly while jumping a short way from the rock and drawing back a fist. Naruto swung his fist upward, but he was far too early–!

"_GAH!_"

In an illogical blur of orange and blue, Naruto – who I hadn't even seen jump – was midair and slamming a fist into the man's stomach.

I turned my head.

Naruto was still beside me – and promptly burst into smoke.

_What?! _I thought with a start, baffled. _That – I thought – I'm sure that was the real one!_

Naruto landed next to me and smirked as the man crashed heavily to the ground. "Heh! Taken out by two 'brats!'"

Lee jumped down from where he had perched on the boulder and began swiftly tying the Oto-nin's hands.

_Lee-kun is perfectly unsurprised… The two moved in a whirlwind together. Could that have been Naruto-kun's new technique? _I thought, wondering just how much I'd missed in the weeks I hadn't trained together with them.

I shook my head. _Byakugan!_

"Above ground, I don't see anyone else nearby at the moment. The guard is probably low to avoid drawing attention to the area, meaning there's likely a small number of elite shinobi within the prison…"

Seeing the look on my face, Naruto clenched a fist and grinned. "Don't you worry about me!" he said quietly. "Just wait, and me and that pervy sage'll both be out of there in one piece!"

I nodded, but it was all I could do to hide my concern. "Be careful…"

"I will," he said, his face turning more serious.

Without a word between us, Naruto, Lee, and I came together for a long group hug.

"This is what all the training has been for, is it not?" Lee asked.

"Yeah," Naruto said as we separated. "We won't fail. After we clear this hurdle … everything's going to be okay."

He held out his hand; my hand lied over it, and Lee's over mine.

Naruto looked up at us, meeting our eyes.

Wind rustled in the trees, stirred brittle leaves on the ground.

He was gone.

I rested my head on the boulder, clasping my hands over my heart. "Oh, Naruto-kun … be careful," I whispered.

Lee's hand clapped on my shoulder. "We would only slow him down. Naruto-kun is without question the best suited to infiltration and escape; with his gift, he will not be easy to catch or pin down. Have more faith in him, Hinata-san."

I nodded. "He'll come back. He has to."

A long, drawn out yawn rolled into the air. "Wake me up when something interesting happens."

"Kurogiba-sama, this is no time to be sleeping–!"

Lee's hand slapped over my mouth, and with a sharp intake of breath I sensed the presence of four people on the lake. Had they detected us yet…?

That faint sound, from the other side of the rock… Crackling… burning?

"Jump, Lee-kun!"

The stone exploded a second after we'd leapt away. _That was too close…_

I'd almost reached a tree branch to land on when I jerked to a halt like a dog that had reached the end of its leash.

On second thought, forget the dog on the leash and replace it with a puppet being yanked by its strings. I cried out as I went flying backwards; I had just activated my kekkei genkai to observe the fine strings when a net made of a similar substance wrapped around me. Immobilized, I hit the ground on my back and rolled several times. Lee landed in a similar situation nearby, struggling to escape.

"Well, well!" and arrogant voice called. "Look at what the cat dragged in!"

I turned my head to see the four people who stood fifteen meters away on the lake. They all wore a similar pale robe, black shorts, and purple obi. Smirking, the one who had just spoken had two out of his six arms crossed over his chest. Beside him was a larger man with orange hair. Casting a glare with mild interest, a red-headed girl deftly twirled what appeared to be a flute around her fingers. Finally, a sickly pale man who seemed to have a second head sticking out behind him was smiling eerily.

_They're all in their teens … not too much older than us… _I observed.

"So, what to do with them?" the two-headed one asked malevolently. "They're probably looking to cover for that other one's escape. When the guys inside capture their buddy, it won't really matter if these two are dead, right…?"

"I've got an idea!" the first man said. "How about we watch 'em struggle to escape, and with each minute that passes we get a little target practice…"

_Hmm… I wonder if I could…_

"You two are XXXXXXX sick," the girl spat.

"Language…" the chubby one chided at a sigh.

"Aw, come one, what's wrong with having a little fun? On this boring job, it's not like the chance comes by very often."

"Um, guys…?" the red-headed man said, pointing.

I sprang to my feet, shredded silk falling around me. Turning my nails into claws without full-out activating the mark, I loaded my left hand with chakra and slashed remaining webbing off my right forearm. Keeping an eye on the Oto-nin, I quickly helped Lee out.

"Not bad," the cocky one remarked as Lee stood up. "And come to think of it … I've seen that bloodline before."

The grey-haired man nodded. "This might just be a little interesting; it looks like our guests are up for a fight. Jirobo, how about it? We don't want them dying _too_ quickly after all."

Scowling slightly, the one he'd addressed took a step forward.

"But wait, how rude of us! We haven't even properly introduced ourselves. I am Kidomaru, of the East Gate."

"Jirobo of the South Gate."

"Sakon of the West Gate."

"Tayuya of the North Gate…"

"Otherwise known as the Sound Ninja Four," the spider-like Kidomaru finished smugly. "Sorry for our rudeness, but this job gets pretty dull. Now that we've courteously informed you who you're gonna be killed by, could we know who we have the pleasure of killing?"

My eyes narrowed. "Hyuuga Hinata."

"And I am Rock Lee. Sincerest apologies, but neither of us will be dying today."

"Heh! We'll see."

_They're extremely confident to send out only one… They really do seem to be looking at this as entertainment for now. But if we're able to give this Jirobo enough trouble, the other three may start looking for opportunities to attack by surprise. We need to stay on our toes._

I started as I remembered something important. That paper bomb… "Kurogiba-sama, are you okay?!" I called, turning my head. The wolf was merely sitting back by the trees, watching calmly. "What're you…?"

"I refuse to fight alongside you."

"B-but–!"

"It hasn't changed that you've yet to prove yourself, scrawny koinu," he barked. "Just because Okaa-sama accepted you does not mean I have to as well. You might as well forget I'm here. If it's a true fight with your enemies, I won't assist you in any way no matter what happens."

"K… Kurogiba-sama…"

"Don't you remember what I told you the second time you summoned me? I would help you master that filthy seal – nothing more, nothing less."

_So after all we've been through since then, even if it was just a few weeks… _I hung my head, shaken. My fists clenched. "I understand." I looked up, tucking my right arm behind my back and holding out the left, palm facing forward. My feet only a bit more than shoulder width apart, I bent my knees slightly. "Lee-kun."

He nodded with a grunt, assuming his Goken stance.

"Here I come!" Jirobo roared, running toward us.

"Get ready to move, Hinata-san."

"Hai!"

* * *

**Naruto ****ナルト**

With fleeting footsteps I sprinted silently down the dimly lit hallway, alarms blaring in my ears. Passing a side hall, I sent a kage bunshin running down it without a break in stride; I knew the way, and they didn't need to know I knew it.

_I need to get as low as possible before–!_

"You! Halt–!"

"Konoha Sempuu!" I cried, leaping toward the guard who'd come onto the hallway. He prepared to block the kick.

_About… Now._

Fifteen meters down the hall behind him, in the process of executing the Konoha Sempuu on empty air, a shadow clone appeared.

He made to substitute with me at the same moment I attempted to substitute with him – and being the exact same person, the trade of places was practically instantaneous.

I was landing silently and sprinting off, the THUD! of a blocked kick sounding behind me.

The clone would fight until dispelled, and at that point be dismissed as nothing more than one of the dozens of kage bunshin running about and putting the prison into a frenzy.

I raced down a flight of stairs. _Seven floors down! _I thought, turning the knob on the door at the bottom. I opened the door to a room with six shinobi throwing various weapons.

I glanced across the room to another open door. There was a flicker of orange and blue in the doorway as I pivoted and began to move back through the staircase door – and then I was there. Dozens of weapons thunked into the door now across the room from me as the kage bunshin closed it.

"After him!" I heard someone call, and the group set on the task of chasing the wrong 'me' as I swiftly turned a corner and kept moving.

A couple of turns later I entered a long room with a few wooden tables down its length; each had two crates on either side as chairs. I didn't slow down as four shinobi entered the room. When they were near a table set I planted a foot.

_Two at once!_

My other foot swung forward, and ten meters away from me two crates shot into the air, breaking across the heads of two of the guards. Taking another step, I kicked sharply again; the table cracked with a jump, and an Oto-nin who'd been prepared to step on it stumbled clumsily after crashing through it. My fist shot out, and he doubled over in pain. I jumped over him, pushing off his back to launch myself toward the last one. I struck out when I was still a few yards away…

And blurred nearer to punch crossed arms.

_Ch…_

A hand locked onto my arm as a fist swung at me. One kage-kawarimi later, I was looking over my shoulder to see the man nearly stumble when 'I' vanished before he struck.

"Yo," I called behind him, and when he turned around I mock-saluted and ran through the door, heading to the right down a hallway. I threw a sharp glance to the ceiling space outside the doorway.

_Shadow Substitution!_

A moment later I was lying hidden on the ceiling, another kage bunshin running down the hall in my place.

"Get back here–!"

As the guard raced from the room I dropped down behind him, delivered a swift hand chop to his neck, and took off in the opposite direction of the clone.

_I'm almost there, Ero-sennin! _I hurried down another flight of stairs. This floor seemed to be deserted; I encountered no one as I ran, heading first down a long hallway and turning left down another.

My eyes narrowed as I spotted a figure ahead, sitting down and leaning against the wall. I halted a fair distance away as the person began to stand.

"So, you actually made it," stated the man, stepping into the light. The blue-haired Oto-nin wore a pleasant smile on his calm face as he strode toward me, arms tucked behind his back. "I guess it's not really a surprise you made it past that incompetent lot, though, is it? Still, it seems you managed to give them quite a bit of trouble, little ghost."

There was something unnerving about him. I settled into a stance – or I would have, but my body wouldn't move.

_Shoot! Was it the Kageken? No…_

"Genjutsu…" I whispered, and flinched slightly as the man was suddenly before me.

"Correct," he declared with a smile, and a foot crashed into my chest. I shot fifteen yards before slamming into a rock wall.

_Concentrate! _I thought even as the impact knocked the wind out of me. This part was crucial. I slid to the ground, blinking in confusion. _…Success._

"It looks like you are the real one, after all. Sumimasen. It was an admirable effort, but this is as far as you go."

"K-kuso…" This one was too strong. Still trembling, I held up my hands. "You got me. I surrender."

"Thank you for your cooperation," he said cheerfully as others began approaching.

"Taichou-san, you're incredible…" another guard remarked, awed.

"He made it look so _easy_…"

The young captain smiled at them. "You are too kind. Please bring the boy to a cell, and take his weapons to a storage room."

"Yes, sir!"

Once my hands were bound and I'd been stripped of my shuriken holster, kunai pouch, and the massive two-hand sword on my back, I was escorted to a cell on the next hallway.

"So… your taichou is pretty tough, isn't he?" I asked idly as I watched the man unlock a door.

"I guess he is, or he wouldn't be captain, then, would he? What's it to you?"

I allowed myself to be pushed into the cell. "Oh, nothing really."

"What's with that look on your face, boy?" he snapped, eyeing me suspiciously.

"Just thinking … He's not quite as incredible as he seems, or else he would've noticed easy."

"Noticed?"

"Ja ne."

* * *

Such were the memories of a shadow clone. A shadow clone I'd put a huge deal of chakra into so it could withstand a good blow or two, but a shadow clone nonetheless.

"Sheesh, what is this thing made of? Sword's probably heavy as the kid was…"

The man who was 'escorting' me opened a door and tossed me inside along with a shuriken holster and kunai pouch. As he was shutting the door, I burst from the guise of a sword to land silently on my feet. I made to catch the kunai pouch, and as the pouch itself vanished a very real key the clone had snatched a few floors ago slipped into my hand.

Pocketing it, I darted toward the closing door and rested my hands on it.

"What the…? This door is stuck…" When he finally thought to open it again, I slammed a fist into his face.

"Taichou!" I heard a distant voice already echoing down the halls. I grabbed the dazed man's arm before he fell, hit the back of his neck, threw him into the storage room, performed a quick henge, and slammed the door shut.

"Taichou, taichou!" I cried, masked in the unconscious guard's appearance as I ran back the way we'd come.

"What is it?" the blue-haired Oto captain asked; he, the other guard, and I met at the juncture of the hallways.

"T-taichou, the brat just vanished!"

"His weapons, too! It must've been another clone!" I pitched in.

The man sighed. "It is possible that he was merely on a reconnaissance mission from the start; in that case the real one may be long gone… You two stay here. Watch the cell while I check around the rest of the prison."

"Hai!" the two of us replied. His face slightly troubled, he nodded and flickered away.

I motioned to the guard. "Come on – let's go. The intruder could still be within the prison."

"Oh, man," he whimpered as we started down the hall toward the cell. "This is insane! It's like trying to capture a ghost! He could be anywhere!"

"Yeah…" I agreed, snickering on the inside. Turning to face him, I put a reassuring hand on the shaken man's shoulder. "But it's nothing to worry about; Taichou-san can handle him."

"You're right," he said, calming down a bit.

"Hey, do you hear something?" _Release the henge as soon as you appear, _I thought, looking over his shoulder.

"L-like what?"

I started in mock surprise and pointed past him. "There he is!!"

"Where?!" the man cried, whirling. That was all I needed.

THUD!

His hand had only gotten halfway to his kunai pouch before he went limp, dropping to the ground.

I released my own henge, and at my thumbs-up the clone dispelled itself. Then I turned around, my eyes locking on the metal door fifteen yards away.

_I'm coming … Jiraiya-sensei!_

* * *

**ナルト ****/ ****リー ****/ ****ヒナタ ****\ ****ハナビ ****\ ****ネジ**

**End Chapter Ten**

**Naruto: **_On the next episode of DragonBall Z–! _(*brick to the head*)

**Neji: **NO!

_(–static–)_

**Naruto: **I don't care how strong he is, I have to try! I'm _not_ leaving without you!

**Lee: **How…? How could I let this happen? Kuso! I was supposed to protect them!! Watch out, I am getting SERIOUS!!!

**Hinata: **Naruto-kun is set on rescuing Jiraiya-sama no matter what it takes, and as the two of us are pushed to our limits, Lee-kun explodes and unleashes his full power! But will his new techniques be enough for us to come out victorious? It all comes down to this! We can't fail here!

**Naruto: **Right!

**Lee: **YOSH!!!

**Neji: **Is anyone coming to rescue _me_?

**Hanabi: **Who cares? Don't miss **Chapter Eleven: Explosion**!

Whoa… I can't remember the last chapter this short. Probably like, chapter 3 or 4 or something…

Not sure about the next chapter's title yet, it might change. But it shouldn't be too long before eleven is out, because SCHOOL'S OUT 4 **SUMMER!**!!

How was the chapter? I think this one turned out in the middle, not excellent, not bad... It just seems like my writing doesn't flow so well anymore... Still, I hope you enjoyed it!

You didn't expect the Sound Four, did you ;)? Does the Kageken make a little more sense now? The basics were explained; We already know how he can punch someone from a distance, but its 'teleportation' power lies in "Shadow Substitutions" in which Naruto creates a clone and instantly substitutes with it. Pretty slick, huh? ;) And Shikamaru being 'kage' doesn't really mean a whole lot, so please don't freak out and go 'that doesn't make sense, how is he the leader?!' Yes, I realize Shika isn't the strongest ninja in New Konoha!

On a side note: iruka=dolphin

**NOTICE!! **I've been thinking about changing my pen name. I mean, it's pretty generic and unoriginal, just "Hinata" and numbers… so I might change it soon.

Review to celebrate the anniversary! …Please?

Laters!

:o)Hinata0321:o)


	11. New Assignment

J3F\\\ Journey of the Three Failures

Chapter Eleven

I SURVIVED SUMMER CAMP!!! OH YEAH!!!

Yeah… Several-week camp for student athletes to stay in shape over summer. It wasn't easy, but I made it! Now it's time to enjoy the rest of summer! (Wait… I really should get started on that summer reading… Hm…)

;) Thanks so much to everyone who reviewed, favorited, or alerted! Thanks **Rena-san, Omega the Darkness, The Laughing Phoenix, chibi heishi, Creshto, SaphireShade, Naybi, Cybergades, fried ryce, KyuubiReborn, stinkyhead, Zack-kun, FantomoDrako, Monte-chan, nitti770, Stygian Styx, EvilAngel767, **and** Kokuryu **for all your reviews!

Hm… I'm surprised no one commented last chapter on Hinata's stance. If you were really paying attention or visualizing, you might have noticed something odd about it. Whether you caught it or not, it'll be explained this chapter so no worries!

As you can see I didn't change my pen name… It's like on the one hand, the new one I thought of is so cool! And on the other, I've been Hinata0321 for so long, and Katara0321 before that… meh, whatever!

My sister gave me my first driving lesson the other day! She was all, "Give it some gas… gas… a little more…" and I was so freaking out going like 5 mph in an empty parking lot… Anywho!

**Disclaimer: **Naruto is the property of Masashi Kishimoto and TV Tokyo. The abridged series is a… Wait, what?

XD I don't own _NARUTO_!

* * *

**Journey of the Three Failures**

**Eleven: New Assignment**

**Part One: Prison Break**

**Lee ****リー**

"Get ready to move, Hinata-san."

"Hai!"

With a roaring battle cry, Jirobo slammed his fist into the ground to send out a violent wave of earth-cracking force that threw a cloud of dust into the air.

"Watch it, fatso! There's a XXXXXXX underground prison nearby, remember?!" the girl, Tayuya, shouted.

Our current foe looked around as the dust cleared. "Where'd they go?"

"DYNAMIC ENTRY!!!" I yelled, descending from a great height to drive my foot into the back of his head. He would likely have fallen over, but the moment after my hit landed Hinata dashed in, rolling nimbly onto her hands to launch a heavy kick into his stomach. He gagged and staggered backwards a few steps, but was too sturdy to fall so quickly.

I landed next to Hinata as she rose to full height in stance.

"Strike fast and hard!"

"Right!"

Jirobo's eyes grew as the two of us quite possibly all but vanished to them. My fist crashed into his face; Hinata's palm thudded into his back. Then we moved and struck again. The man locked his hands behind his head in defense as we continued bombarding him with attacks, racing around him rapidly and unpredictably; I moved freely in the lead, and Hinata, with the Byakugan, avoided running into me and struck somewhere else each time I attacked.

"Stupid … brats – GAH! Stop … it!!" our foe yelled angrily, eyes shut as he withstood it.

"Oh man, this is embarrassing!" Kidomaru laughed.

"What the XXXX are you doing, fatXXX?! You're getting the XXXX kicked out of you!!"

"Hurry up and get serious, or you won't last much longer!" Sakon advised.

I drove a fist straight into his gut, leaning forward as I did so. I felt small hands on my shoulders, and then feet on my upper back, and after the brief crouch Hinata sprang upward to slam a fist into the young man's jaw.

_That should do it._

He staggered back, shaky but staying on his feet.

What?! "Hinata!" I said as she landed beside me. I jumped forward into a Konoha Sempuu, and the slightly dazed man raised his arms to block high.

He gasped as I sailed over his head – and by the time he noticed the girl lunging toward him I was certain he was too late.

_Put all your strength behind this palm…!_

_THWACK!_

An angry swing of a heavy arm – and the back of Jirobo's fist met Hinata's shocked face.

I saw Kurogiba leap aside holding Gamakichi by the toad's dark cape – a moment before Hinata went shooting into the treeline, raising a long trail of dust through the forest.

…_Kuso._

I punched hard into the center of his back, and then near instantly appeared at the front. I struck … and my fist was engulfed by a strong hand.

He pulled on my hand and rammed his knee into my stomach; the force sent a small spurt of crimson from my mouth. Gaping in shock, I felt a heavy palm drop onto my back, and I smacked into the ground.

Wheezing, I began to curl up on my side. The sound of breaking rock came from nearby, and by the time my eyes focused Jirobo was standing in front of me. Strange black markings were spreading across his body. And above his head he held a massive boulder.

"What's the matter? Too skinny to take a hit?" he taunted. He prepared to slam the boulder down.

_I cannot move in t-time…! _I raised my arms in front of my face instinctively, as if it could save me, and tightly shut my eyes.

…

I did not feel a thing. Had I died that suddenly?

"What … the heck?" I heard Jirobo whisper.

Hesitantly I opened my eyes and gasped.

"Hinata-san…" I breathed.

The girl was standing over me in a crouch, her hair black, her skin white, and her hands upraised to hold off the boulder Jirobo was trying to push down.

"What's the matter?" she growled lowly. "Maybe you didn't strike at full strength because I'm a girl? How chivalrous."

_That thing … must be ten times her size…_

"Grr… Stupid brat! Why can't … I crush her?!"

Hinata grunted, a fourth black ring encircling her wrist as her knees and elbows bent further, and the rock soon rested on her shoulders. The ground crackled at her feet. She trembled in effort, her breathing labored, and I started as I _heard _muscles tearing and bones popping. _She is pushing her limits!_

"_Lee-kun_!" she screeched.

"Right!" I got up and placed my hands on the boulder behind her, and together we shoved it forward. Jirobo was forced off his feet, and cried out in pain as the stone landed on top of him.

"Hinata-san!" I ducked under her arm, catching it around my shoulders before she fell. "Are you all right?"

After gasping a moment, she looked to me. She tensed as malice suddenly flashed into her eyes, but panic rapidly overtook it before she jumped away from me as if burned. She swore sharply, hands covering her nose until she got two of the four rings to disappear, and I understood: I was bleeding.

"Never better," she said shakily, looking back to our foes. Jirobo, trembling on the ground, slowly began to sit up. The other three, now carrying a degree of uneasiness about them, were talking.

"…Well," Sakon mused, "It's no surprise that they're both individually faster than Jirobo, but _combined_ they're plenty stronger, too."

"Hey, it's not just me, right? Is anyone else finding those features a little familiar?" Kidomaru asked, glaring Hinata's way.

Tayuya nodded. "The same seal as that XXXXXX Neji…"

Hinata was surprised. "What do you know about my cousin?"

"Cousin, huh?" Sakon sneered. Similarly to Jirobo, black markings began to slide over the others' skin in various patterns. "Sorry, but as much as we'd love to chat about Lord Orochimaru's new favorite pet…"

"I'd say it's about time we joined in on this game," Kidomaru finished with a smirk. "We can't exactly have Jirobo dying on us, after all."

I frowned. _From two on one for us to two on four against us. This is not good…_

* * *

**Naruto ****ナルト**

My hand froze, leaving the key only inches from the door. It was too simple; my instincts smelled something fishy about now. Moving aside, I handed the key over to a shadow clone that appeared. The replication inserted the key into the lock – and amid yelping and jerking away involuntarily burst into smoke. The key clattered to the ground.

"Hm…" I leaned forward, examining the door's lock as well as I could without touching it. In the dim lighting I could barely make out odd black symbols decorating the lock – seals, I realized. The door was rigged. _Good thing I checked…_

I picked up the key, turning it over in my hand; a tiny collection of seals had been etched down its length. I remembered, just minutes ago, wondering why a fraction of the guards had strange tattoo-looking marks on their hands… This was more Hinata's area of expertise, but I had a hunch that the unlocking of the cell required three parts – the seals on the lock, the key, and the hand. If one tried to pick the lock, it probably wouldn't open, and if the wrong person (say, an unwitting intruder) tried to use a stolen key, they'd be knocked out by a reaction between it and the lock. How tricky…

I sent a new shadow clone down the hall to fetch the last guard I'd knocked out. While I was waiting, I looked back toward the door. My sensei of one month was on the other side of it…

I raised my hand, recalling from academy days the lessons in a communication code using sounds and struggling to remember a certain phrase. My fist knocked on the door.

'_I am … a friend… Are you hurt…?'_

I waited, but no reply came. Shoot. Who knows what I just said? I should've studied more–

'_I am … uninjured … no … chakra.'_

I listened carefully. That made sense then, they had him on chakra suppressants or something. I snapped back to attention as more taps came from the other side of the wall. Rather than use common words or phrases, he used the alphabet.

'_Tsu…na…de…?'_

Why did that sound so familiar? Anyways, it had been a question, so I replied back.

'_No … E…ro…se…n…ni…n.'_

There was silence. Then a flurry of taps so sloppy with haste I could barely make it out.

'_Na…ru…to…?…!'_

* * *

**Hinata ****ヒナタ**

_He's only trying to stall! _I thought, glaring down the spider-like Sound ninja. _He's just keeping me busy … while the other three…_

My gaze drifted over his shoulder to the battle taking place near the lake. Lee was barely holding his own through dodging alone; outnumbered, he was left little chance to attack. More importantly, however, while Lee _was _still holding his own I needed to use the opportunity to take Kidomaru down while we were one-on-one – to tip the battle two-on-three before _they_ could turn it one-on-four.

"I'd pay attention if I were you, Hyuuga-hime!" he called tauntingly. "I'm your opponent now!"

_I need to defeat him, fast… He's not taking me seriously, and that can be an advantage…_

"What is it? Not going to say anything, Hyuuga-hime?" he laughed as I knelt and slipped a hand under each pants leg to retrieve two sets of weights. A hint of curiosity surfaced on his face as I rose to full height, holding my arms out to my sides. There was no time to spare.

My hands opened, the restraints fell to the ground, and two plumes of smoke burst upward higher than I was tall.

Kidomaru raised an eyebrow, whistling. "Interesting… but you know, I noticed something when I caught you in my web earlier. By releasing chakra from tenketsu all over your body, you were able to cut the threads; Neji could do the same thing. Funny thing though, _you_ weren't able to cut all of them."

_Shoot! _I thought. He'd caught on that quickly?

"There's something wrong with that arm of yours, isn't there? That why you've got it all bandaged up?"

I growled. He'd avoided close combat, likely wary of the Jūken or poor at taijutsu himself. However, it would be easy to close the distance between us now… "This makes me no weaker than Neji. Besides, what does a small weakness matter if I'm too fast for you to exploit it?!" I shouted, preparing to attack. I lunged forward – only to be halted by a strong backwards jerk on my right arm. The sharp force spun me around; it was then that I noticed a fine thread around my forearm, leading to a tree that had been behind me and draped around the trunk to more than likely trail back past me to Kidomaru. Of course I didn't know for sure … because I was currently facing away from him.

"Kuso!" My left hand darted to the thread.

"What does your speed matter if I've _already_ exploited it?!"

The thread snapped, and a sharp blow impacted my back. Gasping, I hit the ground. A foot nudged my side roughly, and a smug laugh reached my ears.

"You know, none of us four could top Neji; he was too much for us. Lucky for us though, you're not quite as _gifted_ as your cousin, are you?"

…Did he not realize I was fully conscious? _He thinks that blow stunned me._

"You're not even worth playing w–!" He swore in surprise as I sprang toward him.

His fist shot into my face, forcibly turning my head aside. And then I turned it right back around, growling as I thrust a palm to his chest before _my_ fist smashed into his face.

The unexpected hit sent him bouncing and rolling fifteen yards, where he was stopped by a tree that shuddered at the impact. Leaving him good and dazed, I turned my head.

"_Lee-kun!_"

* * *

**Lee ****リー**

_Something is not right here…_

I yelped, barely managing to stop the grey-haired shinobi's fist. Then I glimpsed another _arm_ springing from the one I had just blocked – and two sharp impacts at my face and stomach sent me reeling.

_What sort of genjutsu is this?!_

I hurriedly crossed my arms as he punched again, successfully catching two impacts while a third caught me painfully in the ribs. Wincing, I leaned away to dodge the following swing in vain. Just as his fist passed harmlessly in front of my face, a brutal force slammed against my cheek; I spun on heel and staggered away, fighting to regain my stance.

It had to be that flute music! Somehow without affecting her comrades, the girl was casting some form of sound-based illusion that was dulling my focus and reaction speed. That much I could tell. However, whether the extra appendages that sprang from Sakon's limbs were part of the genjutsu or not, I could not even be sure. I was so weakened that the man was merely playing with me at this point; Jirobo stood near Tayuya, ready to protect her to prevent her tune from being interrupted.

Spitting the blood that was pooling in my mouth, I raised my arms in a defensive stance.

"Getting tired?" Sakon jeered. Suddenly he was very near and attacking.

"Unh!" I dodged, shunting his arm aside as he lunged in with a punch. As he passed me he turned his head to smirk.

Another arm exploded from his shoulder. Pain crashed into my head, and my sight vanished for a moment.

"Multiple fists barrage!!"

I was helpless as I felt three sharp blows at my abdomen, followed blindingly by three more. Bending over in pain, I saw a foot swinging up toward my face and swiftly blocked it. A foot morphed out of the shin to shoot upward. Force slammed into my jaw; I saw stars.

My back hit the ground, and I lied stunned.

"That was too easy," a voice swam in my ears. "Shame – after the way they dominated Jirobo, I was looking forward to a bit of a challenge. Maybe we should have gone a little easier on him… Eh?"

My teeth gritted together as I began to stand. At steady intervals a drop of blood dripped off my chin, pooling on the ground before me. "I am not finished; not even close. For myself … for Hinata-san and Naruto-kun … for the entire Hidden Leaf Village… Fighting for them, I REFUSE to be defeated!!!"

"Take a good look at yourself," Sakon said, sneering. "You won't last."

Tayuya's numbing tune in effect once more, he suddenly attacked. I blocked the strike, and he jumped away again. _What…?_

"_Lee-kun!_"

A blur of different things took place in the next moment. Sakon's hair whipped in a breeze as a figure shot past him from behind; four deep lines were gouged into his upper arm, sending blood flying from the wounds. As he was crying out, a bloody hand on my chest forcefully shoved me back. And a boulder flew in to smash against Hinata's side.

Black-and-white eyes widened, losing their focus on me as her mouth burst open to streak a splash of black blood through the air as she flew. The rock shook the earth as it landed, and a moment later she too hit the ground, rolled several yards, and lied unmoving.

"Hinata!!"

Two figures flickered to where their leader writhed on the ground in pain. "XXXX, Sakon! Are you okay?!"

"She c-cut t-to – the bone!" he yowled, holding his arm. His eyes were wide and furious as he slowly got up. "Kuso – lousy piece of garbage! She's going to pay…!"

"You don't have to worry about that, I think she already did. She took the hit for her buddy, and I don't think she's getting up."

_Took the hit … for me…_

"Uh-oh!" Tayuya laughed. "Watch out, fatso, I think you made him angry!"

My teeth were grinding; I took a deep breath. _Calm down. Just have faith in her, and focus on the battle at hand. You already know for a fact that Hinata-san could not be killed that easily._

_But still…_

I removed not only my leg weights, but a set of arm weights as well.

"Gomen," I said coolly. "I am afraid it is time to wrap this up before things get out of hand."

I swung my arms, throwing the four sets of weights so that they arced high in the air and would land in the space between us. For at least a brief moment, all three of the Oto-nin glanced up toward them – but their eyes darted straight back to me as I drew the katana in an instant, crossing them before me with a sharp, ringing clang of steel.

Their eyes held mine.

The weights drifted to the ground.

I bent my knees.

_**BOOM!!!**_

A moment later I was standing in the same place but facing the opposite direction in a low crouch, swords outstretched behind me as my feet slid a few inches through the dirt.

I looked over my shoulder as the dust cloud leaped outward, dispersing as explosively as it had appeared to reveal the three again. I met their eyes, picking up the briefly broken contact.

A drop of blood fell from the tip of a sword.

"Blade of Infinity."

Before it hit the ground, three screams pierced the air as crimson spilled at once from dozens of places across their bodies.

"The wounds are not fatal," I said calmly. "Please, surrender."

"K-kuso–!"

I was standing behind them. Tayuya's flute was in three pieces by the time it reached her lips. She swore again, fearfully this time.

"Back to back!" Sakon cried, and they formed a triangle and waited tensely.

I took off sprinting around them, circling from two yards away with a sword in the ground to raise a ring of dust. Then I dashed in and circled quickly around them twice more before shooting away, skidding to a halt with one blade upraised and the other low – and another few dozen cuts appeared.

Bellowing an angry cry, Jirobo ran toward me while my back was still to them. He swung a fist; I spun aside as he struck, allowing him to pass me before running a blade shallowly from his hip to shoulder and then planting a forceful kick on his back.

I spotted a kunai leaving Sakon's hand, but it was several yards off target – I sprinted to intercept it, slashing it in two well before it could reach Hinata where she lay motionless. The pale man flinched as I met his eyes, and I turned to sprint again.

"_AGH!!_"

"The next will be a vital point," I growled in warning, pulling the katana from his abdomen. Grunting, he fell to his knees.

"P-please!" he said, eyes wide in terror. "I'm sorry! L-let's – let's talk this over–!"

"Do you surrender, then?"

He bowed his head. "Yes! Yes! Please, just spare our l-lives…!"

My face softened. The katana slid back into their sheaths.

Perhaps I was mistaken, but a small chuckle seemed to enter the air. I frowned, looking at his bowed head. Something was wrong…

Had he not had two heads earlier?

"Game over."

I gasped as two arms hooked under my own from behind.

_What?!_

"Rock Lee, I'd like you to meet my brother, Ukon," Sakon said, smirking as he stood. I was taken aback; he looked completely different, now with reddish skin and sporting one horn and long, demonic fangs.

"It looks like I came at the right time, brother. What a pitiful show you were putting on," the one behind me, Ukon, said.

Sakon growled – and his fist made painful contact with my face. "I ought to punch you instead. Like you could have done any better." He swung with his other hand, and I fell to the ground as I was released. I would feign unconsciousness for the moment; his blows had been stronger than before, meaning they would have little trouble believing I had fainted.

"What – no gratitude after I came out to save us? I'm hurt, brother. Still, it's hard to believe a little brat actually managed to push us this far…"

I sprang up, nailing Ukon in the jaw with a sharp punch before turning to lash a kick across Sakon's face with force that sufficed to send him sailing a good few yards. Then I turned on Jirobo, who had begun walking toward us while I was down.

_I still have the upper hand in speed!_

I drew back a fist, and just as I was prepared to put it in his stomach a rain of flute music danced into the air. I was frozen in my tracks, paralyzed by the tune.

_I destroyed that flute! _I thought, teeth grinding as my eyes shifted to Tayuya. She had changed as well; her skin was dark, and white horns protruded past her hair. Was it because of this transformation that the genjutsu was stronger?

"I see you repaired your flute in record time," Jirobo remarked, and I saw that he too had changed. My eyes widened as he now prepared to strike while I was unable to move. He drove his fist into my stomach, an uppercut that raised me well off the ground and knocked the wind from my lungs; before I landed another tremendous punch crashed into the side of my face, sending me bouncing away until I was stopped by a foot at my back.

_What … happened…? _I thought, trembling as my mind danced on the verge of unconsciousness. _They are – so much s-stronger than before… _The tune ended, but still I was unable to move. A claw-tipped hand clutched my arm, and Sakon dragged me up and set me lightly on my feet. He reached over my shoulder and slid a katana from its sheath, and I was too weak to do a thing. _No…_

He raised the sword up, smiling maliciously. "Well, little punk? Not so tough anymore, are–?!"

She came from behind – blazing in on all fours and leaping toward him from five yards back with a terrible, ferocious growl, onyx claws spread wide to slash.

My heart soared.

Sakon began to turn his head.

_Hinata–!_

There was a breeze at my left ear.

Sakon winced as a cut appeared on his cheek.

_SHLUGK!!_

The sound of tearing flesh.

I blinked … and my jaw fell.

The feral rage on Hinata's face gave way to shock as black blood hit the ground.

The world creaked to a halt, hanging torturously motionless to stretch the horrific scene out into one I would all the more surely never be able to forget. My blood froze over as she was suspended a moment in the air, drifting backwards from the force. I screamed something. The projectile blasted its way through distant trees behind her, vanishing from sight. Surprise painted her features and widened her eyes to their limits, the effects of the curse fading as too much dark blood erupted from the mouth. More than anything else, however, my eyes were glued to the hole that had been punched through her stomach.

Then she crashed to the ground with a heavy thud, and a blaze of terror stabbed through my veins.

"_NO!!!_" I screamed, running to her. My knees met the ground at her side. My heart was hammering out of my chest. "Hinata-san – Hinata, say something!!" I tried not to look at the wound or the blood. It was not easy. Crimson was beginning to spread along the ground from her body. Her mouth was leaking a steady trail of it.

Even gasping raggedly, shallowly, and wincing in pain, she managed a weak smile as she shakily turned her head to look toward me. Her eyes were unfocused as she spoke.

"S-sor…ry…" she breathed, her voice a ghost's breath on the air. "You're on … y-your own … Lee…_k…_" A gurgling noise rose up in her throat. Her eyes left me as her head fell to the side, a splash of crimson spattering the dirt by her mouth as she shuddered … and fell still.

I shook my head numbly. "No_…_"

Naruto – no. Naruto did bruises, scratches, and minor burns. Something like this was…

So in short, even if she was not gone yet, she would be in a matter of minutes. Maybe less.

_Why … why are you … apologizing…? I am the one … who let this happen…_

It was hard to breathe. A shaking hand moved to cup her cheek but faltered, merely brushing with fingers the cold skin of her weary face. She looked almost exactly as she did that day after training … she just … was not … snoring…

_Such a kind, youthful flower … so soon after blooming … must be made to wither away…?_

Very slowly I stood on bones made of rubber, swaying slightly for a moment. I turned my head and then my body, one leg at a time, until I faced him. I took three loose, wobbly steps forward.

He looked different, but it was him.

That one. Kidomaru.

He did it.

"_SIXTH GATE – __**OPEEEEEEEENNN!!!**__"_

* * *

**Naruto ****ナルト**

"The tattoo that he had a minute ago … disappeared?" I mumbled to myself. My brow furrowed as I examined the unconscious guard's hand, now devoid of any markings. I knew what I'd seen earlier; this guy had definitely been among the fraction with the markings on their hands. How could he have gotten the pattern to fade?

"Chakra," I whispered as it struck me. The chakra flow slowed in sleep or unconsciousness. The seals must've reacted to chakra, made to vanish should his chakra flow decrease if, say, he was knocked out by an intruder.

_There's no time for this! _I thought, placing my palms on his arm. I channeled chakra into my hands, pumping the energy into him. He grunted in his sleep, and the pattern of seals burst into existence, flying to coat his hand.

A shadow clone popped up next to me. While I continued letting my chakra flow into his arm, the clone took the man's hand and folded his fingers around the key. Holding his hand, the bunshin got him to insert the key into the lock.

I nearly jumped when the black markings on the lock, the key, and the man's hand suddenly glowed green. A similar green glow crawled along the outline of the door, creeping outward along the wall to form an intricate design of hundreds of seals. Once it had spread a foot from the door, the light grew blinding … and vanished.

…What?!

"Aw, come on!" I cried quietly, banging a hand on the door.

I hadn't expected it to fall open, so I toppled into the cell with a clumsy cry of surprise.

"N… Naruto…?"

I looked up at the hoarse voice, and my eyes widened as they fell on the aged sannin's disbelieving face.

"Ero-sennin!" I gasped.

"Wh… How did you…?" The man was baffled; he blinked weary but shocked eyes as I hurried toward him. "I don't understand…"

I inspected the chain that linked a metal ring on his ankle to the wall. "Me and my friends are busting you out of here. What's there not to get?" Loading a kunai with chakra, I slammed it against the chain to snap it between the blade and the ground. "Hey, what are these metal things?" I asked, noticing three more rings on his wrists and other ankle. There were no chains on them, so what were they there for?

"Chakra restraints," he said. "They slow the flow of chakra almost to nothing, permitting just enough circulation to keep me alive – hey!" he said as I swung a chakra-filled knife toward his wrist. The kunai fell to pieces on contact with the ring, and a sharp, electrical jolt was sent through my hand.

"Ouch!" I cried, dropping what remained of the knife.

"That's not going to work! These things can't be destroyed that easily."

"Okay, then, we'll worry about those later. Can you run?" I asked.

He got to his feet with a grunt. "Yeah, I think so…"

"Good. Just stay close to me," I said, taking his hand. "Trust me. We'll be out of here in no time."

He looked at me a long moment. "…What's _happened_ to you?" he seemed to wonder aloud.

"If you mean my eye color, I'm not totally sure…"

"It's not just the eyes."

I smirked. "I don't know what you mean, then. We'll have plenty of time to talk about whatever it is once we get back to the surface, won't we?"

He nodded. "Right."

"Let's go," I said, running from the cell with him close behind. We went down the empty hallway, and when we reached the end of it I turned right.

"Argh!"

Jiraiya's hand left mine, and I turned to see him stumble back as if he'd run smack into a wall.

"What's wrong?" I asked, walking back to him.

"A barrier," he said, lying his hand on the invisible wall. Where he touched, energy sparked to life to stop his hand from passing.

"How come I got through it just fine?" I asked, holding out my arm. It passed easily thought the wall of energy even as he struggled against it.

Suddenly forced away, he clutched a hand at his chest, a little beneath the center of his collarbone. "It's … th-this seal," he said after a moment of panting. He pulled down the neck of his plain, grey shirt, revealing a kanji that glowed the same angry red as the barrier.

I swore, examining the walls at the sides of the barrier. Markings I hadn't noticed before lined them from floor to ceiling, emanating a soft glow. "Kuso!" I swore again. "They sure don't want you going anywhere!" I knew there hadn't been any marks like these in the abandoned prison; we'd had the time to inspect that one inside-out. I spat on my hand and tried to rub some seals off, but they didn't even smudge. "How do you get rid of these?"

"More than likely, there's one person who can remove them. I'd also bet money it's the strongest Oto-nin in this prison…"

"You'd bet well."

I turned quickly to spot the blue-haired, calm-voiced Sound captain standing down the hall near the cell, pretty close to where he'd been sitting the first time I saw him. He sighed, a gentle smile still on his face.

"How unseemly of me. It would appear I've allowed you to deceive me, little ghost."

Okay, this was not looking good. Time to bluff.

"I'm glad you're here!" I called. "Listen up! You have five seconds to dispel this barrier before I annihilate you!"

He raised a slender brow. "Oh? But I'm not sure you could."

"What are you saying?" Jiraiya hissed behind me. "This fellow is high ANBU level. At full strength it might even take _me_ some effort to finish him."

I ground my teeth. "Yeah, so what?"

"It's over. Make a run for it–,"

"No way am I doing that!"

"What do you think you can do?"

"I don't know – but I'm not about to fail here without finding out!" I cried, drawing back a fist. The guard's cool gaze became analytical as he watched.

_Shadow Strike!_

His arms were suddenly crossed and well positioned. The clone flickered in and out of existence, its punch blocked.

"Interesting use of kage bunshin!" he remarked cheerfully as I stared on in surprise. To figure me out that fast…

_He's good. _Teeth clenching, I struck again. He dodged or blocked each clone's strike as I continued to pummel the air in front of me. Suddenly he produced a kunai.

I cried out in pain, hands clutching my chest.

"I thought so. Linking your movements this way makes you more susceptible to the copies' pain, doesn't it?"

_Kuso! He's already onto my weakness too!_

"So what will you do now?" he asked, his smile turning wicked. "This battle is over."

I grunted and punched again. I poorly suppressed a cry as the replication's throat was slit, and I attacked again.

_It's not real pain!_

"Even if you're not physically wounded…"

A stab in the hand. A smashed nose.

"The pain _feels_ as if real…"

A boot in the stomach. A shattered jaw.

"Meaning that – against an opponent like me, who can read you like a book…"

A slash across the middle. A knife between the eyes.

"You'll only defeat yourself."

I fell to the ground. Whimpering and gasping weakly, I curled into a trembling ball. _No way… I couldn't hit him … even once…_

"Naruto!" Jiraiya yelled.

"He's done," the Oto-nin declared smugly.

"…Idiot," I spat, pushing to my feet. "A l-little imaginary pain can't stop me… As long as I'm able to move, I'll _never_ back down!" I shouted, running toward him.

"No, you fool! You'll be killed!"

_Uma-Tatsu-Tori-Saru-Inu-Hitsuji!_

I leapt toward the man.

_Wind Style: Air Bullet!_

He hopped back to dodge the missile aimed for his feet – failing to notice the clone that had appeared behind him before I released. The kage bunshin fired straight for his head. Eyes widening, he shifted to the side.

The air bullet crashed into my face, knocking me away. I hit the ground hard and tumbled until my back hit something that was softer than rock and something else slipped under both of my arms.

The old man shook me gently. "Gaki, are you okay?!"

More than one trail of wetness was drizzling down my face. _Ow… I got me pretty good just now… _I groaned, blinking groggily.

"Snap out of it! You've got to escape, while I hold him off!"

"I can't let that happen."

My vision cleared up a little, and I noticed the Oto taichou guy was weaving a lot of hand seals. When he finished he slammed his palms onto the ground. And a towering block of earth exploded toward us.

There was movement, and then we were shooting backwards. We halted sharply, and though I heard the impact I hardly felt it. I blinked.

"Ero-sennin…?"

The man was on one knee, his back at the wall; his other knee and both hands pressed against the wall of stone. I was draped across his lap; he'd protected me from getting crushed.

_He's this strong … even without his chakra?!_

"N-Naruto!" he forced through clenched teeth, his face reddening in effort as he glared at the stone. "Get out of here…! You can't h-handle this guy!"

"I've got to try! I leave with you or not at all–!"

"What good'll come of getting yourself killed?!" he shot back. "Run, while you c-can…"

My teeth ground. Curse it all. "Old man…"

"One sannin … won't be enough to st-stop Orochimaru either way… Listen to me," he said evenly. "I assign you this S-ranked mission… Locate Tsunade, the kunoichi of the Legendary Sannin…"

I gasped. My mind fluttered back to another prison, a half completed kanji chipped into the floor … the first few strokes of the first character of that name. The legendary medical ninja, and the author of the longest book I'd ever read through.

"Find Tsunade, and come back for me!"

I crawled off his lap, backing onto the hallway and standing. My teeth clenched and unclenched before I nodded determinedly.

"Yes, sir!"

Then I turned and ran. I left him behind without looking back, the pain of failure stinging in my eyes.

* * *

**Lee ****リー**

What was this? This feeling inside my numb body… What…?

When I saw him I understood. Adrenaline … and rage. So much of it that for a moment I had not been able to comprehend. So much of it that the Gates had burst open in mere moments. And I understood one thing above all else.

Kidomaru would die.

He was prepared to loose an arrow my way when he stopped, lowering his bow. He scanned left and right uneasily.

"_Behind you..._"

Kidomaru whirled into my striking fist, losing several teeth in the process. Running on pure rage, I brought my fists to his flesh at least ten times more before launching him into the air with a solid kick.

The katana rang as they were crossed sharply. I crouched and sprang upward, battering him furiously with Infinity's Blade as I passed.

His howl of agony reached my ears as I halted high in the air above him at the peak of my leap. I felt no pity, no remorse as I turned to face him, glaring down at the terror in his eyes. I spun the katana in my hands, clutching both hilts firmly as my arms crossed my body.

No… I was certain that if I killed this man, I would feel **nothing**.

Tears streaming from my eyes, I roared in fury as I swept my arms out, releasing the blades.

Three eyes growing impossibly wide, Kidomaru's ascent was frozen as two swords plunged to hilt into his stomach and abdomen.

My Thunder Bolt Kick crashed down between them. Such was the sudden force with which my foot met his body that the katana slid out, hanging still and in place as he was forced downward. I snatched them from the air as we bolted to the ground. The earth roared as it crackled violently around him, I sweeping my arms out in a low crouch to sharply whip crimson from the blades.

Then, in a burst of smoke, I found a log lying in several pieces beneath my foot. But there had been much blood on my blades, so he had done it at some point after _that_ part.

I turned my head, quickly spotting him near the trees in a pitiful state, barely on his feet.

_There you are…_

"Wait! Please, I'm s-sorry!!"

"'_Sorry?' _YOU ARE _SORRY?!!_"

Sorry did not cut it. Not even close.

I shot toward him, and he spat a net of silk webbing.

_Sorry_ would not bring my friend back.

I sliced cleanly through it and planted a foot on his chest. He went crashing far through the trees.

"Kidomaru!!"

I turned, fixing my gaze on another. I sprinted, blurred through a powerful series of steps, and drove a kick into his gut to send him sailing.

"Jirobo–!"

Next I was there, leaping, kicking. I landed in a crouch, and Sakon slammed into stone behind the waterfall.

Ukon shut his eyes as I aimed a heel for his head.

Then a note of flute music blasted harshly in my ears. My already weakening chakra flow was disrupted a moment – which proved enough for the six gates to reclose. Suddenly I realized how much pain I was in, and I crashed gracelessly to the ground.

After slowly opening, Ukon's eyes fell on me… and narrowed venomously.

_Oh, no…! _I tried to get to my feet and failed sorely. I inched back, attempting uselessly to get away as the young man approached at a calm walk with malice in his eyes, his hand creeping slowly toward me.

"Little punk!"

_SLSSH!_

Ukon shuddered as if struck, streaks of red flying from his shoulder. His demonic transformation fading, the wide-eyed Oto-nin collapsed before me, whimpering in pain. Then did I see the five ugly slashes running parallel across his back.

My eyes drifted upward to take in the one who had attacked him from behind, and I felt as though I had taken a rather hard Shadow Punch in the stomach.

_Not… possible…_

Hunched slightly and breathing in shallow gasps, she stood with dripping black claws raised from a backhand swing, a dusty dullness clouding narrowed eyes.

"Hinata…" I breathed.

"Lee…kun…?" she murmured with a glint of recognition in her eyes, slowly as if she were having trouble speaking. Her hand fell, and she took a few shaky steps toward me. "A-are you … okay…?"

I blinked. Was _I_…?! "Hinata-s-san, you – how – a _vital_ point–?!"

"Healing," she grunted simply. "I'm … f-fine–" A cough sent inky blood from her mouth, streaking it down her front. I gasped; against her black clothes I had not noticed before … but her front was soaked.

I rose up with enough effort. "Y-you cannot fight, let me handle it–!"

"Attack, Jirobo, hurry! Look at 'em, they're practically dead on their feet!"

"Right!" he yelled, charging toward us.

My knees popped, and my muscles blazed but were frozen stiff. _I – cannot move!_

Jirobo slammed a fist down, cracking the earth. I was surprised, however, to be viewing this from ten yards away.

"So you can still move pretty fast, huh?" he said, glaring.

Hinata slowly got to her feet; she had rammed into me, getting us both to safety.

"Kuso…" At this my eyes moved to the hand resting over her middle, in time to see the blood that spurted past it.

"H-Hinata-san, do not move! I can…!" When I looked up to her face it was not pain that I saw, but a confused mixture of excitement and fear. Her wide eyes stared ahead as she trembled steadily; she seemed unsure of whether to scowl or smile as the corners of her mouth attempted to twitch upward. Bits of darkness that would form a fourth ring on her neck spread and shrank again as she warred against herself.

"Go back," she whispered to herself, "No, g-go _back_…"

"Let's see you dodge this!" Jirobo bellowed.

"Wait, no–!" I cried, but was too late.

A ferocious snarl tore angrily from Hinata's throat. The fourth ring blazed onto her flesh, and a mist of darkness enveloped her as she sprang forward.

Startled, the man punched blindly in front of him. She flowed over the strike, left hand clapping onto his forearm and right hand latching onto the shoulder. Recently dull eyes grew bright, sharpening almost violently – with pain, I realized as the black glow of her right hand rapidly, recklessly intensified. An improbable flash of dark, and Jirobo shouted out as he was pushed back by the blast of chakra. Hinata backflipped away to land on all fours, a smile framing sharp teeth as she let loose a chuckling growl that sent a chill trickling down my spine.

* * *

**Hinata ****ヒナタ**

Though instinct and my nose told me that they were much alike, some vibrant strand of the humanity that remained maintained firmly that they were different.

Humans didn't register as food. Good.

Painting the ground in the wondrous crimson beauty of their blood, bathing the air thick in its rich, intoxicating aroma… That was still tempting.

Extremely so.

Not good.

But I didn't exactly care at the moment.

* * *

**Lee ****リー**

Jirobo fell to his knees, clutching his shoulder in pain. Hinata prepared to attack again.

_Is she going for the kill?!_

"Hey!" Tayuya spat, and Hinata's claws crumbled a stone aimed for her head. Glowering, she rounded on the Oto kunoichi ten yards away. Hinata circled to the side, and Tayuya did the same, keeping her distance from the girl.

"Come on, little XXXXX. Wanna play?"

The moment Hinata pounced, Tayuya's flute was at her lips. I slapped my hands over my ears, but Hinata was frozen in place in front of the older girl.

"Hinata!" I called when Tayuya lowered her flute after a few moments. "Snap out of it!"

"She can't hear or see you anymore – not after hearing the melody of death," Tayuya said, smirking victoriously. "She's trapped in my genjutsu by now; it's over. But you know, this flute is actually the only weapon I carry on me…" She reached into Hinata's kunai pouch, and I ran toward them.

"No–!"

**THOP!**

In a sudden movement Hinata had grabbed a fistful of Tayuya's shirt and jerked a knee into her stomach.

"_Just kidding…_" Hinata said darkly.

"Wh… _How?_"

"It looks like that tune of yours was made for human ears…"

"Then just what… are…?" Changing back to normal, Tayuya slumped to the ground with a grunt and lied unconscious.

Was … was it _over_? Of course Jirobo was still conscious, but he had reverted to his original form and looked just as exhausted as either of us; I doubted he planned to attack now.

An arm folded across herself, Hinata walked past (perhaps upwind of?) the fallen Tayuya. She moved as if her legs were leaden and walking on thick mud; each step was filled with tremendous effort. She halted a moment, eyes wide as a brief shudder shook her body. Eyes growing wild, her mouth opened to bare fangs as she began to look back toward our foes – then tore her gaze away, teeth latching sharply onto her own hand. She took a few more swaying steps away and sank to her knees.

I realized it was partially my fault: the Blade of Infinity technique had all of them bleeding lightly. Now it was taking all her willpower not to… I started toward her. "Hinata-san, are you okay–?"

"Stop! Don't come near!!" she barked harshly in a razor-edged voice. I was stopped in my tracks as she glowered my way. I flinched as I saw that even looking at me, bloodlust gleamed bright in her eyes. But something else, beneath the malice...

"Y... You are injured–!"

"_Just stay back!!_ It took everything I have not to cut those two down… I'm not in complete control. I can't tell what I'll do!"

_That look … like a wounded animal…?_

I took one step toward her, and then more.

"No, don't!!" she screamed, trying to back away. "I might–!"

I knelt and embraced her gently. "Have more faith in yourself; I know without question that Hyuuga Hinata would not harm a friend."

"L-Lee-kun…"

"Come on," I went on encouragingly, patting her back. "The battle is over; you are safe now. You can come back, Hinata-san."

Her arms hesitantly wrapped around me. Her head rested on my shoulder, and after a few moments I saw her hair return to its normal midnight blue.

I pulled away, and Hinata smiled weakly. "I wish you wouldn't have risked it … but thanks."

"It was nothing," I said, lightly ruffling her hair to earn a small giggle. "G-good to see you are yourself again."

"Lee-kun, are you crying?"

"No, of c-course not!" I lied, finding myself overcome with emotion. _This gift of power comes from a curse, after all. A great deal of compensation must be paid in return… Naruto-kun was right. It hurts to see that pained confusion on her face – that bloodlust in her eyes, bloodlust she must fight constantly…_

"Thank you… You saved me, again."

She shook her head. "They were worn out thanks to you. All I did was clean up, really…"

Jirobo had observed the interaction silently; I turned to him as he spoke. "So … you're not going to…?"

"Finish you all off?" I supplied.

He nodded awkwardly.

"Do you believe we should?" I asked, a hand clasping the hilt of a katana.

He shook his head left and right _very_ quickly.

My hand fell. "Then I see no reason to," I said honestly, and Hinata nodded in agreement, looking to the ground. "We prefer not to kill needlessly."

"Who exactly … are you?" he muttered, probably not asking for an answer.

"Just a few missing-nin..." I answered, looking around.

Eyeing us even more oddly, he nodded.

"Byakugan – uhn!" Hinata's kekkei genkai vanished a moment after it activated, but when she turned to me her eyes were wide. "Lee-kun, we're–!"

"Freeze!"

Almost a dozen Oto-nin reinforcements appeared around us, forming a circle with a fifteen-yard radius. Hinata and I were quickly on our feet and back-to-back.

"Surrounded," she muttered.

"Sir, the others need help!" Jirobo said. "Kidomaru, Sakon, and Ukon–!"

"It's probably your own faults! For the four of you to be bested by two kids – you were messing around again, weren't you?!"

"We underestimated them, we're sorry! But they need help!"

"Hinata-san, did you see Naruto-kun?" I whispered.

"…I did, and I think he's almost out. But…"

"But…?" That did not sound good.

"Stop that whispering!" one of the shinobi shouted. "You're outnumbered and surrounded. If you enjoy living then you won't move, understand?"

_Hinata-san and I have already reached our limits. She is wounded, and I can barely move. What now? What do we do now?_

The man who had spoken before swept out an arm. "Detain them–!"

"HEY!"

_That voice!_ All eyes turned to fall on the speaker. High above ground from a grand leap, he formed the cross handseal. An angry fierceness was on his face.

"Super-crazy-freakin'-awesome-distraction-tastic-diversion jutsu!!!"

Hundreds of kage bunshin briefly speckled the sky with orange and blue until transforming all at once – then hundreds of random objects were falling from the sky.

"The heck?!!" an Oto-nin cried, dodging a falling umbrella and a giant paintbrush.

"Wait!" I said, a signpost landing nearby. "What happened to him? Did he transform as well?"

The apparent leader of the Oto reinforcements flung shuriken into a door, a vase, and a sapling above, dispelling them in bursts of smoke. "Get the brats! They'll try to escape in the chaos!" he shouted.

A nearby Sound kunoichi leapt toward me – and shrieked in surprise as a cardboard box, wooden chair, giant sandal, and pillow lying on the ground between us burst into their true forms and jumped her.

"Lee-kun, I think we're supposed to run now–!"

A five foot tall stick of fish cake landed on end next to us. It popped into a cloud of smoke from which two arms shot out to grab either of us by the backs of our shirts; shoving us apart from our back-to-back positioning, Naruto lunged from the cloud to pass between us.

"I'm going to have to drag you a bit," he muttered calmly.

_Eh? _I thought as I suddenly found myself being pulled backwards, heels sliding against the ground.

"Shadow Step Jutsu."

And we were somewhere else – a different location in the crowd of transformed replications. I blinked, and we were further, now a good distance from the confusion. A step later, a nearby, bright orange blanket I kept my eyes on was thirty yards away. At each of his steps we jumped further, and each time I only barely spotted a distant, midstride Naruto clone before it vanished behind us. In perhaps twenty "steps" we were at a riverside in the forest, the waterfall, the lake, the Oto-nin, and the _distraction_ no longer anywhere to be seen.

_Amazing, _I thought when Naruto lied us down. He himself promptly fell to his knees, panting for breath.

"I'm … sorry…" he gasped out. "I … failed."

I sat up, and beside me Hinata did as well. Head down, the boy did not face us; his hands clasped angrily at the dirt before his knees.

_That battle … was practically for nothing… _I shook my head. It did not matter – we had all tried. "It is fine," I said, placing a hand on his shoulder. "We can always try again, another time. What matters most is that we are all safe."

He turned around, his face glum. "Guys, I…" His face became white as a sheet. I followed his eyes to Hinata's injury; he must have just noticed it. Before she could say a thing he moved to her side and looked behind her, and if possible he paled further.

He swore. "When – why haven't you said anything?!" he cried, not realizing he was a tad on the late side.

"I'm fine, Naruto-kun," she said uneasily, but her voice was slightly weak. She looked away. "It looks bad, but the wound's nearly gone."

"How…?" he began, staring in shock.

"It appears that Hinata-san's self-healing capabilities are … fairly powerful," I said. "Even so, you ought to lie down. You look ready to pass out, and have lost a large amount of blood." She did not look good; her face was ashen, and on closer inspection I noted the dullness had returned to her eyes. Why did she keep quiet about such things? She could not have been feeling well.

"Okay," she said, "but first we should move deeper into the forest. We're not safe out in the open here."

She stood up – and fell down. Naruto rose and caught her gently; the girl was limp in his arms.

"She's breathing," he said. "You were right about her being ready to pass out; I guess she got up too fast… Anyways, she's right. Let's hide in the forest for now."

* * *

**Naruto ****ナルト**

"_There _you are!"

We'd been settled for all of a minute when Kurogiba trotted into the clearing, Gamakichi seated atop his head. He dropped two backpacks whose straps he'd held in his mouth.

"Get off now, frog," he said, tossing him to the ground.

"That's toad to you, ya' mangy mutt!"

"Yeah, whatever," he snorted, walking toward us. "You brats are lucky I decided to cart your bags all the way here–,"

Lee reached across himself, his hand clapping onto a sword hilt. I heard the sound of metal sliding swiftly from the sheath, and the next moment the wolf had moved to catch the blade mid-swing with his mouth. Lee yelped as Kurogiba yanked the katana away, sharply tearing it from his grasp and throwing it to the ground.

"You got a problem, brat?" he growled darkly, bristling as he rounded on the boy.

"Lee…?" I asked. What was he doing, attacking him all of a sudden? Not like I adored the dumb dog either, but _sheesh_…

Fuming quietly, he glared back at him. "Normally I would not strike at an animal, but you are not ordinary wolf, and if I did then I normally would never pull a blade on one – however, if I were to punch you I would burn my hand!" Though he didn't draw it, his hand rested threateningly on the hilt of the other blade. My hand quickly covered his.

"Come on, Lee, calm down–!"

"I will NOT calm down! It is thanks to him that Hinata-san was so badly injured!"

"What?"

"It's not my fault she was hit!"

"All the same, you _could_ have prevented it and chose not to," Lee said. "Kidomaru was _in your line of sight_ when he fired, but you did nothing more than watch when you could have easily called out, shown her your sight, anything!!"

"I told her I wouldn't help no matter what happened, didn't I? I meant it!"

"Just as well," Lee shot back coldly, "one who finds himself too important to help, who is able to stand by and watch the near-death of a comrade and student without batting an eye – is sooner an enemy than a friend. The way I see it, such a one is not to be trusted."

My placating hand fell from Lee's, freeing him to draw the blade should he wish to. "After hearing that … I have to say I agree," I said, eyes narrowed.

Lee nodded. "You heard him," he said, voice dangerous. "Get away from us. You are not welcome."

"L-Lee-kun … please don't talk to him that way…"

"You are awake!"

"You don't have to stand up for him, Hinata," I said, looking toward her. She was still lying down, her face pale, weariness clouding her half-open, lavender eyes. "There's no reason to, not after he let this happen."

"Isn't there?" she said softly, and a kind smile formed on her lips as she looked past us to the wolf. "It's funny … After I was hit by that arrow, I nearly passed out … but then, the strangest thing happened. A gentle voice seemed to brush my mind to nudge me awake and remind me to heal… And s-suddenly it seemed my chakra was working, almost of its own accord, to heal me…"

Kurogiba cast a look her way. "I don't know what you're suggesting, but you fixed that wound all on your own. You must've begun to imagine things because of the pain."

"Hai, Kurogiba-sama," Hinata said, still smiling softly. "You're probably right."

He glowered a moment and turned away. "There was no reason for me to help. It's not like you would have died that easily anyway."

'_There was no reason to help…' _Was he justifying why he didn't… or wondering why he _did_? Lee seemed to make up his mind, at least, and his hand fell from the sword hilt.

The wolf, noticing our lack of hostility and angered at what it meant, threw us one more glare and vanished in a burst of flame.

* * *

**Neji ****ネジ**

_Just two more days…_

Why – why was this happening? Why had no one tried to save me? Why was Sasuke playing dumb?

–"_Tell them!! Tell them what happens to me on the full moon!"_

"_I have no idea what he's talking about; this must be some sort of desperate ploy he's thrown together in hopes of escape."–_

Perhaps it was his idea of payback. I obviously wanted to be released rather than slash and kill my way out of the underground base – was he looking forward to seeing me suffer afterward?

–"_P-please! Just bring me the pill. In my room in the Hyuuga compound, on a nightstand–,"_

"_What is it, some kind of trap? How gullible do you think we are?"–_

It had proven no use. He clearly didn't care how many lives were lost meaninglessly…

I heard the door slam open, as if it had been kicked to break the lock – so whoever had entered wasn't supposed to be here. My heart quickened, whether in hope or fear, I wasn't sure. I now heard the slow, deliberate steps of someone crossing the room, nearing the chair I was in.

The gag was ripped from my mouth.

"Who are y–?!!"

It was stuffed in again, and I felt a sharp backhand sting my cheek. A serious voice hissed in my ear.

"Hyuuga. Shut. Up. I'm trying to rescue you."

He removed the blindfold first this time; a man clothed in black stood almost six feet tall in front of me, his face hidden by a blank porcelain mask with two round eyeholes. Reaching up to the mask, he removed it momentarily to flash his face.

_What?!_

That… That didn't make any _sense_!

The gag was removed; not keen on getting slapped again, I contained my surprise to whisper uneasily:

"I… Iruka-sensei?"

"Guess again," he said as he moved behind my chair, and the strong cord binding my wrists was cut. I thought a moment as the rope around my arms and body also fell to the ground.

"Ino?"

'Iruka' – or whoever it was who currently occupied his body – turned their blankly masked gaze on me a moment.

"…Stop guessing," he deadpanned, and sliced the binding on my ankles with a kunai.

I got to my feet, wobbling slightly as my stiff limbs adjusted again to movement. "I don't understand…"

"Then don't ask, shut up, and follow me, Hyuuga-_sama_. We don't have all day."

I gasped. "_You!_"

"I picked up the jutsu from Ino a while back, now let's go! Before someone comes!" Grabbing my hand, he half-dragged me from the room and raced down a hallway.

"Not far from the hideout," he began quietly as we ran, "Oto forces were chasing some New Konoha shinobi who'd stolen from the market when another Konoha group ambushed and cut off the pursuers. I was in that group. So was Iruka." A quick look around a corner, and he turned and kept moving. "But shortly into the battle that ensued, I _mysteriously_ fell unconscious and _Iruka_ opted to return me to the safety of the base."

He swiftly scaled a ladder, opening a trapdoor at the top and hopping out. I followed, clambering out to emerge into fresh air and daylight under the shade of a tree.

"Get it? Uchiha Sasuke had nothing to do with your escape. Plenty of people on both sides witnessed him falling unconscious in battle, and he's been asleep in the infirmary the entire time."

"Clever…" I admitted, getting to my feet. "And… Thanks," I added, grudgingly but still sincere. _I can't thank you enough… even if it is just an order from Orochimaru-s–_

"Hyuuga," he said, meeting my eyes.

"What is it?"

"I was actually supposed to slip you a message from Orochimaru-sama. Your mission … was to remain a captive for the next two days and transform within New Konoha on the full moon."

That was a punch in the face. _He _wanted_ me to…? _It explained why no one had come to rescue me until now. "So then … you're acting on your own right now? Why would you help me?"

He shrugged off my suspicion. "Hokage-sama seemed just a little too thrilled at the thought of you killing your way out of New Leaf, if you know what I mean. You looked so miserable and desperate down there… I guess I just felt like giving you a choice in the matter. Now hurry up and decide, and if you want I'll 'recapture' you."

My teeth ground. "I can't do that…"

He nodded. "In that case, I wasn't allowed to see you and thus couldn't deliver the assignment. You escaped on your own and have no knowledge of the mission."

"Understood," I said with a smirk. _The kid's pretty smart after all; he really thought this through. _I fled for the Hokage tower.

I could hardly believe it. He 'just wanted to give me a choice in the matter' – was that truly his sole motive? Or was it a true motive at all? For all I knew, he intended to set me up; it wouldn't look very good if I claimed to have not received the mission and Sasuke said otherwise.

_No… When he said that, there was nothing but honesty in his voice and face alike. _That part was true enough. My hearing was too acute, my eyes too keen to miss a trace of deceit in someone at his level.

I needed to analyze this. If he'd left me there, I would probably have slaughtered who knows how many of New Konoha's shinobi. Did he not want that to happen? But then, it would also blow New Leaf's trust for him out the window…

If he'd informed them of the danger and I'd been freed, it would be made apparent he cared for them enough to neglect and even counteract Orochimaru-sama's orders. Though with this stunt he was in fact still neglecting orders, wasn't I as well?

And if he'd yielded to bringing me the pill and had it given to me to prevent transformation _and_ allow the renegades to keep me as their hostage, loyalty to Konoha would have been made glaringly obvious.

So which side was he on?

…I was startled to find that I had no idea.

* * *

**Eleven, Part Two: Ookami to Kitsune**

**Hinata ****ヒナタ**

–"_I know where we can lie low for a while. We'll be safe in Nami no Kuni, the Land of Waves."–_

We'd decided it would be best to avoid drawing attention to ourselves for a while – at least until the alarm over a near-successful prison raid died down again. Telling us about his first C-ranked mission, Naruto had suggested staying for a week or so in Nami no Kuni, a tiny island country off Fire's eastern coast.

_Mi, Hitsuji, Saru, I, Uma, Tora, Ookami… Reikuchiyose._

While we were there, we would also try to come up with some sort of plan to track down Tsunade. It wouldn't be easy; we knew little more than her name and (thanks to Lee's good intuition to check for an 'About the Author' page at the back of Introduction to Medical Ninjutsu) her appearance.

"I take it you healed up overnight?"

"Yes; take a look," I said, opening my mind to him as I activated the Byakugan and focused on myself. "The injury is gone, as if it never happened…"

After several hours of travel this morning we were taking a long break, after which we could easily reach Nami by sundown. At the moment Naruto appeared to be meditating, Lee was walking on his hands, and I had summoned Kurogiba.

"So you're just taking an hour-long break? Then what did you call me here for? That's hardly enough time to get some decent training in… Hey, runt – what's with that look on your face?" he asked, narrowing his eyes.

Hands fisted at my sides, I looked away a moment. Then I forced myself to meet his eyes again, almost glaring. "I'm not worthy of being your partner. Why is that, Kurogiba-sama?"

He nearly laughed. "Why? Hm, let's see… You were supposed to meet Okaa-sama in the Land of Demons, but instead she had to come to your rescue. She was even so lenient as to accept you just for supposedly proving yourself against _human_ adversaries. If you ask me, you shouldn't have been allowed to sign the contract in the first place.

"But if Houkou-sama–!"

"Even if she respects you, it is up to the familiar whether or not to lend you his power. In other words it's up to me – and I haven't changed my mind. In my eyes you're still unworthy of wielding the power of the Ookami."

"Then what am I supposed to do to prove myself?!" I demanded. Blushing slightly, I looked quickly to my feet and quieted down. "What can I do … to earn your respect?"

"It's not much. You could survive a journey through the Land of Demons, drop by to say hi to Okaa-sama, and present her some manner of gift or offering. If you made it, I'd even be inclined to aid you during the trip back!"

"S-so then… What is the L-Land of Demons like?"

"Oh, absolutely _crawling_ with monsters and soul-sucking beasts!" he said, eyes devilishly bright as he watched my surely paling face. "I have little doubt many would jump at the chance to leech some chakra or taste fresh human flesh, and let's not forget the ferocious and highly territorial–,"

"Okay, I get it!" I squeaked. "I-isn't there … any alternative? Anything at all?"

He sighed. "I wouldn't much be able to look down on you if you were to grow more powerful than me – of course that's with no curse seal and no Soul Link, and I wouldn't go easy on you like I did the last time."

I hung my head. Last time hadn't gone well, and I doubted he would hesitate to seriously hurt me if I challenged him again. Fighting him was definitely preferable to taking on the beings that lurked in the Domain of Demons – but if all I had were fire jutsu, was there even a hope of defeating him?

"That's all I've got. Since you're clearly too cowardly to attempt either, you are unworthy of calling on my strength in battle–,"

"Hinata-chan, Hinata-chan! You've got to check out this new technique I just came up with!"

"Naruto-kun…?" I said as he came running up excitedly. He formed a handseal – and jumped when Kurogiba moved suddenly between us, low to the ground and pelt blazing wildly, to loose a vicious snarl.

For a moment the three of us were silent and still.

_Kurogiba-sama … was that move maybe a little protective? _I wondered.

"_Nan_dattebayo?! What was that for, dog breath?!"

The wolf straightened and collected himself, paying the comment no mind. Naruto tensed and watched nervously as Kurogiba approached and circled him, inspecting the boy intently. "What the…?"

"Um… Kurogiba-sama?"

He stopped in front of him to fix the boy with an intense stare. Just when Naruto was beginning to fidget even as he glared back, Kurogiba looked to me.

"Tell you what, scrawny mutt. You want me to respect you? Just defeat fox-boy over here."

"WHAT?!" two voices chorused.

"Okaa-sama was defeated by the Kyuubi no Youko once before. An apprentice of the Ookami and the host of the old Kitsune… I might be impressed if you could prove yourself stronger."

Naruto grinned. "How about it, Hinata-chan? We haven't sparred in forever!"

I blinked, looking to Kurogiba. _Seriously? _Just like that, an option with no risk of severe injury, loss of flesh, or the devouring of my soul?

Well, if Naruto was up to it…

I smiled and nodded. I'd definitely try. "Naruto-kun, I challenge you!"

* * *

The two of us stood fifteen yards apart; Kurogiba sat near Lee, watching from the edge of the clearing.

"Naruto-kun!" I called. "Before we begin, I'd like to make it clear. Please don't hold back for my sake; for the very reason that this is to prove myself to Kurogiba-sama, I want to defeat you fair and square or not at all!"

"Right!" he said, nodding. "I didn't expect you'd want it any other way! You'd better give it your all, too, okay?"

"Of course."

Lee raised a hand into the air. "Very well then! If both–!"

"Scrawny koinu and Kitsunegaki!" Kurogiba supplied, earning glares from two sets of eyes.

"Ah, yes, well… If both of you are ready…"

Naruto nodded. I nodded back. Lee's hand fell.

"Begin!"

The moment this was said Naruto hopped forward, drawing a fist far back in preparation for a powerful strike. As I watched in puzzlement, Lee shouted out to me.

"Hinata-san! Look out!!"

Even if he was saying this, what did Naruto plan to do from way over th–?

…Huh?

"_AGH!_" I cried, bending over and clutching my middle as the wind was knocked painfully out of me.

_What hit me?! _I thought, eyes wide as I stumbled back a few steps. Still in my vulnerable position, I looked up to see Naruto draw back again and suddenly appear in front of me to swing at my head. I ducked under the fist – and a knee caught my jaw. As I fell I rolled backwards, getting swiftly back on my feet and hopping back a yard.

_This must be his Advanced Kageken, _I realized. "I see… When you strike, the force is retained in a kage bunshin that appears a split-second to land the attack, vanishing so suddenly that most wouldn't even glimpse it." Most, including me – I hadn't even seen a shadow clone, so all I could do was infer. "You can also substitute with your clones to advance instantly for more solid attacks."

"Yep! It's a long-range taijutsu style! You figured me out fast – now you need to find a way around it, or this battle won't last much longer."

I swore silently. He had every right to be confident; he could just as easily have dealt a knockout blow as his first strike, but had chosen to give me a chance to figure out what I was up against – and all the same, I wasn't sure I could find a way to combat it. If one lacked the skill to do so from the start, training oneself to react in time without any sort of strategy or trick could take many genin and chuunin weeks of time and practice in combating it, something no enemy he encountered would have. And if I were a real enemy and this wasn't a spar between friends, _he_ could easily have slit my throat the first move … and _I_ wouldn't even know how I'd died. Wouldn't have realized beforehand that I was even in danger…

I tried not to shudder as I understood what Lee had meant. And suddenly it wasn't only about proving myself to Kurogiba – if I could defeat Naruto, I would prove to myself I was strong enough to help protect him.

I straightened without showing weakness, concealing pain and fighting not to hold my stomach again. The sheer physical strength behind his blows … since when…? _That's what I get for not training with them for weeks. This won't be easy._

I took in a deep breath … let it out … and attacked.

Naruto dodged aside, barely avoiding the punch as I lunged toward him. I turned to throw the other elbow into his stomach – and nearly stumbled when he vanished the instant of contact.

In the same moment he vanished he appeared in front of me, smiling playfully with his arms folded behind his back. _No… Not the same moment. He must have both created a clone and replaced with it in the instant before the hit landed – in such close succession that one who didn't know better might think him a ghost, disappearing and rematerializing whenever struck. _So the Kageken's defense was just as solid…

"Not bad," I remarked.

"You're a lot quicker than I remember," he commented. "You almost had me."

I jumped into a Konoha Sempuu; he didn't even move, instead bursting into smoke again. Upon landing I leaned forward, placing hands on the ground and lashing a foot back. As predicted, he'd appeared behind me: my kick connected. I looked back to see him vanish, and where he reappeared he was clutching his middle. I'd caught him before the Kawarimi.

Wasting no time, I threw a high roundhouse kick, and when he vanished, a leaping knee strike. I whirled into a sweeping kick, rose and pounced to throw a punch, met the ground on my hands, bent my knees, and kicked out behind me with both feet. Each time he simply disappeared on contact, and I didn't land another blow.

At my next swing he popped into smoke to appear a yard back from where he'd been. I moved and kicked, with the same result. Stepping forward, I punched with furious speed eight times more, and all the while he merely popped a yard back, arms behind him and a gentle smirk on his face.

I stood still, panting lightly as I looked into his tranquil purple eyes, an arm still outstretched before me.

The boy abruptly went up in smoke.

_Idiot! _I turned right into the backwards heel kick that came crashing across my face. _He tricked me… He lulled me into the illusion that he could only replace when struck, and even knowing better I actually fell for it. He got me to dance in the palm of his hand, to believe he couldn't substitute at will the entire time…!_

I hit the ground on my side and scrambled back to my feet, jumping several yards away and reaching into my shuriken holster. Naruto's eyes focused intently on me as I reached across my body in preparation to throw the stars backhand. He swiftly but calmly lifted a hand.

And it clapped onto my wrist, halting it immediately.

_Not good! _I punched with the other hand; it clapped onto a quickly raised palm.

"My turn."

He kicked out past me. I glimpsed a flicker of bright orange in front of me so brief I could have imagined it – but the harsh impact at my gut told quite clearly that I had not.

"_Urg!_"

_Stay on your feet!_ I staggered back as he released me. He jumped forward, a fist outstretched before him, and I dodged to the side. Staring as he passed, I noticed the hand he'd held fisted at his other side springing out.

_E-even behind him…! _I thought, eyes snapping shut as an invisible punch landed squarely in my stomach and threw me off my feet. I rolled past him and lied gasping on my front a moment. Wincing, I slowly got up again.

"A-as expected, Naruto-kun is amazing. But I'm n-not finished yet…"

"Hey, I'm flattered!" Naruto said, beginning to raise both hands. As he vanished two arms hooked securely under my own. "But now I've got y–!"

We were near the treeline. I shoved back forcefully … and successfully knocked whatever breath I'd recovered out of myself as I slammed my back against a tree.

_That wasn't smart… _One eye shut, I braced myself against the tree to avoid falling down.

"Scrawny koinu! This is getting somewhat embarrassing to watch!" _someone_ felt the need to inform me from the sidelines.

"Shut your mouth, Kurogiba-sama!"

"So you can focus on getting your butt kicked? But you're already doing that so well, I don't think we need to worry!"

_Darn it! _"I'm just getting started!" I yelled, racing toward Naruto again. Ten yards away, I pulled out a kunai.

Another flicker of orange and blue. I blinked, closing and opening a suddenly empty hand – and looked to see Naruto now holding a kunai ten yards away. He flicked it to the ground.

Nothing I tried was working! _Kuso–!_

He swung, and force met my face. I shut my eyes as a blow hit the other cheek, and raised hands to shield the back of my neck and head as best I could as he continued to strike.

_Okay, calm down and think. _I activated my Byakugan. _Just endure it a moment and think. Think!_

_Even with the Byakugan, I can just barely see the clones… The chakra aura technique … no, it's too thin on my own._

Pop. An impact met my back, causing me to gag.

_What other advantages do I have? Smell … no, by the time I catch the clones' scent they're long gone._

Pop. A dent was put in my stomach.

_Unh– Sounds… That tiny popping noise before each strike … something must cause it. The displacement of air when a clone appears? How can that help me…? And the rustling of the leaves… Still not enough time to base a good reaction._

Pop. A kick in the side.

_Wait. The clones have to mimic his moves perfectly … that's why the force is retained. His chakra center … the clones' chakra centers… Front or back, left or right – whatever side they appear, their strikes will be virtually identical to Naruto's in relation to that point! If I focus my Byakugan enough… Yes! I can see a tiny spark of energy where the center of the keirakukei _will_ be, just an instant before a bunshin appears!_

A ten-second strategy, but it could work. If I could watch the true Naruto's attack, and link it to the place I've pinpointed the clone will appear…

_That's it–!_

THAM! THAM!

Naruto blurred nearer, he and the clone that flowed into existence burying fists side by side in my abdomen. My eyes flew open as I was driven back.

My knees shook. I embraced myself and folded double, knees hitting the leaf-strewn earth as I gasped unevenly in a quivering ball of pain. I retched, and a small amount of crimson splashed onto the ground.

"Pathetic…" Kurogiba grumbled.

"Hinata, are you okay?" Naruto asked.

I placed a palm onto the ground, and then another. "J-just … just fine," I said, smirking as I started to stand once more. "But you know, Naruto-kun, I won't surrender. You'll have to come and finish me off." I knew my eyes were dancing now as I reached full height. _Be careful, Naruto-kun, or the tables might just turn…_

Nodding, he whipped out a dull kunai and drew back his arm. Halfway through the swing, I heard a pop five yards to my right.

_What?! _I thought, entering a spin as I barely dodged a kunai knife. So he hadn't released, but the clone had–?

Pop. Naruto was suddenly in front of me.

_Time to waste some chakra!_

"Fire Release: Blazing Rotation!"

Chakra was thrust from every working tenketsu on my body as I spun myself rapidly. A dome of chakra smacked Naruto away and whipped thousands of brittle, brown leaves about in its flow. _Faster! Faster! Faster! Faster! _my mind shouted as I kept spinning, expending a huge amount of my chakra to increase the kaiten's radius and ferocity. I only had one chance to get this right. Leaves were shredded to bits until around me was a swirling storm of chakra clouded heavily with leaf-scented brown dust. I actually owed Neji-nii-san for this next part.

_Blaze!_

I built up a concentrated pool of fire chakra and forced it away. Igniting as it streamed from chakra points, it entered the flow of the rotation to quickly catch and spread rapidly through the leaf dust, flaring out to briefly set the dome ablaze.

I slowed to a stop and staggered backwards, twirling before abruptly meeting the ground. _Eh…?_ I shook my head; the world was spinning. I gasped – which resulted in a bout of hacking and coughing as I sat up and batted out a small flame flickering on the shoulder of my shirt. A large radius of leaves had been blackened to dusty ash, and dark smoke hung thickly in the air. I sneezed loudly. It stung my nose, but it would work.

"Wh… What was the point?!" Naruto asked, looking around suspiciously. I noted that with my normal sight, I could hardly see more than his silhouette from this distance.

"Great job, koinu! Knock him away, _then_ add the fire! Brilliant!"

"I was trying _not_ to burn him!" I shot back, pointing at the wolf. My arm swayed in attempt to follow him; everything was still spinning a little bit.

"Oh, Hinata-san…" Lee sighed, trying to hide the note of near-pity that said he couldn't even believe the idiocy of the seemingly flashy yet pointless thing I'd just done. "Wasting the better part of your chakra, disorienting yourself, _and_ setting yourself on fire…"

"That's my koinu for ya…" Kurogiba grumbled out.

"Just watch," I said, smirking as I stood up. I activated my Byakugan once more. "Naruto-kun, your advantage has been eliminated."

"What…?"

"Don't believe me?" I patted my stomach with an open hand. "Go on. Hit me with your best shot – you'll see."

He was not one to take taunting lightly. Confident he was safe so long as he attacked from a distance, he complied. "Okay, since you asked for it!"

Naruto drew back his hand and struck out.

_The ability to gather a large amount of different information on various levels and act on it in an instant… That's one thing mastering the Soul Link has taught me._

_Pop._

Sound. The popping noise of displaced air.

Smell. Said displaced air pushing smoke in my face.

Feel. The chakra aura, thickened on the hanging smoke, displaced as well.

Sight. Naruto's keirakukei center, the shimmer of chakra that would be the position of the same in the appearing clone.

A punch would come from directly in front of me at stomach height.

_Smat!_

"Y-you blocked it!"

I shrugged, smirking at the look on his face as I lowered my hand – the hand that had rather neatly caught a fist that existed for only an instant. I tucked my right arm behind my back, holding the left palm-out in front of me. "I guess I got lucky."

"That stance…?" He shook off his quizzical stare and struck again.

_Pop!_

This time the pop and the nose-stinging burst of dark smoke came forward from behind. Focusing on that particular area, I was able to tell where my rather weak chakra aura was parted and concentrated the Byakugan on the spark of energy within it that I wouldn't have seen if I hadn't been looking there for it.

A hand chop, neck height from behind.

I shifted aside. A surprised clone stumbled past and vanished.

_Yes! _I clenched the fist behind my back. _From here on, no matter where he is, fight as though he's striking from close range!_

"It's not luck… You're calculating somehow…!" He attacked rapidly now. I blocked three jabs at my abdomen, ducked a roundhouse kick, dodged a punch aimed for my nose. "What did you do?" he asked curiously as he tried determinedly to land a hit. He replaced with an attacking clone, following up with a flurry of strikes to directly engage me himself. "How did you get so fast all of a sudden?"

"I didn't get any faster. I can hear, smell, feel, and see what you're about to do!" I said, deflecting punch after punch. I sharply hacked a forearm aside with my own. My hand darted to his other shoulder, and an incoming punch froze in its tracks and shuddered off course as two fingers brushed down his arm. _Jūken stream!_

My right hand pulled from behind me, and I slammed an uppercut into his jaw. He burst into smoke on contact.

My foot lashed back as I leaned forward. Solid contact was made with his jaw.

He shadow stepped a few yards back and staggered a few more, panting for breath.

"I would be careful, Naruto-kun!" Lee called helpfully, "Hinata-san's own taijutsu is nothing to scoff at!" Come to think of it, Lee was the only one who'd been training regularly with both of the others lately.

I rose to full height. Naruto spun into a sweeping kick before rising and punching out. I jumped as a clone's leg passed beneath me – and shifted slightly before reaching up to catch the wrist and forearm of the boy suddenly behind me. Making use of his momentum, I threw him over myself, slamming his back against the ground; he gritted his teeth and punched upward at empty air, and I released him as a quick strike landed between my shoulder blades. He substituted away, and as soon as he appeared fifteen yards off he jumped and flipped into an axe kick motion.

A forceful impact met arms crossed over my head. Knuckles facing down, Naruto drove a fist forward – a clone was about to strike for my unguarded stomach. I could only shift enough that he hit my ribs instead.

_CRACK!!_

"_Ah!_"

…I was as surprised that a kage bunshin broke its hand on my ribs as I was that Naruto cried out, shaking his own hand a moment before clutching it close to himself. Zooming in with the Byakugan, I quickly inspected his hand to find no bruising or any other sign of injury.

_A clone hit me and Naruto cried out… He feels their pain? _It made sense; when formed with his movement linking trick, a clone was even more like an extension of himself. That was why he typically dispelled them the instant after they attacked… to minimize risk of counterattack!

Fear glinted briefly behind his eyes as he spotted the analytical look in my own.

_So that's his weakness._

He suddenly struck again. This time I deduced not only how far I needed to shift to avoid the fist that was about to come for my face, but also noted the approximate location the doppelganger's nose would be.

I shifted and struck out.

Naruto suppressed a yelp. His brief loss of focus was enough; in moments I cleared the distance between us to lash out with a punch. He blocked, and I struck again with my left hand. His forearm quickly positioned itself to catch it – but inches away my fist opened into a palm. Naruto grunted as the Jūken strike landed in a direct hit, sending my chakra into his arm.

I kicked over his head as he ducked, and swiftly followed up with a palm thrust. He deflected it and shifted outside a swing, and I spun sharply into a reverse roundhouse kick. He ducked again – and my left arm swept out. He barely blocked at his middle in time, but I brushed a Jūken Stream down the defending arm.

_That's both of his arms. He shouldn't be using any handseals for a few minutes at least…_

"Pulling the Juugouken on me, are ya? I see how it is!" he laughed, blocking a fist.

I snorted slightly as I spun outside of a kick and struck again. "Look at who's talking, Kageken master!" I said with a smirk.

"True," he conceded. "But it would be tricky if I didn't know your style already. All I have to do is be sure to dodge your left instead of blocking it, and I'll be safe!"

"True," I returned.

If he wanted to believe that I wouldn't stop him.

I lashed a kick toward his head with my right foot, and when he dodged I turned to kick again with the other heel. He ducked this time, and as my foot returned to the ground I reached across myself with my right arm. I swept my hand out in a sharp backfist; he snapped back to narrowly dodge.

In conjunction with the motion of the backfist, I'd thrown a foot toward his gut.

THUD!

My kick impacted crossed arms forcefully enough to knock him a good few yards. He fell onto his backside, wincing as he rested a hand on his middle. With confused eyes he looked up at my left hand fisted near my cheek, and my right arm, extended out beside me, as I held the position a second longer before my foot moved again to the ground.

"What just happened?" he asked as he rose to his feet. "I know I steered clear of your left hand, so…" He gasped. "No way."

"Way," I said, blushing slightly at my own foolish joke. "It couldn't much be called Gentle Ferocious Fist if the 'Gentle' was restricted to one of my limbs."

"And I wondered why you were fighting barefoot," he said, looking to the bandaging tape that dressed the ankle and instep of my feet.

I nodded. The soles of the feet were among the most difficult areas to manipulate chakra in, but I had managed in time to teach myself to release effective chakra bursts from either the heels or balls of my feet. "I may not have two limbs capable of Jūken anymore, Naruto-kun." I tucked my right hand behind my back. "But it was your mistake to assume I have one. Now I have three."

"Well… Snap." He drooped with a pout (a look that successfully lit my cheeks bright pink), resting a hand on his forehead. "That's impressive alright. It's starting to look like I'm the one who's about to get his butt kicked."

His hand moved sharply.

_Pop. _Displaced smoke. Shimmering chakra.

I turned, two fingers punching sharply against its wrist the instant the clone appeared.

"That won't work anymore, Naruto-kun," I declared, trying to hide the fact that the distraction of a rather cute face had nearly cost me the match.

He rubbed his wrist, his face thoughtful. "Wouldn't matter anyway; my force didn't carry over…"

_His chakra flow's too disrupted for him to form shadow clones effectively. This battle is as good as over; just stay focused and finish it off… _I reached into my kunai pouch.

"YOSH!!! Your YOUTH blazes BEAUTIFULLY, Hinata-san!! What a comeback!!!" Lee called, clearly unable to hold it in any longer.

I withdrew a blunt kunai. Naruto sighed.

"It's too difficult to fight with my chakra all stopped up like this." His hands suddenly clapped together.

_Wh-what's he going to do? _I thought, flinching in alarm.

Naruto inhaled deeply. His eyes snapped open.

"HYAAAAAAAAAAAHH!!!"

Violet chakra exploded into a frenzy and blazed around him. Even Lee appeared to be able to see the furious flare of powerful energy, and in the Byakugan it was blinding.

"Ack!" I cried, stunned into deactivating it. I blinked – and jerked to the side. An air bullet whipped at my hair, tickling an ear.

_Byakugan!_

_Pop._

No smoke was displaced. My suddenly weaker chakra aura didn't catch it. I couldn't locate it… because that air bullet had blasted a trail through the dust cloud free of smoke.

And I was standing right in the middle of it.

_No! _I crossed my arms as Naruto flowed into existence to crash against me, clutching a shoulder and knocking me to the ground. Even as my back was hitting the earth, I swung the kunai knife still in my hand.

My knife stopped against his neck … in the same instant that I felt cold metal meet mine.

I stared up into the equally wide, violet eyes of Naruto as he stared down at me, and we remained frozen that way for more than a few seconds.

A draw.

A _draw_…

A draw?!

_Wait a second… since when were his eyes…?_

Then I became _extremely_ conscious of our position, and the heat that surged into my face threatened to knock me unconscious as I loosed a high-pitched squeak.

"Ah! S-sorry!" he cried, hastily getting off of me. I sat up, eyes shut as I fought down the color in my cheeks.

_H-h-how em-b-barrassing!_

"I guess we'll call it a tie, huh?" Looking toward him again, I noted his eyes were their now-normal indigo shade again.

"Yes," I agreed. A tie. I already knew that wasn't good enough for Kurogiba, but, what could I do?

"I cannot believe it," Lee said as he walked up. "After such an amazing clash of strength and wits, it is a tie. And you, Naruto-kun – talk about restoration of chakra flow taken to the extreme! Most people would hurt themselves by attempting such a thing… More importantly, however, we should move soon. Though the hour is not yet up, that little stunt may have drawn attention to our location."

Naruto shut his eyes and nodded sheepishly, rubbing his head. I looked around. Where was…?

"You do realize that you're being watched?" Kurogiba called loudly from out of sight. A man shrieked in terror and came stumbling from the treeline fifteen yards from us, backing away as the wolf followed him out with none too friendly a look on his face.

_He doesn't seem to be a shinobi…_

Sweating bullets, the brown haired man glanced at the three of us behind him and then back to the snarling wolf spirit. He got up and ran.

"No you don't!" Naruto stood and appeared in his path; with a whimper he fell back in surprise. "Why were you spying on us?" he demanded calmly.

"I'm very sorry, I really am…" The young man met his eyes, stared a moment, and gasped. "I know you!"

"Uh… r-really now…" Naruto said in a 'Well I don't know you' type of voice. The voice one would typically try to hide in such a situation. _Oh, Naruto-kun…_

"Yes! You look a little different, but you're that kid our bridge was named after!"

* * *

**Eleven, Part Three: Liar**

**Neji ****ネジ**

"I see…" he said, his face unreadable. "So I assume Sasuke-kun failed to deliver your assignment…?"

"Assignment, Lord Orochimaru?"

"Yes. Your mission was in fact to remain their prisoner until the full moon."

"I apologize, my lord. I'm afraid Sasuke wasn't permitted to see me. The rebels most likely wanted to avoid risking such passing of information."

"Hmm… Very well then. All the same, I am pleased to have you back safe and sound. You may leave."

I bowed and turned to exit the room. Was I safe? Had he caught me? Just get out of the room. I could wonder that once I was away from–

"Neji-kun…"

I halted, my hand inches from one of the double doors. _Calm down. Calm down!_

–"_You would do well to work on your lying … the next time you intend to hide something from me."–_

"Yes, Orochimaru-sama?" I answered politely.

"Wait for a few minutes outside, would you?"

"Of course." My hand moved forward.

"Enter!"

I pushed one door open. The other opened as well.

I turned my head.

White met black for a single moment. Fear washed down my spine.

_Uchiha…?_

We passed each other. The doors closed.

_Kuso! Okay, calm yourself and breathe! He's on my side for the moment… He's a natural rebel to authority – he wouldn't think twice about lying to Orochimaru-sama. He's only saying the same things I did. _

_Don't pace. He can probably hear you._

_Don't bite your hand. He'll notice the marks._

_Don't–_

"Enter!"

I pushed the door open perhaps a bit too quickly. Still, an expression of calm resided on my face, my breathing relaxed as I strode to stand at Sasuke's side. I bowed my head.

"Orochimaru-sa–,"

A wave of murderous intent crashed against me.

"Tell me, Neji-kun… Why is it that you appear to be lying, and Sasuke-kun does not?"

I could feel golden eyes piercing through me; my ears popped, and I clutched at my chest as it became very hard to breathe. My knees hit the floor. I turned my head to Sasuke; the Uchiha was staring ahead with a look of indifference.

"O-Orochimaru…sama…!" I managed past the invisible force constricting around me. "I d-don't understand… What I've told you … is the truth!"

"You mean Hyuuga-san told you something otherwise? It would appear, Lord Orochimaru, your mission was received, understood, and deliberately neglected."

"_Liar!!_" I yowled, still fighting for breath. "I knew nothing of the mission – he helped me escape to protect his precious friends in New Konoha! He – he told me not to mention it to you … probably s-so you wouldn't know he'd disobeyed his orders–!"

"Utter nonsense, and don't raise your voice against Orochimaru-sama!" Sasuke said sharply. "I did nothing of the sort, my lord! Hyuuga-san escaped independently in willing opposition to his orders, and is now trying to worm his way out of punishment by tarnishing my own name!" he shouted, glaring poisonously down at me.

Even as I gasped and choked, I smiled and laughed back at the idiot. There – he 'did nothing of the sort' and I 'escaped independently' – lies! Orochimaru-sama would catch him…!

…

…

"What – Do you not see it on his face?! He _lies!!_" A tremble of disbelieving desperation jumped into my voice as Orochimaru stared silently. "L-look at him, Orochimaru-sama – _he's_ the one who's lying to you, not me! He's–!!"

"Hyuuga-san, you're making a fool of yourself."

A growl tore from my throat as I glowered murderously at the boy beside me. My nails were suddenly claws as I rose and lunged toward him, one hand latching onto his shoulder, the other drawing far back to slash.

"_You FILTHY little – GYAAAAAAAAHHH!!!_"

He stepped aside, allowing me to fall. Writhing and yowling, I clutched at the mark on my neck as a malicious force poked and prodded at it to send bolts of pain searing through my flesh.

"Take care you never disappoint me, Sasuke-kun…" The force pressed down cruelly on the seal, eliciting from me a scream to punctuate his words. I didn't care. If he wished for me to scream then I would scream, nice and loud. If he asked me to stab myself I would do it gladly! _Anything! Just let it end!!_

"Hai … Lord Orochimaru."

"Please… I-I'm sorry! I truly am! Please forgive me, my lord…!" I whimpered, bawling and groveling and begging for mercy. "I won't … disappoint … again! I swear it–!"

For three eternally long seconds fire was driven through me, blazing under my skin, clawing at my soul. My eyes shut and my mouth opened as far as it could, and for three seconds I screamed in agony.

It ended.

I was left a quivering, whimpering heap on the floor, gasping for air and sobbing silently at my subordinate's feet.

* * *

**Hinata ****ヒナタ**

'_You look about ready to murder someone. Which doesn't suit you, by the way.'_

I started slightly, my hand falling from where it had rested on the mark. I met Kurogiba's eyes, my own promptly focusing. _'It's nothing…'_

'_Hmph. 'Neji-nii-san, Neji-nii-san' – what's wrong with him?'_

'_You were reading my mind?!'_

'_Yes.'_

I looked away. _'…Pain. He's in pain.'_

'_Hm,' _he thought, not commenting further. He laughed quietly. _'Let's stop. We're making that poor fellow nervous.'_

I raised my head and realized the Nami man, seated on a tree's roots, was watching the two of us; undoubtedly he'd noticed my expressions during our brief, silent conversation. He flinched and quickly averted his gaze.

"So…" Lee began when Naruto finished working on a recently rather nasty bruise on his forearm. In fifteen or so seconds' application of healing chakra, he'd reduced the swelling greatly to leave a light mark that would soon vanish on its own. "Would you care to tell what you were up to? Just who are you?"

"O-oh, yes, of course–!"

"Calm down," Lee said gently. "We will not harm you."

"R-right…" He nodded. "My name's Zori. I'm actually a messenger from Wave; I was sent to contact Konoha with a request for a mission. I barely managed to escape…"

"What kind of mission?" Naruto pressed, eyes narrowed. I knew we were thinking along similar lines – did Zori have a request for New Oto … or was Nami unaware that Konoha was…?

"We hope to gain Konohagakure's aid in dealing with the strange New Oto shinobi that are occupying our village!"

The three of us hid our reactions fairly well. "Ironic," Naruto muttered almost silently.

"You're Leaf shinobi, aren't you? Have you been sent as representatives to look into the matter…?" He trailed off as I shook my head slowly. I exchanged a look with the others.

"Zori-san… Konoha fell under Oto's control three months ago. New Oto … _is_ Konoha," I explained.

"What?" he gasped, eyes wide. "But – your headbands…?"

"As far as we know, we were just about the only ones lucky enough to escape. We're technically just missing-nin who are still loyal to Konoha," Naruto said.

The man shook his head. "The Hidden Leaf Village, conquered… How?"

"It is the truth," Lee stated grimly.

Zori lowered his eyes, fists clenching. "Gr… Kuso!" He thrust a hand into his robe, and I automatically tensed, prepared for a weapon. The three of us were immediately on our feet … as the man sank to his knees, head low, holding out a small pouch.

"What is that?" Naruto asked.

"The payment for a m-mission!" he answered at a whimper. "You displayed such great skill even in that simple, friendly fight; I can tell you ninja are terribly powerful! I beg of you – I have nowhere else to bring my offer!"

I met Naruto's and Lee's eyes uneasily. Kneeling down, I gently clasped the messenger's hands and closed them around the pouch. He stared with desperation in his eyes, pleading silently as I pushed his outstretched hands back.

"We'll have to think about it," I said honestly before turning away and moving to join the hushed discussion the other two had already begun.

"We are supposed to be lying low. There is no worse a move we could make right now!"

"But I mean … it's messed up! Oto can't just do as it pleases! There are laws and treaties against stuff like this, right? Occupying Nami on the sly… They already took our home. If we can, I want to stop them from having Wave!"

"It is too dangerous. I would like to help as well, but we cannot risk it! Now is the time to mind our business and walk away. This is a matter to be left to the other great shinobi nations. Three nukenin can do nothing here! Hinata-san, tell him!"

He was right; as nukenin we were in no position to enforce the law, and it wasn't like we had a nation to protect us. I could probably have gotten though to Naruto if I'd wanted, but truthfully… "I have a bad feeling about this. I'm concerned… I m-mean, what would Sound even want with a tiny nation like Wave? Sorry, Lee-kun, but something is telling me we should at least go and investigate."

Lee sighed. "If _you_ two have made up your minds, I fear I do not stand a chance." Breaking from our circle, he stepped toward Zori. "Just how many New Oto shinobi are we talking about?"

* * *

**Naruto ****ナルト**

"Naruto-kun, this bridge is named after you…?" Hinata asked beside me in surprise. The three of us stood before the Great Naruto Bridge, headbands, shuriken holsters, and kunai pouches tucked away in the bottom of our packs.

Under different circumstances I would probably have grinned and boasted all about the bridge's name. Instead I simply nodded, fingering a square of tape on my face that concealed my whisker marks. "We're here. Across this bridge is the Land of Waves."

* * *

**ナルト ****/ ****リー ****/ ****ヒナタ ****\ ****ハナビ ****\ ****ネジ**

**End Chapter Eleven**

**Naruto: **Cool! So now I get to see Inari, and Tazuna, and Tsunami and all those guys again, right?!

**Hinata: **Is that … allowed? Is there some kind of rule against that?

**Naruto: **Why would there be?

**Neji: **Fool! You can't just revisit seemingly one-arc characters you met in like, episode ten!

**Lee: **Precisely! You know how it goes – you meet the person/people with some kind of problem. You help him/her/them solve the problem, become 'friends,' and in the end walk away smiling and waving happily and promising you will come back and visit some time, but you never really _do_!

**Hinata: **Like in every episode of Pokémon!

**Hanabi: **What is … Pokémon?

**Hinata: **…Oh no, not this again!!

_(static–)_

**Lee: **When the truth behind Oto's takeover of Nami is revealed, the strength of our resolve to protect this place will be put to the test.

**Neji: **You're more clever than I first thought, but this is far from over. You're using some kind of trick, Uchiha, and mark my words; I'm _going_ to find it…

**Naruto: **Kuso… I don't know what to do! I don't…

**Hinata: **I don't _want_ to become a monster…

**Naruto/Hinata: **But if the choice is to kill or die … _What can I do?_

**Lee:** Oh, no!!

**Hanabi: **Next time, **Chapter Twelve**.

ARGH! What a nightmare... Halfway through proofreading, and for once (ONCE!) I'm not saving periodically, and the power goes out! It came back on in a second, but I lost all my corrections! I started over and reread through it again, though...

I'm planning for the next chapter to be the finale of 'Part I' of the fic, but it will probably end up either extremely long or divided in half. Can't be sure yet ;) .

Whoops… This chapter was kind of more action and less plot. I didn't really plan that, but both fight scenes were pretty important. How was Naruto vs. Hinata? That one was fun to write, and I used it to show off the Kageken in battle and introduce the Juugouken (a mixture of Hinata's style, Juuken, and Lee's style, Gouken. Pretty cool, huh? :)

Lee had another sword technique besides the Blade of Infinity that was originally going to debut in the Sound Four battle, but I decided to save it for later.

Lol, random funny: At one point I was nodding off while typing late at... er, early in the morning. I fell asleep with my hand on the keyboard and woke up to see I had the Oto taichou in the prison saying, "This battle is oooooo..." with about six lines of o's! I was like O.O Talk about _emphasis_!

Anyone surprised by Sasuke's actions? And who has a guess as to how he's lying so easily as to go undetected by Orochimaru and Neji?

If you were looking forward to the rescue being successful, sorry, but the story's not ready to wrap up that soon!

Liked it? Hated it? Please tell me what you thought of the chapter, and if you have any questions let me know!

Laters!

:o)Hinata0321:o)


	12. Stillness

J3F\\\Journey of the Three Failures

Chapter Twelve

Record speed update and decent length? You can thank **Omega the darkness, Dominican Kitsune, Kokuryu, ComicXArena, Universal Hope, FantomoDrako, Rena-san, Zack-kun, Naybi, FenixFirestrome, chibi heishi **and the anon who signed _Metallix_ for that! Thanks for reviewing, y'all!

There might be a longer wait for the next one, though; once this is up, it's time to buckle down and finish my summer reading…

Hinata0321 is on deviantArt! I registered a few days ago because I was planning to do some story artwork soon, but I didn't think I'd have anything up this soon. Let's just say I got a little sidetracked in the middle of typing this chapter and ended up firing up MS Paint, then I got **extremely** sidetracked and ended up with a picture of Hinata's face in Blood Seal mode (I guess at the fourth ring, since the eyes have changed). It's not great, but I don't think it's too bad for a couple of hours on Paint. My strength is drawing, though, so I'll probably do some more pictures by hand soon.

Go to **hinata0321 DOT deviantart DOT com** (without the spaces and with real dots) for my dA profile. I'll also put a link to the picture on my FF profile.

Once again, my powers of estimation prove dreadful ;) There's no way I would have fit so much into one chapter, so… Last chapter's preview kind of applies to chapter 13 as well!

I think this chapter turned out pretty nice! Please read and tell me what you think!

"_If a picture's worth a thousand words, I'll find two thousand words that kick the picture's butt." _– me, as far as I know!

XD No idea where that came from. Anyways…

**Disclaimer: **No I don't own _NARUTO _and I'm running out of disclaimer jokes.

* * *

**Journey of the Three Failures**

**Twelve: Stillness**

**Part One: Beginning - The Arrival**

**Naruto ****ナルト**

"Coming back from a trip? A trip to where?"

"My siblings and I were away visiting our grandparents in a small village of southern Fire," Lee said. "We live here with our uncle and his family."

I nodded. "What's going on? Why can't we pass?" It occurred to me that it might be a little suspicious since the three of us didn't look remotely similar – with our differing hair colors, eye colors, and skin tones…

One of the Sound ninja narrowed his eyes. "What's with these glasses? It's not bright out," he snapped, suddenly snatching the sunglasses off Hinata's face. The girl let out a very realistic yelp of surprise.

"O-Onii-s-san…!" she whimpered in a tiny voice, and Lee clasped her hand with a few reassuring words. "I'm s-scared!"

"She's blind!" I protested, stepping defensively in front of her. "Don't startle her like that!"

I saw the fist coming – even had the time to both think about dodging or retaliating and remember I couldn't – before I was hit across the face, allowing myself to be thrown to the ground. Sitting up more slowly than I could have, I saw the man waving a hand in front of Hinata's face. She stared straight ahead, a very slight crease in her brow but her pale lavender eyes not following the motion. Suddenly drawing back his hand, he made as if to strike her; his punch halted within an inch of her forehead. She didn't even flinch.

_Nice, Hinata! _I thought as Lee pulled Hinata back and steered her partially behind him, the image of a brother standing up for his younger sister as he glared at the guard.

"That's enough, isn't it?" the other Sound shinobi, who'd been silent up until now, spoke up. "I know we're not supposed to let anyone in or out, but they're just a few kids…"

The first man grumbled. "I was just thinking, she looks a lot like Neji-san and those other Hyuuga folk back in the village–,"

Hinata broke into a bout of coughing, slumping against Lee's support.

"Please, sir!" I said on cue, "My stepsister has a weak body, she's taken ill! Travel has worn on her; we need to get home…"

"Hm… You escort them," the man said dismissively to his comrade, tossing the sunglasses Lee's way. The boy made a point of not catching them too deftly, allowing them to bounce off his shoulder and then fumbling a moment.

"Hai," the younger of the Oto-nin said, opening the gate behind him and beckoning us through.

_Infiltration success, _I thought, getting to my feet.

* * *

**Hanabi ****ハナビ**

"Shikamaru-san…"

"Hey, nice to have you back in the world of the living – Hakage-sama!" Kiba threw in with a laugh.

"Thank goodness…" Sakura sighed. "We were getting worried…"

"How are you? Do you feel okay?"

As we knelt down, he gave us a weak smile from his reclining position on the futon. Today he was dressed in a shirt rather than a cocoon of bandages around his torso and neck. "I'll live," he said, "The medics patched me up well; I should be back on my feet before too long…"

"Ha! That's our fearless leader for ya'! If they think they can knock him down that easily, they've got another thing coming!"

"Oh, please, give it a rest with the 'fearless leader' stuff already," he groaned in complaint. "It's not like I asked for the name or anything… huh?"

I could feel their eyes on me as I stared determinedly at a few drops of water on the ground, trying to hide my face behind a curtain of hair.

"Hanabi…"

I shook my head, unable to meet his eyes. "I'm sorry, Shikamaru-san…"

He started to sit up; I shuddered at a poorly stifled sound of pain. "And just what do you think you're apologizing for?"

"I sh-should've done something … before Neji hurt you this badly…"

"Look at me," he said sternly, and I felt a hand on my shoulder. I hesitantly met his eyes. "I'll be fine. I'm glad you didn't get involved; I'm not sure Neji would have thought twice about hurting even you."

"Y-you were suffering – right in front of me!" I cried, pulling away. "I was the only one who could have helped you, but all I did was cry like a helpless coward! I was too scared of getting hurt to do a thing while you were screaming in pain!"

"That's enough. You're still just a kid–,"

"But I'll never be strong enough to protect any of you… if something like th-that happened again … if it happened again, I probably wouldn't do anything different. The truth is I'm just in the way; you don't need to keep pretending I'm not…" Wiping my eyes, I stood up and turned to walk to the door. If it happened again… if one of them got hurt, or worse, and I could have done something to stop it… I couldn't take it. I had to stop now.

"Hanabi."

I stopped.

"So you're just going to give up now?"

"…Someone who couldn't even do what had to be done at a time like that … who was too worried for her own safety to fight to protect our leader … doesn't deserve to be a ninja."

I heard a sigh. "…Then get out of here and quit wasting our time."

There was a lengthy moment of silence.

"Yes, sir."

I left the room.

* * *

**Naruto ****ナルト**

"Open up!" The Oto-nin who'd escorted us knocked on the door. "Your niece and nephews are here to see you!"

_Don't say my name-don't say my name-don't say–!_

"Who in the – Ah! Na–," My eyes stabbed into the surprised gray-haired old man from behind the Sound ninja, "–raku! Naraku! Good to see you're alright!"

_What a name, _I thought sourly as I slapped on a wide smile. "Glad to be home, Oji-san! And you remember Hikari-chan and Tai-kun, _right?_" I said slowly.

"Oh yes! Hikari-chan, Tai-kun, welcome home!"

I laughed and whispered to one suspicious Oto-nin next to me, "Poor old fart's going senile, y'know?"

"I see…" he said.

"Come in, come in, put down those bags!" Tazuna the bridge builder said, moving to let us enter; we took off our shoes and went in. "It's getting dark. Shinobi-san, would you care to stay for dinner?"

"I think I'll pass," he declined, turning to go. "I'm still on guard duty…"

Tazuna shut the door, and I sighed. That was close… "Old man, I can explain–,"

"There's no need to do that! You can explain why you were late over dinner!" he cut in.

I blinked. The Sound guy had already left; what was up with him? "Old man–?"

A sturdy hand slapped me unnecessarily hard over the back.

"Come on, you three, I'm sure Inari and Tsunami will be overjoyed to see you," he said, an urgent look in his eyes telling me to shut my mouth. He led us to the kitchen.

In any other situation I would have busted out laughing at the shocked expressions on the faces of that kid, Inari, and his mom, Tsunami. I would have – but I probably had a pretty similar look on my own as I caught sight of the two Oto-nin seated at the dining table.

"Let me introduce you three to our guests," Tazuna said awkwardly, motioning to the shinobi. "This is Captain Torakou and Captain Youkou Akane. Torakou-san, Akane-san, these three are my niece and nephews, Hikari, Naraku, and Tai."

The silvery-haired Torakou, a man with neck length hair, raised an eyebrow. "Naraku? That's a rather foreboding name."

"Yeah, I think my brother was drunk when he named him," Tazuna said offhandedly.

I found my voice to complain with a long, childish, "Oji-san!" that caused the others to laugh.

* * *

Dinner was a little more than awkward. Over stew we told about our supposed trip to grandma and grandpa's place, what we'd done, and how our return trip was delayed when 'Hikari' (who by the way was still playing blind) caught cold.

"So…" I began awkwardly after an awkward silence that followed the tale. "What're … y'know … all you ninja doing around here? Is something going on?"

"Sorry; I'm not allowed to tell you that," Torakou said simply. "We'll all be leaving soon though, so no worries."

"I see," I said.

The man smirked. "So, Tai-san, you're a swordsman?"

Lee started. "O-oh … I am sorry, I should have left them at the door. I really never take them off, so I suppose I did not notice…"

"Hm. Dual wielding, huh? Not the most common style among long swords, but one that requires a great deal of strength and control in equal parts. It's the style I myself favor, though I specialize in ninjatou – shinobigatana rather than regular katana."

"Ninjatou?" Lee asked, probably just pretending he didn't know of them.

"Straighter edge," Torakou clarified. "Anyways, it's not often that you come across another double-wielding swordsman. We must have a spar tomorrow."

Lee was being watched for a reaction, and his spoon froze halfway to his mouth. Then he laughed. "I am afraid I would quite embarrass myself against a shinobi, Torakou-san!"

"Y-yes," Hinata added, setting down her glass with careful uncertainty. "Onii-san has never had any p-professional training, after all…"

"Here we go," the other Oto captain said, "This fellow's looking to show off."

"I wouldn't show off against a civilian," he defended. "Please, Tai-san, I insist."

"Well, how can I say no?" Lee said with a cheerful face.

_This isn't good._

* * *

**Neji ****ネジ**

–"_You have an opportunity to redeem yourself. I've decided to place you in charge of the strike on New Konoha… It is time to finish them."–_

"Where is he?" I muttered to myself, hurrying down the halls at a brisk walk. Hopefully he hadn't left already… "Byakugan–!" It was one of those days; my kekkei genkai was acting up, but I'd glimpsed him at least.

–"_I have confidence in your capabilities, Neji-kun. Do try not to disappoint me…"–_

I stopped where I'd seen him; he wasn't further down the hall, but he couldn't have moved that fast unless he'd decided to sprint down the hallway. Then I heard a quiet voice nearby.

"Uchiha," I said, opening the door to a startled yelp – and a fist aimed at my face. I caught his hand and raised an eyebrow at the wide-eyed boy as he blinked in surprise, disoriented.

"H-Hyuuga-san…?" He shook his head. "Darn it, don't sneak up on me like that!"

I released his fist. "I have a simple assignment for you, but first… What are you doing in the broom closet?" I asked, eyeing him.

"…Hn," he said, looking away. I crossed my arms.

"Then what did you just slip into your pocket?"

"Nothing," he grunted.

"I'm sure you're aware I'm not in the best of moods with you, Uchiha…"

"Is that a threat–?"

"_What do you think?!_" I hissed, grabbing the neck of his shirt in one hand and slamming him against the wall a foot off the ground. A small, half-inch thick disc was promptly flung my way; I dropped him as my free hand snapped to catch it.

"Take it if it means that much to you, Hyuuga-san!" he snapped, straightening his shirt indignantly. I glowered a moment and popped the disc open.

I blinked.

"…How rather feminine of you, Uchiha," I said, shutting the compact mirror and handing it over.

He snatched it away. "It's this pimple," he muttered, blushing slightly.

I saw that there was indeed a microscopic pimple near his nose. So the genin was fretting over the first zit ever to mar his beautiful face? I snorted. That was a bit vain, even for him… "You can break down over acne on your own time. I've a message that needs to make its way to New Konoha."

"What is it?" he said.

"New Sound is striking New Leaf at 1200 hours tomorrow with a force of one hundred."

"Wh – what?!"

"So when we strike at 800 hours with a force of three hundred shinobi, we will finally crush them. And if they appear somehow to be fully prepared and ready… let's just say I'll know who to hunt down."

"Tch. I got it; 1200 hours with a force of a hundred. So the resistance ends tomorrow, huh?" he said, starting to pass me. "I guess now New Oto needs all its focus for bigger and better things."

"Indeed it does…" I turned my head to the boy beside me. "Uchiha."

He stopped. "Hyuuga-san?"

"I know why you lied yesterday," I said in a quiet tone. "I applaud your ingenuity. In exposing a liar, you gained favor with Orochimaru-sama without losing any of New Konoha's trust. But there's a problem with this picture – how is it that you yourself weren't discovered? How did _you_ manage to lie to Godaime-sama's face and go unnoticed?"

"Lie, Hyuuga-san?" he said, eyeing me oddly, and so true was the look on his face that for a second he got me to believe _I_ was crazy.

"Y… You don't have to pretend," I said, unnerved but not showing it. "I already know–,"

"I am a loyal soldier of New Oto, Hyuuga-san, and I'd appreciate it if you stopped trying to convince me otherwise," he said icily. Indignant, he turned and walked away. "If you'll excuse me now."

Teeth clenched, I was still staring for long after he had vanished in a swirling gust of leaves. By all indications, he was telling the truth … but if that was so, then what was wrong with _me?!_

_No, now isn't the time to start losing your cool. You already slipped once, after all…_

I turned to go back down the hall; I was to meet in a few minutes with the captains I'd be commanding in tomorrow's raid.

_He's got some manner of trick on his side… I need to be more careful around him. I should assume that if it is ever allowed to come to my word against his, things _will_ be dangerous._

* * *

**Lee ****リー**

_There is no talking him out of it, I guess… _I clutched the katana tightly in my hands.

"You seem nervous, Tai-san," the Oto-nin commented, sinking comfortably into a stance with two straight-edged swords in hand. "It's nothing but a friendly fight. Loosen up; I won't hurt you."

"Right," I said, "I guess I am ready when you are."

"Okay, then." He shifted one of the swords slightly; the light of the morning sun behind me glanced off the blade and flashed sharply in my eyes.

_I cannot see!_

I blinked hard – and moved my right hand. Metal struck metal, a katana sharply halting the swing of a forceful ninjatou uncomfortably near my neck. I took in a shaky gasp as my wide eyes locked with the smirking man's calm ones. _H-he would have killed me?! No, of course not! He would have stopped had I not blocked in time… right?_

"Tai!" Naruto cried from where he and the others were watching.

"I am fine!" I called, shooting him a look. _Do not blow it now!_

"Not bad at all," my opponent remarked, and the pressure on our locked swords suddenly increased. Panicked thoughts sprinted through my mind as I allowed his blade to inch closer.

_No fourteen-year-old non-ninja swordsman would be strong enough to hold him off! Stop him and the secret is out, or do not stop him and … hope that since you appear to be a civilian he will not harm you!_

A cold edge touched my neck.

Torakou whirled, striking fiercely from the other side. I blocked again and spun away, avoiding a stab toward my abdomen.

_Kuso – Kuso! _I thought as he attacked again. _He is not fighting to win – he is trying to expose my true level of skill! Am I reacting too swiftly? Or demonstrating too much strength? I cannot tell! But if his game is truly to test me by striking as if to kill, then if I am to fall into a potential-death position…!_

I parried a strike, and his other blade flashed in the opposite direction to hack the katana from my grasp. I swung for his shoulder at a controlled speed – and released my second blade as his ninjatou lashed sharply against it.

…_Then it will appear as though I have shown the full extent of my ability._

I allowed myself to be disarmed and pinned to the ground, a straight blade's edge resting at my throat. I gulped.

"Eto… It seems I have been defeated, Torakou-san."

"So it seems," he agreed. "But see, I'm really curious about something."

"And that would be…?" I inquired, holding his smug gaze.

"Who are you, really?" he asked lightly.

I gave a look of surprise. "What do you mean? I am Tai…"

"Hm… So tell me, Tai – why do you wield the katana of Kozue Kuri?"

I missed a heartbeat.

Metal began to slide against my neck.

The sword seemed to vanish into thin air. As the man clenched and opened his hand in surprise, an orange and blue blur from nowhere slammed into Torakou's side, knocking him off of me.

The two rolled on the ground, Naruto ending up below him and vanishing to appear a few yards off; Torakou's sword slashed only the earth. Naruto kicked the air, and a harsh impact sprayed blood from the man's mouth. The boy shadow substituted to stomp on the sword before the Oto-nin could lift it. He lashed a heel back, and another invisible blow forcefully caught the captain's face.

I stood up, quickly grabbing a katana. If we could defeat them before any other Oto-nin were alerted…!

Hinata crashed into the ground next to me with a thud. She sat up quickly. "No, stop her–!"

I whirled, following the girl's wide eyes to spot a signal flare rocketing into the air.

_No…_

"Kuso!" Naruto appeared near me, a ninjatou clattering under his foot. As Hinata lunged again toward Akane, I caught sight of the other ninjatou rising independently a few meters behind Naruto. It pointed toward him.

I moved at full speed and whirled to drive and elbow into his gut. Naruto lurched forward, shocked.

"Wh…?"

The blade shot over his head and clapped into Torakou's waiting hand. "Akane!" the man barked, and he body flickered.

The two appeared thirty yards away. And over the course of a few seconds, a dozen others joined them.

* * *

**Twelve, Part Two: Omen - Crimson Warrior**

**Hinata ****ヒナタ**

"Three enemy shinobi of uncertain level, loyalty unknown," Torakou said to the others, glaring at the three of us.

"N – Naraku!" the boy, Inari, called.

"Don't worry about us!" Naruto said. "Just get away! Hide in the house or something, we'll be fine!"

"No way…" I heard this spoken quietly as Naruto was talking.

"What is it?" Torakou asked one of his men.

"It's the demon-child and his demon-friends!" the ninja said, pointing. "They're supposed to be dead!!"

I started; none of us had been called such in a long time. I then noticed that among the group were headbands of New Oto as well as Oto, and recognized the face of the chuunin who had spoken. _Of course… The New Sound ninja are all former Leaf shinobi! _Why hadn't we thought of that sooner? And how lucky had we been to have not encountered anyone who knew us until now?

"Hey, y-you're right – it is them!"

"They're nothing but a few genin, sir, and weak ones at that!" the first New Oto man said. "It'll be easy."

"Then why don't you six do the honors?" Torakou said tonelessly, his eyes calculating. "I'll be sure to put in a good word about you for capturing these nukenin."

With various shouts of affirmation, the six New Oto shinobi raced toward us. But there was something odd about their formation… _They're not _in_ a formation, _I realized, _They aren't even bothering to scatter or try to surround us… That makes me feel a little… insulted._

"How confident of them," Lee observed at a mutter, clearly sharing a similar sentiment.

"Hinata, hurry," Naruto said. "Time for Gouka Toppa."

"R-right!" I said, racing through handseals as Naruto quickly completed those for his own technique. We both inhaled.

I loosed the fireball at an angle, so that it would pass in front of Naruto. It would have – but as soon as it was before him he blasted from his mouth a shockwave of wind.

Fire exploded forward.

_Hellfire Breakthrough!_

One body flickered. Two more dodged. Three were blasted by the speeding stream of flame.

The blaze barreled so far that even the eight Oto-nin who'd stayed back had to dodge it. I winced slightly at the cries of the three who hadn't been so fortunate. _Hopefully they aren't hurt too badly… _Even if they were enemies now, the six were once fellow Leaf shinobi…

Lee had already taken out one of the evading Sound chuunin with a powerful blow from behind (I blinked. When had Lee _moved_?). I jumped, kicking both feet back and tapping my boots at the center of each sole; bursts of chakra from my fingers reached two seals hidden under the tape dressing the instep of each foot, and my boots vanished. I could summon them back the same way or, should the ink on the bottom of my feet smudge, retrieve my shoes from a scroll I'd linked them to as well.

I landed on my feet. _I'm coming–!_

Naruto threw out a shadow sliding kick. A chuunin dashing toward Lee seemed to trip over the ground if anything, and the heel of Lee's palm connected with his jaw.

_Or not… _I thought as the man was sprawled out on his back, unconscious. _That's three who are down from the combination attack, two who evaded caught by Naruto-kun and Lee-kun, and the last one who seems to think she's sneaking up on me, _I thought, watching with the Byakugan as a certain Hyuuga Hisaki approached from behind.

"I'll capture you for Neji-sama–!"

I leaned forward. A gentle fist intended for my back struck only air. As both hands met the ground I drew one leg up, knee almost to my shoulder, before thrusting back; my heel rammed into the older Hyuuga's gut, a gentle kick that pushed her off her feet.

"It's good to see you, too, cousin," I said, rising again to full height and casting a glance over my shoulder.

"What the – what was _that?!_" she hissed, wincing visibly as she stood. "You c-can't be that whiny little scrap of Main House garbage! And those other two – you're supposed to be weak–!"

"Insult me if you'd like…"

I threw a fist into her stomach, and then slipped aside to drop an elbow near the base of her neck. She smacked into the ground.

"But kindly leave those two out of it."

I lunged to the side when I spotted a kunai coming from behind. The knife flashed past, and I turned to block an Oto-nin's punch; I backpedalled as I stopped two more strong jabs, but the following kick, blocked at my shoulder, knocked me off my feet. I slid and sprang up again, landing in a crouch.

"Idiots!" the man grunted, slinging Hisaki over a shoulder and flickering away. Supporting their unconscious or injured comrades, the Sound ninja gathered again by the captains.

Face twisted in rage, Torakou (who, having taken two good kicks to the face, didn't look too good himself) was speaking quickly to Akane; the woman stared toward us, aghast, as she listened to whatever he was saying. Jogging up to stand by Naruto and Lee, I was soon able to make out the furious captain's words.

"_No one_ must delay the progress of this mission," he growled harshly, spitting out the words. "Do you understand? You will kill them if it costs you your life."

The woman nodded, the eerily cold resolve and the speed at which it filled her eyes causing me to tremble. Fear was gone: she was prepared to die here. "Hai."

Torakou slapped her on the shoulder. "You will not fail Lord Orochimaru!" he barked, and he and the others ran.

_What?! They're leaving her to fight alone? He may be aiming to avoid further injury to the group, but where exactly are they running to? Whatever mission they have in Nami whose progress they can't afford to delay… Why leave one to hold us off and flee to the west? Unless…_

"We can't let the rest get away–!"

I shifted. Cold metal opened a scratch on my cheek. It was a blur – three solid blows rapidly battering my moving forearms before a knee rammed in hard beneath my ribcage. My vision flickered away for a moment as I found myself suddenly unable to breathe.

A knife was coming toward my neck. I shut my eyes and spun.

In a feeble excuse for a Kaiten my chakra sprang out in a short burst, smacking into and halting Akane like a wall. Naruto swung a kunai, and the Oto kunoichi's knife jumped out of her hand. The next second I realized Lee had kicked over my head; his heel slammed into Akane's face.

"Hinata, why should we have stopped the others? What's going on?" Naruto asked quietly as our foe recovered, swiftly getting to her feet.

A grunt escaped me as I got my back to straighten. "I-it's only a theory, but either way it's too late now. This captain is jounin level and prepared to kill us by any means necessary. It'll take all three of us to defeat her."

"Then we had best defeat her quickly as possible," Lee said.

"Right," Naruto agreed. "Why don't we try the substitution combination formation…?"

"You just enjoy saying that," Lee pointed out, "but yes, that one might work. Let us aim to deal a lot of damage fast…"

"Whatever you're planning over there is useless!" Akane yelled. "For making yourselves obstacles to Orochimaru-sama's goal… on my honor as a Youkou warrior, all of you will die!" Her hands began flying through seals.

"Naruto–!"

"I'm on it!" he said, throwing a heel kick. He substituted to close range, where the woman barely blocked at her head in time, seal weaving interrupted. She lashed out, and he vanished to appear behind her.

_This combination Naruto-kun came up with actually draws much of its form from the Kageken… but unlike the Kageken, it focuses on letting three people utilize their individual strengths to the fullest._

I watched closely as Naruto defended against dangerous strikes.

_Also, since we are different people, the kawarimi is probably a little more difficult. Even more than that, though, it takes total and complete, unquestionable trust. This technique … is a testament to the strength of the bond between us!_

"Naruto-kun!" I called, already mimicking his position as Akane threw a kick. The boy understood and made no effort to escape or dodge, even leaning into it.

We switched places, and a shin met the side of my ribcage. One of Akane's deep crimson eyes snapped shut as her shin was hurt a great deal more than my ribs were.

_My strength: the hardness of my bones._

I grasped the neck of the turtleneck under her flak jacket and headbutted her in the face; she staggered back, but managed to block as I threw two jabs. If she was going to block…

I drew a fist back. "Lee-kun!"

"Yosh! Crushing–," He allowed me to substitute with him, "–Fist!!"

The woman's eyes widened as Lee's blow met her crossed arms.

_Lee-kun's strong point: bone-crushing physical force._

Before she could react he threw a kick at her side. As he aimed the next strike for her jaw, I felt a strange force.

_That's not going to work, _I thought, smirking as I easily blocked Akane's attempted kawarimi with me. We weren't simply leaving ourselves open to substitution; in much the same way that I'd grown accustomed enough to Kurogiba's mental presence that he was allowed into my mind subconsciously, while still I was left none the more vulnerable to others' genjutsu and the like; only Naruto could freely substitute with me, only I with Naruto, and only Naruto or I with Lee. It was there that the trust came in – to let oneself grow accustomed to, and even practice overcoming the barrier of the natural reaction to counter a kawarimi, so that one was conditioned to allow _any_ certain person to replace with oneself at any given time, was something most shinobi would never begin to consider.

"Lee!" Naruto shouted to the boy as the trade of blows shifted dangerously against him. Naruto replaced into harm's way and shadow-substituted out of it again in rapid succession.

_Naruto-kun's strength: the capacity to easily avoid being struck or pinned down._

Pulling off what he called the Shadow Snatch Technique, he quickly disarmed the Oto-nin before advancing to attack with the stolen kunai. Akane hit his wrist as she dodged, causing him to drop it; she threw a punch, and he materialized a meter to the side and threw his own. After two blocked blows, he called out as he anticipated her dodging away from a swing.

Naruto, who though not by too much was the slowest of the three of us, swapped places with Lee, who was easily the fastest. Blood shot from Akane's mouth as Lee's fist slammed into her face.

_This is it! _I thought, preparing to move at any moment.

As sharp a thud as they came entered the air along with a sound of pain as Lee buried another fist in her stomach. He began to draw back his left, his hand a palm.

"Hinata-san–!"

"Hai!"

Arms hastily crossed before her chest in defense were penetrated by a burst of chakra as I lashed out with a Juuken palm.

With an angry yell, she kicked me in the shin, grabbed my arm, and knocked me to the ground with a shoulder to my sternum. I grunted, shaking off pain even as I rolled onto my feet and raced forward again.

She leapt backwards, hands forming a seal; the earth rose up on either side of her and moved forward, shaping swiftly into a pair of identical copies of the kunoichi. The two earth clones lunged toward me, each with a kunai drawn.

_Naruto-kun … I trust you._

I charged for the original, heedless of the incoming blades.

A deep gouge tore into each replication's arm, causing both to drop their kunai. As I was passing both were slashed invisibly across their throats and crumpled into stone once more.

_I've got you! _I thought, nails turning to claws as I began to slash. As expected of a jounin, she wasn't slow to recover from the surprise of my getting past her clones. More unexpected, however, was that she whisked out a kunai and lunged toward me.

_She won't try to dodge?!_

I gasped as I saw the knife coming toward my eye. She had the greater reach.

I needed to dodge, now–!

_CHING!_

A familiar orange flicker, and her kunai was knocked well off course. I jumped into the opportunity, shredding across her lower flak jacket with a backhand slash.

"I've got your back!" Naruto yelled, running up to watch from fifteen yards to the side and a little behind me. I nodded and attacked.

Akane tossed her knife to her left hand and swung. The strike was sharply deflected, and she shifted so that my claws barely missed her as I lunged by. She stabbed toward my back as I began to strike out again; her blade suddenly turned aside so that her clenched hand met my back instead, and claws lightly grazed her side as she dodged away. After feinting with her left she stabbed with another quickly drawn knife. As I spun inside of the strike her left stabbed low, only to be repelled just before I raked her right arm.

She screamed, and I cringed. I recalled for only an instant a fight two months ago, my shoulder slashed open by malicious claws.

Two Naruto clones flowed into existence in front of Akane, grabbing forearm and wrist to pull straightened arms back. She stared, wide-eyed and helpless, as I drove a palm into her chest.

My hand fell to my side. Naruto's clones vanished, and Akane slumped to her knees. My teeth ground.

_I held back. _

"Chikusho… _You…!_"

A headbutt landed hard at my middle. The next second Akane was again at full height, hands clasping my own, fingers interlocked. She wouldn't let me pull away.

"Kinjutsu…" she hissed through her teeth, a somewhat predatory glint lighting dulled crimson eyes. "Art of the Encroaching Darkness."

_She's still … so fast! _I thought, struggling to escape. It was useless; she had my hands tightly locked in a deathgrip.

Her chakra changed from the common blue to a sickly black; unlike the black that my chakra might become when the Seal was active, this blackness didn't seem to be chakra at all. I couldn't describe it; it was like a sick, twisted antithesis of chakra, and made me think of plague. Flowing through her was no longer the essence of life, but that of death.

It tried to enter through my hands.

I swore, clasping tightly and curling my fingers as my nails sprang into claws, sinking deep between the knuckles of the woman's hands. Whether she felt pain or not, she showed nothing. Rather, the diseased energy was conducted quite a bit more easily by my claws and crept into my hands, promptly turning my nails back to normal.

The plague rolled up my arms like tar, hardly even impeded by the scars on my right arm – which seemed only a tribute to the sheer unnaturalness of the substance. My chakra disappeared where it touched, and I lost all feeling in my arms; if I hadn't been able to see them, I would have questioned whether they were there. It spread at an alarming rate, entering my torso and crawling up and down; my body felt like it was vanishing. I tried to kick her shin, but my foot didn't respond, already blocked off from me. A scream of terror was silenced as it reached my throat, erased my voice. I realized that once it had spread to my belly, found the center of my keirakukei, the darkness would extinguish that flame of life.

And kill me.

Amid the terror, moments from death, frozen stiff with half my body nonexistent and the rest leaden and icy and growing colder, I heard Lee yelling something just as my hearing faded away. And just before my Byakugan failed, I was able to catch sight of Lee, from behind me, strongly flinging a katana hilt-first to Naruto, and Naruto, spinning sharply in place, nimbly grasp the hilt as the sword reached and would have shot past him.

My Byakugan failed, and my vision soon followed. I saw only a horrifying default black, and for a short and sickening instant neither I nor anything else existed. There was nothing, nothing but the sinister anti-chakra and my rapidly vanishing keirakukei center.

Then the world was there again, light and color and smells and sound, the suddenly cherished, never before quite so valuable and appreciated feel of my body, my being, my chakra, healthy and pure. There was a feel of rough fingers sliding from my hands, smell of blood in the salty air, feel of liquid hitting my face, sound of more splattering to the ground. And I saw to my right Naruto, head low, a katana in hand outstretched to his right blazing with purple and streaming with crimson; and before me Akane, wide-eyed, spewing blood, and bleeding heavily from a slash across her abdomen.

My stomach lurched. That was **not** the most tremendously pleasant first sight that could have greeted me.

She crashed to her hands and knees at my feet, hacking out more blood. Then, trembling in pain, she cursed us.

Pain flashed in Naruto's eyes. "Just – just don't move, and you might survive! I can – I can try to–!"

"Now I can't feel anything, either…" She murmured. "Turning my life force into poison, and failing to infect any one of you in time… It's too late… It's a suicide technique… M-my lord… I _failed_…" she squeaked the word.

I gulped as her sobbing, at some point, transformed into laughter. Suddenly she lifted her hands, clasping my shirt at my shoulder and side, giving me a start of surprise. "You may have g-gotten me, but you don't stand a chance against the _rest_… It's hopeless, you hear?" I flinched away as she feebly rose up before slumping strengthless against me, arms around my neck as if in an embrace.

More than her ashen skin, her voice drenched in hatred and malice that remained eerily unchanged even as sound itself seemed to decline with each word, or the fact that I could feel her warm blood soaking into my shirt as she clung to me, what froze my breath in my throat was the expression on her face. The miserable smile that twisted her dripping mouth, the tears still streaming steadily down her face, and the laughing blood red eyes that pierced cleanly through my own, warped and sightless and blazing with a hellish glow as they cursed my very soul.

"My group was o-only preparing… Dozens more will be here tomorrow, they're on the way now … I h-hope they burn this place to the g-ground… I hope they kill you _all_…!"

I was trembling badly, my body frozen with fear. It felt impossible to remove my eyes from hers.

"See you in the afterlife–!"

Lee came from nowhere. He grabbed Akane by the back of her shirt, pulled her away, and unceremoniously shoved a foot into my belly, prying her off of me by forcing me away. I fell to the ground, looking up in time to see him take a step away from us before throwing her hard with both hands.

"L-Lee, what–?!"

He turned and tackled Naruto to the ground; and as she flew away from us, unblinking in shock, I saw a foul word form on Akane's lips just before a hand on my forehead shoved me down.

**BOOM!!**

…

…_Oh, Kami-sama…! _I thought a few seconds after the shockwave had passed, tears leaking uncontrollably from my eyes. I stared unblinking at the sky, a hand cupped over my mouth in horror. Sitting up, Naruto broke the still silence after staring for several moments.

"P… Paper bombs?" he whispered slowly, sounding as though he might be scared to speak louder.

Lee sat up, his eyes closed and teeth clenched a moment, before he nodded soberly. "Highest grade, it seems. She must have been covered in them."

I shut my eyes, retreated into my mind, tried not to think about what had just happened. Orochimaru's followers really _worshipped_ him that way? _Awful… The three of us are only a small obstacle compared to their forces – a river, not even, a shallow stream in their path that could easily be hopped across. But to sacrifice someone that simply … to leave her to become a stepping stone to make crossing just a little bit easier…! _I tried to hold back further tears.

"Hinata-san, are you hurt?"

I sat up, taking a deep breath and shaking my head. "…Th-thank you both," I managed quietly. More hesitantly, I went on to ask, "Lee-kun, h-how did you…?"

"Since I was behind you, I saw her form a seal with one hand; that was the only clue."

"Oh…"

–"_You will not fail Lord Orochimaru!"–_

–"_For standing in the way of Lord Orochimaru's goal, all of you will die!"–_

–"_M-my lord… I _failed_…"–_

"Hinata," Naruto began. "You were the first to figure out we shouldn't let the others get away – so they couldn't alert the rest of their force, right? But why does Oto need that many guys here in Nami?"

–"_I hope they kill you _all_…!"–_

Youkou Akane, the crimson warrior, with as complete a devotion to her _Hokage_ as disregard for her own life, had fought desperately to kill any one of us in a violent battle right up to her bloody, bitter end. I only wish I'd somehow known it then, but her gruesome demise may have been our forewarning – a premonition of the day to come. At the very least, my young heart might have been just a little more prepared for the bloodshed that was soon to follow.

"Because," I answered, "Orochimaru isn't after Nami at all. He really wants…"

* * *

**Hanabi ****ハナビ**

"Kirigakure no Sato?! That's insanity – Orochimaru plans to start a _war_ with the Mist Village?!!" Kiba roared, while Shikamaru, even as thoughts darted to and fro behind his furrowed brow, muttered for him to quiet down. Kiba and Chouji had come to talk me out of giving up – a conversation that wasn't putting me in a cheerful mood – Sakura had come along but hadn't said a thing, Shikamaru (who was today getting by with a crutch for support) maintained a disapproving air toward the other boys, and Sasuke had just shown up, Anko in tow, with some startling news.

"Wait, hold on!" Anko said, shaking her head. She'd been surprised as the rest of us. "Even if that's true and Sound's going to invade Mizu no Kuni tomorrow, what're we supposed to do about it?"

"If you'll let me finish," Sasuke went on, "from what I heard, Orochimaru's intent is to hit Mist hard before it can recover from the recent death of their elderly Mizukage. But in order to focus all its resources and power on the war that'll almost definitely be triggered, he finally decided Sound's garnered just about as much support out of Leaf as it's going to get."

Shikamaru's eyes, narrowed in thought, seemed to triple in size. "Wait! You don't mean…?"

Sasuke nodded. "New Sound plans to wipe out New Leaf tomorrow – noon, with a force of a hundred."

* * *

**Naruto ****ナルト**

"Y-you're all alright? All in one piece?" Tazuna said, awed. "You kids fought off _all_ those ninja?" The three of them were seated together in a corner, windows shuttered, lights off. Seeing this, I was silently thankful to find Inari hadn't been watching through the window.

I shook my head at his question. "Not all of them, just Akane. The rest ran away," I explained as they stood. I glanced back toward Hinata, who was hiding herself behind me – not wanting to be seen while her clothes were drenched in the captain's blood, though her dark outfit left this mostly unnoticeable. "Could Hinata – that's her real name – could she use the shower?"

Blushing slightly, the girl gave me a quick, grateful look before she picked up her bag and followed as Tsunami showed her to the bathroom.

"Naruto…"

I managed a smile. "Hey, Inari…"

Eyes watering, the boy ran toward me and threw his arms around my waist. "I'm really, really glad you're okay!" he bawled.

"Hey, what're these tears for?" I chuckled, patting his back.

"You're the coolest – you came and chased off those mean Sound ninja for us, and now everything's going to be okay again, right?" he asked eagerly.

I ground my teeth, torn. If only it was that simple… The younger boy's face fell when he met my eyes.

"Naruto…?" he said, confused.

"I'm sorry… but I'm not so sure…"

I didn't _want_ to run away… and I _wanted_ to believe we could do it if we just tried hard enough, I really did! I would have loved to be able to tell Inari he was right and everything was going to be okay.

…But against dozens upon dozens of Sound shinobi… what could we _do?_

"How bad is it?" Tazuna asked. He had seen it on my face.

I just barely held in tears, fighting not to choke up. "Pretty bad…"

* * *

…_As such, we have reason to believe that Nami no Kuni is being utilized by New Oto as one of possibly several launching points for an invasion of Mizu and Kirigakure tomorrow. As some proof of our words, the hitai-ate belonged to now-deceased Youkou Akane, the Oto captain we managed to defeat here._

_In the interest of Nami and Mizu, we intend to hold them off for as long as possible, but the situation will be dire. Please, tighten your defense and ready your village, and send help as swiftly as possible._

_Konoha shinobi Rock Lee,_

_Uzumaki Naruto, and_

_Hinata._

Was there even a point in signing our names that way? They were the names of three nukenin claiming loyalty to a village that technically didn't exist anymore. Well, if anything it couldn't hurt.

After giving the ink a moment to dry, Lee rolled the small scroll shut and placed both the message and a neatly folded, charred and bloodstained Sound headband into a sack before tying it off and handing it to my shadow clone. Nodding, my clone and Hinata's boarded the messenger's boat. The middle-aged man studied the three of us still on the dock with a weary sigh.

"So a trio of nukenin is fighting for us, huh… I feel blessed," he said flatly.

"Hey, what're you getting at?" I asked. "We're not abandoning Wave. If Orochimaru wants to try starting a war, he'll have to do it without getting this peaceful land caught up in the crossfire.

"Don't get me wrong, kid. You and your team really came through for us last time, and we're glad you did – heck, the economy's already starting to show signs it's on its way to recovery. But this time it's different, and there's no guarantee Mist is gonna help out, either. There's no official seal of verification, no nothing; just some fugitives' word and a headband. It's not like it's your duty to risk your lives here. No one's about to hold it against you if you take off. It would be the smart thing to do."

My gaze fell, and quietly I observed the waves that slapped lightly at the deck. "Y-yeah, but…"

"Think carefully now. Just how strong is your resolve to protect this place…?"

_I… don't know…_

A hand landed on my shoulder. "We will figure something out," Lee said surely, and Hinata nodded. "We are not going anywhere. Be assured that when the time comes, we will neither run nor die."

The man gave us one long look before shutting his eyes a moment and turning away. "Kids these days…" he muttered, starting his boat.

"Please hurry," Hinata said over the rumble of the engine.

"No worries there. Sit tight, doppelgangers, this baby's a fast one."

The rumble loudened to a dull roar, and the boat sped away, heading to the east. We watched for a minute, until it finally vanished from sight.

"So now we can only pray…" Hinata murmured.

"Hey, we can do a bit more than that," Lee said with attempted optimism.

"Like what?"

"Well, for one thing…" I jerked a thumb toward the six Oto ships lined up on the shore. "We can make a hell of a lot of firewood."

* * *

**Twelve, Part Three: Stillness - Final Day**

**Hanabi ****ハナビ**

Scrunching up my face and mustering up plenty of effort, I lifted the bucket of powder up to hand it off to Izumo-sensei. _Wait, no… Izumo-_san_, _I corrected myself. He smiled as he took it effortlessly in one hand.

"Aren't you a hard worker?" he said. "Don't push yourself too hard, okay, Hanabi-chan? Go ahead and take a break, and why don't you get some fresh air while you're at it?"

"Okay," I said, nodding.

"Hey, Kotetsu, what's the holdup?!" he called as the other tokubetsu jounin approached from the way I'd come, carrying two buckets himself. Izumo leaned down and whispered loudly to me. "That lazy guy could learn a thing or two from you, Hanabi-chan," he said, earning a small giggle. "There we go, I got a smile out of her! You should do that more often, okay?"

I nodded. "Hai!"

Kotetsu chuckled, handing his load to Izumo. "Okay, pal, keep the route moving. The traps won't set themselves."

"Yeah, yeah, I'm going," the man said, turning to head further down the tunnel.

_Everyone in New Konoha is always so nice, _I thought as I walked back, taking a path to the surface. _Even if sometimes they argue and fight, they always get over it and always stick together. It's almost like a…_

I was frightfully hesitant to use the word I had in mind; after what it had always been applied to and eventually associated with, what it had come to mean to me after so many years, it just didn't seem to fit. But then I thought about other kids I'd seen, at the academy or the park, the way I'd almost rudely stared on in envious fascination as my eye happened to be caught by parents or siblings or cousins or grandparents as they smiled so fondly at a relative, and it was easier to accept the positive connotation of the word.

At the top of a ladder, I climbed out of the trapdoor to emerge under a tall tree.

I clasped a hand at my heart as I remembered my Nee-chan's loving face, her gentle hands, her stuttering voice, her caring eyes. And I nodded slightly as a single tear rolled down my cheek.

_It's kind of like a _family_…_

And I really, really hoped none of my family got hurt tomorrow.

* * *

**Hinata ****ヒナタ**

"Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!"

_It's not good enough yet, _I thought as I repeatedly lashed my foot against the tree, returned it to the ground, and kicked once more. I'd more or less mastered using the back of the heel thirty minutes ago, and though the Juuken wasn't as powerful as it would be in a more practiced palm strike, it was passable. I was having a little more trouble trying to release a burst of chakra from the first knuckle of my foot.

"Ha! Ha! Ha– agh!" I winced, flinching only very briefly as a drop of blood fell from my foot. I lowered it and kicked again.

_There's not always an opportunity to throw a kick that uses the bottom of the foot, anyways. Anything may help. The more options I have, the better…_

Ten minutes later brought some progress; I started getting acceptable chakra bursts out of the kicks. I would practice a little longer, stretch, and call it a day. There was certainly no need to tire myself out before tomorrow. And I also had a small errand to run…

* * *

"It's perfect…" I said, looking closely at the trinket on the shelf. The pendant of the necklace was a hexagon composed of three rhombuses, a raised outline running along the outer edge of the hexagon and an inscribed triangle etched lightly within it. The triangle's corners touched three of the hexagon's, and it was positioned so that the edges of the rhombuses bisected each side. It could be unclipped into three separate diamonds and snapped together again. The pendant was nearly identical to the one I currently held, differing only with a slightly lighter color that would be hard to distinguish at a glance.

"You'll have that necklace as well?" the shopkeeper asked next to me. "It's a little more expensive."

I nodded. "Ano, b-but… It's a long story, but I f-find I cannot touch that one," I admitted, blushing slightly. _The second I'm around strangers, it seems, this stutter returns… _"Could you…?"

He was surprised, but took the pendant off the shelf before bringing it to the counter. I set the first one next to it.

"Will that be all?"

"I need one more chain, s-similar to that one's…" After he retrieved a matching chain I had him put it on one of the second pendant's separated rhombuses. He boxed the two necklaces made from the second pendant, and once the boxes, the remaining piece, and the still whole first pendant were placed in the bag he gave me the total.

"There must be a mistake; it's t-too low," I said, having been expecting a much higher price.

"Those are for those friends of yours, right?"

"Hai," I said, surprised. Had word spread that fast? "A good luck charm, I s-suppose…"

"So, you're one of those missing-nin they've been talking about…" Pity was on his face as a sad smile formed under his mustache. "I imagined they were older…"

"We've made up our minds," I said firmly. "We're not going to run, and we won't die, either."

"I see," he said in a moment with a chuckle. "Then I think I can manage giving a discount – after all, it's for the good luck of the ninja who are going to fight and win for us."

I smiled, giving him the payment. "Arigatou gozaimasu."

* * *

**Naruto ****ナルト**

"Haha! I finished mine first!"

"No way, you're done already?"

"Betcha weren't reading carefully!"

"Shut up! I was too!"

"He must've had the shortest one."

"Quiet down!" I ordered four bickering shadow clones. "You're making a fool of ourself." Looking to Inari, I added, "Isn't it boring to watch me study?"

He shook his head quickly. "It's totally cool!"

I laughed. "If you say so. When all of you finish reading your sections, dispel _in order_ about a minute apart. Got it?" I asked the bunshin, and they nodded. I'd finished the book a couple of weeks ago; now I was attempting to review as many crucial points as possible. Since it wasn't brand new information to me, it wasn't overwhelming.

Shutting my eyes, I tried to think about as little as possible. When the first wave of information washed into my mind, I focused on it until the next came. A few minutes later all four sections felt freshly read in my mind.

I picked up the book again, flipping open to another chapter. "Kage bunshin no jutsu!" Five shadow clones appeared, each with a replicated book opened to the same page. "Section one, section two, three, four, and five," I assigned, pointing to each of the doppelgangers in turn. They nodded and set to work covering the chapter.

"Boss, look!"

Looking to the larger group of clones on the other side of the living room floor, I watched as a rather long gash on one's arm slowly but surely began to mend and knit closed under the healing chakra of another. This group was working in pairs, hurting and healing one another. I nodded. "Good. Keep it up."

Feeling a little fatigued, I dispelled one of the clones that was dozing in the other room. I would need to physically rest my body, yes; but the mental drain of using so many clones could be eased this way.

"Say, Inari…" I spoke quietly, so the clones could focus. "You're not, y'know… worried or scared at all?"

He shook his head. "I know you're not gonna lose to anyone. As long as you're here, we have nothing to worry about!"

I smiled. _Look at this… This time around, he's the one picking me up…_

A spark of memory came from a clone much farther away. _So that's where they are, huh…_ I had clones interspersed a short way along the coast of Fire and, mainly focused on the Sound army's path, a great number of miles west as well, almost spaced in a gridlike pattern. All were disguised as rocks and whatnot, monitoring their progress. Every once in a while one would dispel itself to report their position, while the rest that were passed trailed a safe distance behind.

The force was still moving fairly slow; high speed was impossible for such great numbers. In fact, this clone had gotten close enough to come up with a rough estimate of their numbers.

I didn't like those numbers at _all_.

* * *

**Lee ****リー**

For as long as I could remember, I had preferred training in the forest over anyplace else. Maybe the love had grown over time; maybe it was simply what I was accustomed to. I was generally happy any time I was training, yes, but the green smells of the forest, the sounds of a breeze furrowing its way through the trees, the scenery and the occasional glimpse of an animal, somehow made me the most comfortable of all.

I thought back on all those years ago, frequently escaping the insults and jeering of classmates by fleeing to a forested training ground. It was the sanctuary where I had most often committed myself to hour after hour of push-ups, jump roping, punches, kicks, pull-ups, crunches, and squats; where I had first met Guy-sensei; where I had been many times trounced by Neji and helped up again by Tenten; where I had stayed to put in a few to several hours of extra work after every team training session, no exceptions rain, hail, sprained ankle, broken arm, or influenza regardless; where I had gone to cry when I was told that Otou-san and Okaa-san were…

I stopped moving.

Yes… I liked forests very much. _I suppose I am a Leaf shinobi through and through, _I mused with a slight smile. I kicked a twig out into the air in front of me, drawing back my right arm and letting some tension gather in it as I pulled forward against the katana's weight. I then ran my chakra down the blade and lunged forward – snapping to a halt ten yards away, the stick split cleanly in two behind me. I moved again, striking sharply at the air.

So much of my power and skill, I reflected, I had built up in one forest or another; at this point, it was a part of who I was. Remembering all my training, all the time I had poured into making myself stronger… I was certain I would survive whatever was to come tomorrow. I would not let myself die, and I would not allow my friends to, either. I knew with sudden confidence that somehow we would do it. We would survive this – the three of us, together.

Training in the forest like this … even if just for a minute, it put my mind at ease.

* * *

**Hanabi ****ハナビ**

"_Hanabi!!_"

I looked up at the loud, shrill voice as _he_ sprang around the corner. I dodged and snagged his wrist, and in a second I had his arm behind his back and pinned him to the wall.

"Konohamaru-kun," I greeted.

"Ow-ow-ow! As expected of my other number one rival!" he yapped speedily. "I _guess_ I can afford to hand you this round!"

_This boy… Does he realize he might have a better shot if he just refrained from yelling out before he attacked? _Not like I thought he could beat me now, but still… "What do you want?" I asked, letting go of him.

Meet Sarutobi Konohamaru, self-proclaimed my eternal rival. I humored him and took him on at every surprise attack and challenge, but usually just saw him as an annoyance at most. When I'd told Nee-chan (what felt like ages ago) about the academy kid who'd taken to ambushing me at any real or imagined hint of opportunity, she'd teased that he had a crush on me. I didn't think so. Apparently his 'number one rival,' Uzumaki Naruto, had advised the boy to stay sharp by claiming the strongest other student in his class as his rival, and _apparently_, unfortunately, Konohamaru had decided that was me. _I wonder if Uzumaki-san was trying to dump this brat on someone else. Very clever…_

He blinked. "What do I want…? Oh yeah!" He pointed at me, and I glared at a finger inches from my face. "I heard you're leaving New Konoha soon, that's what! You've gotta tell me that's not true!"

"It's true. What's it matter to you?"

"Are you serious?! I thought you were my eternal rival!"

"It's not like I ever agreed to be your rival or anything in the first place!"

He huffed. "Then what are you doing? Are you going to the Academy instead?"

"No!" I cried. Almost every child left without a guardian, effectively orphaned by the imprisoning of parents, had been put into shelters. And every child in the orphanage and shelters that was old enough was being forced to attend the New Oto Ninja Academy, whether they wished to or not. "I would never go there! I'm not joining Oto, I'm done with being a ninja altogether!"

"B-but… but why?" he asked, a hurt look in his eyes.

I turned away, biting my lip. What did I care? So what if I let down the bothersome, incessantly loud and shrill-voiced brat?

But then… why did I feel this way?

"Hanabi…"

"Quit your whining, okay?! I'm done, you're not going to change my mind…"

"I c-can't believe you were ever my rival!" he cried, and I heard him run away. For a minute I didn't move, and just stared at the ground.

I rubbed my cheek with the back of a hand. Again...!

_Stupid… Hyuuga aren't supposed to cry…_

* * *

**Hinata ****ヒナタ**

I swept my arms down, legs scissoring behind me. _'There's still no one nearby?'_

'_Nope.'_

'_You're sure?' _I asked with sudden suspicion, taking a listen through his ears as I lowered my arms again.

'_I wouldn't pull such a joke, even on you. But out of curiosity, what would you do if someone was? Drown?'_

'_Ha ha.' _I broke the surface of the frigid water and lunged onto shore beside him, dropping the fish from my mouth and gasping in huge mouthfuls of the chilled night air. Without thinking about it I shook excess water out of my hair.

"Fish," Kurogiba snorted disdainfully as I leaned against a nearby tree and tore scales away with my claws. "Never was to my taste…"

"Even if I have my ups and downs I'm mostly human, remember?" I said.

"Do humans eat their fish raw?"

"Do wolves eat their fish cooked?"

"Look, you…"

I took a large bite, trying to get myself to chew at least a little before I swallowed. _'I feel so … fat,' _I admitted quietly, snapping up another bite. _'I can't believe I ate as much as the boys at dinner, and it didn't fill me up…'_

"It's when you say things like that that it's impossible to forget how _human_ you are," he remarked absentmindedly.

'_Hm…'_

He sighed. "Look, have you gained any weight?"

'_I don't think so…' _I thought, getting started on the first fish I'd caught.

"Did one of those boys say something?"

'_No.'_

"Then your body's using what you're eating. There's nothing wrong with that, so quit whining. Like I want to hear your human-girly concerns…"

I giggled for a second at the change of tone. _'Yes, sir.'_

"And stay out of my head while you're eating that stuff, will you?"

"Hai," I said, and kept silent until I finished in a minute. I laughed slightly. "Here I'm worried about gaining weight when I'll probably be fighting for my life tomorrow," I said, pulling my shirt over my head. "What a silly time for me to start troubling over such a thing…"

I finished dressing in silence. Once I was clothed and had zipped my hooded jacket almost to my collarbone, I looked to the wolf beside me.

"So… I just wanted to check, since you never said anything about it–,"

"A tie's not a win, and he went easy on you in the beginning either way. Your strategy wasn't bad I'll admit, but you're still on your own."

Resting my chin on my knees, I nodded and looked down to watch the moon's reflection on the glossy water. "I understand…"

A few minutes later he spoke again. With the one word there was something different, something strange in his voice that I couldn't quite pin down. Or had I simply imagined it?

"Koinu."

I looked up, and then followed his gaze to the almost-round moon in the sky – the moon that I knew tomorrow would be full. "What is it?"

"You'd better not die tomorrow. I've no interest in finding the weeks of my life spent preparing you for the full moon were wasted."

Yes, I decided with some disappointment, I must have imagined it.

"Hai, Kurogiba-sama."

* * *

**Naruto ****ナルト**

"Okay," I said, opening my eyes. Fixing in my mind's eye a New Oto shinobi the clone had seen, I created a kage bunshin in front of me. It promptly transformed into the New Oto shinobi, and I pictured an Oto kunoichi as I formed another that also transformed. Next was another Oto ninja…

When I was done, the likenesses of three Oto and three New Oto ninja were lined up in before me. I handed two jars of liquid to the last clone; a substance Hinata had mixed earlier in the day.

"Pour half of the first one into that small lake they're camped near; hopefully some of them'll decide to get water from it. Save the rest for until these five start the riot, and slip some into as much food or water as you can without being seen. If you're caught they'll know it's tainted. Keep in mind," I said to the others, "the New Oto and Oto shinobi don't think too much of each other. That's what we're using to our advantage. Understand?"

"Yeah, yeah, we get it already," one complained.

"Okay. Go!"

With nods, "Yessirs," or mock-salutes, they took off out the window.

* * *

As it turned out, a shadow clone's memory went not only to the original, but to every other of the original's clones that existed at the moment it was dispelled as well.

A clone popped up next to me.

"How many of you are waiting back in the trailing group?" I asked, and dispelled it with a pop.

'_Fifty-seven!' _sparked into my mind. I blinked.

Pop. "So fifty-six now, right?" Pop.

Pop. "Wait, don't answer that!" Pop.

I thought a moment. The army was sleeping now, with only a few on guard. Hardly any of them had equipment on yet; safe in a large group, they'd probably gone the rest of the trip without it and would gear up in the morning. Now was the perfect time to start.

Pop. "Split into two groups, twenty in one, the rest in the other." Pop.

I waited about ten seconds.

Pop. "You twenty, go in groups of two about five minutes apart. Weapons, equipment, the packhorses' bags – start stealing and leaving shadow copies behind. Don't let the ones linked to the copies be dispelled; those'll go hide at the waiting point with the real stuff, while the creators return to the trailing group." Pop.

And so they were set to their task – sneaking into the camp, picking up backpacks, holsters, pouches, or bags, creating shadow clones themselves, and leaving the replicated items in place before making off with the genuine.

* * *

Fifty minutes had passed; they should be done. I'd sensed none of them dispelled, so the operation had been a success.

Pop. "There're still fifty-six-or-seven of you over there, right? I want fifteen of you to go and wake that camp up. Keep going until you're dispelled." Pop. Pop. "Once they're out, the rest'll go in groups of five or so every twenty minutes, more or less to keep them guessing." Pop. Pop. "Feel free to get creative now; it's time to give them some commotion." Pop.

I would make sure the camp didn't see any sleep for the rest of the night.

Opening my eyes and massaging my brow, I stood and walked outside. Gathering some chakra, I formed a handseal.

"Tajuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu."

I swept my eyes over the two hundred copies that appeared. "Sorry, but there's not enough space for you in the house and you won't be able to sleep either; if you fall asleep while I'm sleeping, you might dispel."

None of them complained, knowing as I did that carrying out their assignment could improve our chance of success tomorrow. And that the price of failure amounted to Hinata's, Lee's, and my life.

"I want two of you to head off to the Sound camp every twenty minutes for two hours and forty minutes. That's about when the other group should be running out, and you'll send ten every twenty minutes after that. It's eleven o' clock now; you'll last until dawn. Your mission's the same as the other group – don't let them sleep, and injure any if you can."

A murmur of affirmatives ran through the orange army. I nodded and headed back inside.

I sorted through memories that were reaching me already. Many a paper or smoke bomb had gone off, evidence of them vanishing as soon as the clone that had thrown it was dispelled. Snakes had found their ways into tents, an air bullet had found its way to a campfire to spread out a bright conflagration, and more than a few tents were already ablaze. Minds full of fresh faces, the members of the next group set off under henge guises. Crawling into my sleeping bag, I chuckled quietly as I caught various glimpses of the camp going up in chaos. _Have fun…_

My aching head was almost on my pillow when I sat up again, glanced over the room, and formed a seal.

Fifteen clones in identical sleeping bags suddenly filled in some more of the floor space. Lee and Hinata, already asleep, didn't even stir. I spent a minute concentrating on the smaller number of bunshin. When I felt confident even the decreased chakra flow of unconsciousness could maintain them, we all went to sleep.

It was a fitful rest with so many dispellings carrying over the phenomenon of fatigue, but I was rested nonetheless. Even if I didn't get the best night's sleep ever, it would be worth it.

* * *

**Neji ****ネジ**

The dead of night was the only time I could do this. If anyone were to see me, they would ask why I wasn't using the prestigious bow that belonged only to the head of the clan. It was rightfully mine, to be seized by me just as was the leadership of this clan; and so in my hands it served as the symbol of our triumph.

Tonight I'd chosen a different one, however – one that wasn't quite as sturdy and sleek, was neither as powerful nor perfect. And it was with comfortable ease, with remarkable clarity and peace of mind that I hadn't known in a while, that I fluidly drew back the bowstring and fired. The arrow zipped off into the still night, sliding through the calm air and planting itself in the tree.

I sighed, thoughts drifting over to the mission I was to command tomorrow morning. I should head back soon; I needed to be well rested.

Silently I retrieved my arrows and started back across the field, toward the estate. I slowed to a stop halfway.

…I didn't want to leave yet.

For a moment I stood and thought; halfheartedly I contemplated moving on before deciding against it. I promptly sat down. A few minutes couldn't kill me.

Lying back in the cool grass, I gazed up at the not quite round disc that blanketed the earth in its illumination from the heavens above. Almost unconsciously I brought the bow to my face, the wood centimeters from my nose.

_This _was the bow that belonged in my hand, marvelous in its imperfection. Over the one that bore petty legends and history, that many a supposed clan hero had wielded before me, I myself would have chosen the one I now held any day.

Certainty became all the surer as I shut my eyes and inhaled very slowly, drawing in a scent that seemed ingrained in the wood itself. An old, unmistakable scent lied under my own fresher one, and while much like mine it remained distinctly different. A few months ago I would have smelled nothing on the wood; a few months ago no scent would have been associated with the one I knew had crafted the bow. But as soon as I was able to smell it I knew, with undeniable certainty, to whom the scent belonged.

"I'm the leader of the clan now, Father… Isn't that great? I became the leader, and I set our family free…"

* * *

**Hinata ****ヒナタ**

…_Footsteps……_

Eyes snapping open, I threw off my blanket and rolled into a crouch, a kunai in hand so quickly I couldn't remember whether I'd acquired it from my sleeve or a tool pouch. My eyes focused on the surprised figures in the doorway, and I blinked.

"Oh!" I dropped the knife and fell to my knees, cheeks burning as I lowered my head. "O-ohayou gozaimasu, Tsunami-san, Inari-san! Sumimasen!" I stammered, ducking my head in embarrassment.

"'San'?" Inari said in confusion, and his mother gave a sad smile.

"Breakfast is almost ready, Hinata-chan. Will you wake Lee-kun and…?"

I scanned the room as she trailed off; Lee was beginning to stir, and over a dozen scattered Narutos were sound asleep on the floor. I shrugged, and Tsunami giggled and left the room.

Lee yawned as he sat up. "Good morning, Hinata-san…"

I returned the greeting. Assuming the dozing Naruto lying down next to us was the real one, I hesitantly shook his shoulder. "Naruto-kun, it's morning…"

He blinked. "What, already…?" He groaned. "Man, you've got to be kidding me…"

"Is something the matter?" Lee asked as the other boy slowly sat up. Weariness hung over his eyes, and his voice was low and groggy.

"The clones were working until just about… thirty minutes ago. The ones that were up all night took the biggest toll on me…" He looked to the group of replications yawning and stretching all around us and brightened a little. "But that's why I had these guys rest up."

The doppelgangers vanished, and life seemed to spark electrically bright into his purple eyes. He stood up and patted his chest. "Yatta! Good as new – I'm all recharged!"

"Just like that?" Lee said incredulously.

"_Well_… Not totally, but I feel a million times better than I did before, that's for sure…" Suddenly he was lost in thought; for a few seconds he stared off into space. A smile appeared on his face, spreading as he shut his eyes and chuckled.

Lee and I exchanged a look. "Ano, Naruto-kun…?"

He laughed out loud for a second, a devilishly mischievous grin on his face as he looked to us. "They didn't get a wink of sleep. They had to sit out in the cold, jumpy and nervous all night! There're a good few cases of stomach sickness from what I can tell, and though mostly minor there are plenty of injuries," he explained proudly. "No one's caught on to the shadow copies, either…"

I smiled. That was some good news. "That's great, Naruto-kun–!"

"Breakfast's ready!" Tazuna's gruff voice called. "Are you kids awake?!"

"Uh-oh! Hurry, guys, we can't let good food go cold!" Naruto said, grabbing his bag and dragging Lee with him from the room. The older boy barely managed to snatch up his own bag and shut the door after them as they left for the bathroom.

As soon as they were gone, I found, my smile abruptly fell.

I started to get changed. Naruto had weakened them, certainly, but when it came down to it we were still outnumbered. Badly.

In a close-fitting, elbow length black shirt and matching almost-knee length shorts, I carefully wrapped my seal-decorated feet and right arm with a fresh roll of cloth tape. A pair of kunai was stored in simple sheaths at each forearm. Shrugging them up my arms and onto my shoulders, I adjusted straps that crossed in an X at my back; they carried sheaths at the sides, letting me store two kunai below each underarm. I pulled my long, blue-lined black pants over leg weights and up to my waist before slipping on and zipping up my warm jacket – but not before stowing a set of six slimmer knives in tough pouches sewn to the inside. I put on the blue sash around my waist. Shuriken holster was soon at my thigh, and kunai pouch and ink flask at my hip.

Last but not least, I secured my headband on my neck. My hand rested a moment against the Leaf mark, and I stood. I was armed a little more heavily than normal, but still I could move with light ease and comfort.

I made my way to the door.

* * *

**Hanabi ****ハナビ**

I woke up to shouting. Tones of panic rang unorganized through the tunnels, and the sound of various instruments being struck loudly against tin buckets and other such objects rang in the alarm.

No way – I couldn't have slept that late! I listened as some of the shouts shaped in my ears.

…What was this about them being early?

* * *

**Lee ****リー**

The foreboding mood had returned full strength by breakfast, and it now hung over the table at its peak. No one seemed willing to meet anyone else's eyes. Anxious tension weighed thickly in the air, and so affected were Inari-kun, Tazuna-san, and Tsunami-san that they spoke not a word.

I knew what was on my friends' minds, and I ground my teeth in frustration. _Even Naruto-kun! You, of all people…! _The boy paced himself as he ate his rice, absorbed in thought that one could not help knowing was grim.

I could not take seeing them resigned this way. All eyes flew to me as I rose from my chair and angrily broke the silence.

"This is _not_ your last meal–!"

Naruto's chopsticks fell loudly from his hand, clattering onto the table as he gave a small start. Shortly his wide eyes relaxed again, and he looked up.

"They're close."

* * *

When we stepped outside, we were greeted with a surprise. _What is this…?_

Tazuna chuckled behind us. "Word travels fast."

Spread along the road was a mass of people – more than I had ever seen in one place at a time. More people than could possibly be crammed into the houses in this area alone; they had come here from throughout the small land. Old and young, male or female, they all stood still and gazed silently toward us. Toward a trio of unobligated young missing-nin, two of whom were complete strangers, who were prepared to fight for them.

I smiled as I understood, slapping a shocked Naruto on the back as a lightly blushing Hinata briefly shut her eyes and clasped a hand over her heart.

"Take a look," I said softly. "This is no funeral procession. This is how many people we have counting on, and believing in us. Go on; they have come to see us off."

Naruto took a deep breath, and started forward between Hinata and me. The crowd parted as we reached the road, creating a path for us to pass. We walked together on the road west, and the fires of determination soon lit up their eyes once more. When we reached the end of the crowd and Tazuna, Tsunami, and Inari stayed behind, we continued a short way further before Naruto stopped. He turned around, and Hinata and I also looked back toward the residents of Wave who saw us as neither loser, deadlast, nor failure.

The boy raised a confident thumbs-up before turning to go. Only then did we hear the villagers begin to move, to evacuate east for the center of town as we went west for the bridge.

Naruto draped his arms over our shoulders, his gaze trained determinedly ahead. "You're right, Lee," he said. "We'll survive this. We have to."

"Right."

"Yosh."

* * *

**Naruto ****ナルト**

It was a cold day; the kind that came only in the dead of winter to a normally sweltering, humid place, with more than a little chill stinging the air but still not enough to really bite. The air wasn't very dry for a cool, breezy day, I observed as we ended our run. We were in a sort of diamond now, Lee and Hinata standing a bit back on either side of me, and the wolf – here to observe – walking behind.

I looked up as we were crossing the bridge at a walk. The sky was a lumpy blanket of grayish-white, leaving the earth darker than normal and coated in a gloomy pallor. Crystalline waves that were black in the relative-darkness churned languidly below us.

I glanced to Lee as he spoke. "You two are no longer the rookies you were when I first met you; I have seen you mature with my own eyes, and I know what you are capable of. This will in all likelihood be the most trying battle of our lives so far, and, though I hate to be the one to say it … if the time comes, you cannot hesitate."

We didn't have to ask what he meant.

As if the timing was premeditated for what we were here to do, we halted at the end of the bridge as they halted twenty meters away. Three captains – and some two hundred-something shinobi behind.

"Captain Torakou," I said, giving a quick nod in greeting. "Sleep well?"

His eyes narrowed. "You took down Akane."

I nodded again, though it hadn't been a question. "Your boats are timber. Since you're not going anywhere, we're asking you to turn around rather than resort to violence."

Torakou chuckled quietly. "More ships are on the way as we speak. Besides, you don't really think we intend to let nukenin of our own village get away with this."

Again, I nodded. "We thought as much."

Seeing we had no intention of moving, the man frowned. "You're missing-nin. Your former comrades claim you're a bunch of losers. And you defeated one of our captains with no apparent injuries between you. Just who _are_ you?"

"The worst possible type of enemy: three determined idiots who don't know when to give up."

He smirked. "Your courage is admirable."

He slowly lifted his arm until an outstretched finger pointed toward us.

"Kill them."

* * *

**ナルト ****/ ****リー ****/ ****ヒナタ ****\ ****ハナビ ****\ ****ネジ**

**End Chapter Twelve**

**Naruto: **NOOO!!

**Hinata: **What?!

**Naruto: **It's pastel-y again!

_(static–)_

**Hinata: **I can't … I can't fight anymore…

**Kurogiba: **So what, are you just giving up now?!

**Hinata: **Kurogiba-sama…

**Naruto: **There's too many… If this keeps up much longer, we really will…

**Lee: **One may only be pushed so far. As the breaking point is breached, all limits are surpassed in a fleeting of the impossible. When all is lost, the inevitable awakening…

And brilliance erupts in crimson.

**Naruto: **Next is **Chapter Thirteen: Bloody Wave**.

**Lee: **Well, my friends… The time to make the decision has arrived.///

Heh heh heh… Evil cliffhanger.

Thirteen… What an odd number -_- Oh well…

Kinda got carried away on imagery at some points, but that's a good thing, right? ;)

There were lots of small hints and clues and foreshadowing in this chapter! You might have caught a few things!

Gouka Toppa- combination of Fireball Jutsu given extra force and speed with Breakthrough, a smaller version of Daitoppa (great breakthrough).

So I'm listening to an OST playlist on youtube while I proofread, and oh my gosh… a Claymore OST, Ginme no Majo (minus maybe the first 30 seconds) really seems to fit well with the end of the chapter. Just saying… you should look it up!

As always, how was the chapter? What was good, what was bad? What did you think of the drama, the imagery? The teamwork, or Naruto's shadow clone usage ;)? Are the characters' characters (lol) still believable?

Comment, question, complaint, suggestion; this part was the best, that part sucked – whatever it is, please review!

:o)Hinata0321:o)


	13. Breaking Point

J3F\\\ Journey of the Three Failures

Chapter Thirteen

Yo! (Jumps behind desk which is then peppered with kunai) I know, late!

Super long AN, but I promise there's a chapter under it!

So the chapter I had planned turned out about twice as long as chapter seven (the longest T-T) so I'm splitting it into two chapters. Good news – I have the next part written already, so I did two chapters in less than two months. If you look at it that way, I am not late but early! Heh heh… yeah. (swats a shuriken away)

So I did finish my summer homework on time, for once, but since school started I've basically had homework in every class (except basketball) every day, even weekends (All Pre-AP. Fun). And it's driving me insane XD. And I just got cruelly kicked off the basketball team a couple of weeks ago (not good enough… Hmph. I don't need your stupid team *sniffles*) so that was pretty depressing, after I worked so hard.

Anyways, thanks for all your awesome reviews!!!, **loyal yakul, FantomoDrako, narutos vixen, Omega the darkness, Quantum Cat, No Hugs Peach, Sgt. Nolisten, InARealPickle, Rena-san, Naybi, Lady Azura, Dominican Kitsune, Cybergades, ComicXArena, chibi heishi, SaphireShade, dundee998, FenixFirestrome, Blizzard of love, Shizuka Taiyou, InfiniteDragon, YingYang890, Darkside8548, , Hikari no Minerva, Mercury044, **and anons who signed _Daniel, Frigid, Demon Ninja, _and _zzz_! Y'all are the bestest! I mean, seriously – from 204 to 248… Thanks for all the support! (If anyone doesn't want to be mentioned here, just tell me in the review, k?)

On another note… Okay, a few anonymous reviews…

Okay, one of them – I appreciate the review, but seriously? A little extreme. Naruto seems "lightyears ahead" while "hinata and lee get to sit there and suck"? Naruto's "ALWAYS the one doing the saving and never having himself saved" and Lee and Hinata "are only endangering him" apparently. Since a few people pulled this up, I spent ten minutes on a quick tally.

-Lee saved Hinata from Neji

-Lee saved Hinata and Naruto from Kozue

-Lee saved Naruto and Hinata from the Akatsuki's first paper bomb, and Naruto saved Lee and Hinata from Kisame's kunai

-Lee took out Kisame, Hinata saved Naruto from Itachi three times, and Naruto gave Hinata time to draw ink seals

-Hinata saved Naruto from the Kyuubi

-Lee performed CPR on Hinata

-Hinata saved Lee five times from Jirobo (3), Sakon, and Ukon

-Lee saved Hinata from a kunai from Sakon, kept the Sound 4 busy while she healed, and helped her deactivate the Blood Seal

-(AFTER the two, despite with difficulty, defeated the four that took six people and a dog in canon) Naruto saved Lee and Hinata from the reinforcements

-Lee saved Naruto from getting stabbed in the back of the head by a levitating ninjatou

-Naruto saved Lee from getting his throat slit by Torakou

-Naruto and Lee saved Hinata from a kinjutsu

-Lee saved Hinata and Naruto from getting BLOWN UP

So! Giving one point for each actual save, subtracting one for each time one was saved, giving two points to one for saving two and subtracting one point from one who is saved by two (while both rescuers gain one point), I came up with:

**Naruto:** (9-9=) **0**, **Hinata: **(11-11=) **0**, and **Lee:** (11-9=) **2**. Lee wins. (and in fact, the way I see it he IS still the strongest, Naruto and Hinata pretty even behind him, though catching up) No, I didn't plan that out.

Okay, so also in the battle with Akane "as usual Naruto was the one who didn't get ANYTHING done to him" – Did anything happen to Lee? In that fight Naruto focused on support and defense whereas Lee and Hinata landed 100 percent of the actual blows, as whenever Naruto faced the jounin he could only dodge. They weren't dependent on Naruto so much as making use of his unique abilities, same as they were. Isn't that the point of teamwork?

So maybe Naruto alone sabotaged the army. What, was Lee supposed to make a few bunshin himself, or would it help if Hinata wasted her chakra adding three or four clones to Naruto's hundreds?

And to another anonymous reviewer, who I'm not even sure reads the story or not since your 'review' had nothing to do with it, and who also… I don't know, apparently thought it would be hilarious to spew a stream of spoilers (one of which was incorrect – she didn't die, and if she had she would have come back;) in response to chapter five, the chapter where I stated in an AN that I am only caught up to the English dub so please don't tell me "how Itachi is innocent or whatever": that applied to when I wrote chapter five. I got tired of waiting and caught up to the manga months ago. So – you fail.

If you review, please don't be nasty about it.

Had to get that out… Anyways…

Enjoy the chapter, minna-san!

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Naruto! I do own a cute Pakkun vest-cape thing and matching headband with earholes I knitted and stitched and sewed for my adorable terrier last Halloween, and – right, chapter!

* * *

**Journey of the Three Failures**

**Thirteen: Breaking Point**

**Part One: Setting the Stage**

**Hanabi ****ハナビ**

"Hurry!" Inuzuka Ken shouted at me and his little sister. The fifteen-year-old suddenly stopped running and scooped me into his arms. "Akita-chan, hop on my back and hold on tight!" She did as told, and Ken took off at full speed.

The halls thundered quietly with the echoes of dozens of pairs of racing feet. The alarm had died down a minute ago; now most of the shinobi were moving to the outer edge of New Konoha to prevent the Sound from entering, while the rest were rushing any children to safety in the innermost area.

I shook my head. "I don't understand – what time is it?"

"About a quarter to eight," Ken answered, eyes trained ahead.

"So they must have changed their plans…"

He snorted. "Maybe… but let's just say I _thought_ something smelled funny about that Uchiha. We shoulda' known."

_Sasuke-san… Could he really have…?_

"But for whatever reason," he went on, "the Sound ninja seemed … caught off guard somehow."

* * *

**Neji ****ネジ**

_Why?! Why are three-fourths of our shinobi lagging behind?!_

I searched furiously with the Byakugan, the kunai I would have thrown in a few more minutes clenched tightly in my hand. Two hundred of them were supposed attack on my signal at 7:50 and storm their headquarters together, but someone else had thrown a paper bomb five minutes early. And then, only fifty surprised Oto and New Oto-nin had charged on the attack.

I ground my teeth and jumped off the rooftop, racing down a street toward another captain's group. I needed to get to the bottom of this!

* * *

**Naruto ****ナルト**

"Kill them."

There was movement – I falling back and the others taking stances in front of me as six shinobi blurred out of the crowd, passed the captains, and darted toward us. A speeding kunai whizzed my way, and Lee snatched it from the air to whisk it back as I drew back my fist. _No pulling punches today._

I struck sharply, hitting the two nearest us with shadow strikes branched from the same move. They cried out, one with a broken nose, and in an instant Hinata and Lee had taken them out. The next four swiftly converged on them, and the rest of the army observed, utterly motionless, as my friends engaged two Sound ninja each, while I threw in a few quick Shadow Strikes. Hinata, after brushing a Juuken Stream from his shoulder to hip, thrust her shoulder into her enemy's breastbone in a fiercely sharp move that shot him ten yards with force that seemed disproportionate to a girl her size. At the same time Lee landed three fast, hard punches before snapping into a backwards jump kick that briefly knocked his foe clear off the ground. Within five seconds the three of us had left six chuunin unconscious or groaning on the ground. We settled into ready stances again, glaring together toward the captains. _Bring it…_

They discussed at low whispers. "Send these grunts after them, and we'll crush them with sheer numbers – though at the price of some casualties on our side for certain," the older male Oto-nin said. I noticed (it was tough not to) his headband was tied at eye level. Weird. How did he see?

"So we crush them ourselves, right?" a slouching girl in her mid-to-late teens said uninterestedly. "It ought to be a decent warm-up…"

"Patience, Midori-_chan_," Torakou lightly scolded the green-haired captain. "Let's not be rash. Carelessness will get even the strongest ninja killed."

The blindfolded guy agreed. "They obviously know how to work as a team. We don't. Why hand them a free advantage when in fact _we_ control the situation here. Captain…?"

Torakou nodded. "They're too powerful together. Split them up."

I tensed as the sword-wielder raised his hand up, and the youngest captain did the same.

Their hands fell, and they and two-thirds of the shinobi body flickered.

A shadow clone appeared beside me. "Dispel!" I shouted, and it vanished. A moment later twenty kage bunshin of kage bunshin hiding a few miles away vanished as well – along with a fair number of flak jackets, other pieces of armor, shuriken holsters, kunai pouches, and anything else that happened to be a fake copy of the true equipment they'd smuggled away. An uproar of surprise and confusion raised throughout the army's ranks, and the two groups fleeing northeast and southeast on the water stopped for the moment.

_Nice stealing… _I thought, impressed at how much they'd gotten away from them even as I dropped to my knees. The sensation of staying up all night twenty times over was only slightly eased as the thirty I'd left to catch a little more sleep at Tazuna's place dispelled as well.

"Naruto-kun," Hinata said.

I shook my head, standing. "I'm fine. I was hoping we could stay together, but we don't have much of a choice here, do we?"

"Right," Lee said, "I will handle Torakou-san."

"And I'll take the kunoichi," Hinata said. "Don't worry; we won't let them get into the village."

On a quick thought, I dug my necklace from the neck of my shirt, holding out the diamond-shaped pendant. "Don't forget, you two, we're always together."

We tapped our necklaces together for a moment, and I nodded.

"Here we go."

They turned and began to move away, Hinata to my right, and Lee to the left. Time seemed to halt as full realization washed over me.

The next time I saw them, would they be wounded and bleeding? Would they be in pain, or in distress? Would they even be ali–

Yes. They would.

Even as this at least was decided, I felt I was reaching out, grasping a hand.

"Hinata…"

She stopped easily and let herself be pulled back, and I soon found my hand tenderly cupping her cheek, her face a short few inches from my own. The smooth skin under my hand grew warm as I looked into the girl's soft, surprised lavender eyes.

_You're very, very special to me…_

But as those seemed like the words of one prepared for death, "Don't do anything reckless" came out instead. Nonetheless I grabbed her into a tight hug, which she returned.

"Okay. You, too."

As we separated I felt a light peck, so brief that her lips just barely brushed against my cheek, but with a certain sweet deliberateness that ensured it wasn't accidental.

And my surprised heart tripped, jumped up again, and began racing.

As she pulled away, her lips passing an inch from my own open mouth, my eyes were momentarily transfixed on the mingling fog of our breaths in the chilled air.

With a quick smile she turned away, and she and Lee leapt from the bridge and raced over the top of the water in swift pursuit.

_Yyyyatta!! _I thought, taking my stance, _Time to finish fast, and help the others!_

"Well, it certainly wasn't difficult getting you to split up," the blindfolded man remarked. "So you're really trying to protect this place, of your own accord?"

"What's it to you?" I snapped.

"Nothing, nothing." He waved a hand. "Your determination to defend this place is almost suicidal. Despite the obvious strength of this determination, you three didn't kill any of the ones who attacked you just now, though you had the chance to. Tell me, how did Akane die? A suicide attack?"

"How did you kn–?!"

"How many people have you killed, boy?"

Disconcerted, I was shocked silent.

"None," he answered himself with a snide smile, and I knew if I could see his eyes they'd be laughing at me. He began walking forward at an unhurried pace. "You couldn't bring yourself to kill me if your life depended on it, could you? The fact is, you kids are just a bunch of softies."

"Shut your mouth–!"

"Or what? You'll kill me?"

My teeth locked. _Mind games. That's all it is…_

"I was once something of a nukenin myself," he went on. "Did you know a nukenin's life is measured by how many lives he can wipe out with his own? How many inferior existences have ceased due to his own life? You're _nothing_, boy. Do you honestly think you, with your soft white hands, have what it takes to end someone who'd probably taken dozens of lives by the time you were born?"

"You sure talk a lot, you know that?! I'm not about to sit back while some graying old geezer talks crap like he knows me!!"

I ran toward him, throwing a Shadow Punch. He slipped aside, dodging easily – and his leisurely strides became a full-out sprint. He dodged a second Shadow Strike, and with deadly speed he closed the distance between us. He was literally inches from spearing me with a dagger when I substituted behind him.

I leaned to the side, and my shoulder was nicked sharply. I yelped, and a heavy boot impacted my chest.

With a sloppy kawarimi I crashed to the ground twenty yards away. Grunting, I hastily sat up.

"Stay back," he commanded his forces, "I'll finish him…"

_Shoot… This guy's n-no joke. This is a true elite ninja…_

* * *

**Lee ****リー**

My feet skidded to a halt near the treeline just as Torakou and his shinobi blurred into existence on the field and beach before me. Not winded in the least from the long sprint, I grinned inwardly as I spotted many in the neat rows of ninja panting for breath from the exertion of matching their captain's pace. We were now a fair distance from the bridge, having circled along the edge of the group of islands until reaching one in the southwest of Wave.

"You're pretty fast," Torakou noted. He, too, showed no sign of weariness.

"The same to you," I said, and he chuckled.

Wasting no more time, he drew the two ninjatou that were sheathed horizontally across his back. The other shinobi stayed back as he walked forward, stopping a comfortable fifteen yards away from me. "Excuse me, but if you wouldn't mind I believe a re-acquaintance is in order. I can assure you that my real name is Torakou."

I drew my katana. _So he intends to fight alone; the better for me. If we are able to take out the captains, we might just have a chance… _I bent my knees, swords held at the ready. "I am Rock Lee – the Hidden Leaf Village's handsome green beast."

"Well, Rock Lee, this time we'll fight for real – and you'll die for real."

"Not likely."

_CLANG!_

Four swords were abruptly crossed between us.

"I guess I can't catch you off guard, huh?" he laughed.

My right and his left had locked in front of us at the hilt. If I were to shift my left hand even a bit, I could tear a gash across his abdomen – though to deter the thought his other blade, resting outside mine, was positioned in such a way as to ensure that should this be attempted I would suffer a similar injury.

He broke away and lunged again, following with a fierce slash. I dodged and parried, and found myself retreating at a controlled backpedal as we engaged in a rapid trade of blows. Metal sparked and clanged and rang as I kept on the defensive. An opening caught my eye, and soon enough my shin was meeting his ribcage.

He grunted, his stance weakening. In another instant one of his blades was sent sailing. I slashed, and he blocked with his remaining sword – leaving me free to stab past our locked blades with my other hand. If he moved his blocking sword to catch it, the katana he held off would meet his neck.

Icy terror lanced through me as my sword neared a vital point in his abdomen. I did not falter. I could not.

Then, by sheer luck, I glimpsed a curious gesture of his empty hand. A quick memory and a burst of intuition saved my life: I shifted aside, and a ninjatou whistled past my shoulder to clap into Torakou's hand.

The moment it was caught he lashed toward me; I moved a sword to block, and his blade slid swiftly along it, reached the tip, and lurched toward my head.

"_Agh!_" I cried as I turned away, and I felt a line of pain blaze from an inch in front of my ear to just below my eye. I spun out of my narrow evasion, wincing as I hopped several yards back. My enemy smiled.

"Well, I can ascertain that you are, indeed, a shinobi rather than an amateur civilian. But your never having been professionally trained with a sword is the truth, isn't it? Your form is just short of dreadful; you've gotten this far with strength, speed, and instinct alone. Form or force – I'm not completely sure which would win out in the end, so I suppose I shouldn't take chances and face you at close range, should I?"

He flung his swords skyward and jumped several meters back, weaving a quick string of seals. At movements of his hands the blades spiraled about each other in their descent, before plunging point-first toward him as he crossed his arms. As the blades began to pass him, he caught both by the hilt with a firm clap. When he uncrossed his arms he let the crossed swords grind against each other – and with the shriek of metal silvery flames were ignited down their lengths.

…_Show off, _I thought, though admittedly a bit perturbed by the fire-coated swords. "Chakra strings?" I guessed of their uncanny flight capabilities, and he nodded.

"I'm not a washout like Akane. Meet your demise at the silver tiger's flaming claws…"

I grunted, ignoring the sting on my face and the trail of blood that finally spilled down my cheek as I prepared for an attack.

"But you know… Midori-chan is stronger than I am … probably," he said with a nod to himself. "The only reason she's not in charge of the mission is that she's a bit … well, let's just say she's not exactly commander material. Tame enough around her superiors, sure, but she's quite the temperamental child, you see, and her former sensei was the only one who could really control her. Knowing her vindictive streak, her only regret will probably be that she couldn't finish all three of you herself… Anyways, I hope you've put your strongest against her, though to be completely honest with you it won't make much of a difference," he finished, shrugging innocently.

I gasped.

_Hinata-san!_

* * *

**Hinata ****ヒナタ**

"That … kekkei genkai…" I whispered, shocked. My body giving a little quiver of fear, I got to my feet.

"I'll ask again," came her menacingly toneless voice as she glared down at me. A hand raised to her head level beside her, and I watched with the Byakugan as a small spark of very focused chakra appeared in the air above it. Particles were attracted from the air around her to fill and surround the shining droplet of chakra. "Are you the one who killed Aka-nee-chan?"

Before I was given much time to answer, I was forced to roll to the side as a fist-sized sphere of iron sand went rocketing down to where I'd been.

_She's – a descendant of Suna's Sandaime Kazekage?!_

* * *

**Neji ****ネジ**

"Captain Jin!" I shouted as a shunshin placed me in the training field. He and his force, fifty more shinobi… "Why are you just sitting here?!"

"What do you mean?" he asked, surprised and a little scared. _My eyes must have changed. _"Hyuuga-san, your orders were for us to move in at noon – we still have hours!"

"_What?!"_

"H-here," he said, hurriedly fishing a small scroll from his bag. I recognized it – I had written it. He was hesitant, as though he feared upon reading it it would be proven he'd failed to follow his orders due to a careless error on his part. Finally he handed it over, and I unrolled it.

…_Nani?_

My eyes narrowed in on a single phrase on the assignment scroll. I read and reread, in my own handwriting:

…_Your force is to attack at 1200 hours…_

"I didn't write this…"

"Pardon–?"

"I didn't write this! Get over there and help, now!"

He saluted. "Yes, s…! Hyuuga-san?"

"What?" I snapped, following his gaze as he pointed. I spotted a collection of blurs speeding across rooftops in the distance. Smoke from a recent paper bomb hung in the sky.

"That's Akiha-taichou…" he noted. "Hyuuga-san, are you okay?"

"Our strongest group … was supposed to strike _last_…" I got my fists to unclench. It wasn't an easy task.

"Sir–?"

"Yes, attack now! And send someone to tell the group behind the wall to do the same!" I commanded, and took off again for the main village. _The invasion's falling apart… Kuso! They were stationed too far apart for radios! Should I try to contact the other groups first – or stop the imposter-saboteur who's sending up false signals?_

"Byakugan!"

I scanned the ground under the place the exploding tag had gone off. There were a few masked, black-clad figures in the vicinity, and one of them…

_YOU!_

* * *

**Hanabi ****ハナビ**

The wall of Konoha – actually, I guess now it was the wall of New Oto – it had been fully repaired several weeks ago. Escape had been impossible even before the sand monster's damage to the wall had been fixed, though; Oto had had the perimeter of the village heavily guarded at all times since the takeover.

Just recently, New Konoha had built a nine-foot high wall of stone as many feet from the inside of the wall, running along it for the whole length of New Konoha's 'territory.' A stone ceiling slanted upward from it to connect with the great wall, and the structure was reinforced by intermittent wooden beams.

It was within this long, curved corridor that I and a bunch of other children were sitting together, almost like a lockdown drill at the Academy, with Ken and five other New Konoha ninja standing guard around us. Next to me, Akita was nervously stroking the shivering ball of fluff draped across her lap; Konohamaru also sat nearby, Udon dutifully at his side.

"Coming through!"

I looked up in time to see Kiba bound from a hole in the ground near the earthen barrier, springing so far that he nearly ran into the opposite wall. Chouji scrambled out after him, and Sakura followed before quickly giving Shikamaru a hand up. The boy staggered to the side, his face red as he collapsed against the wall.

_He exerted himself, though he's still recovering…_

Pulling a stopwatch from his pocket, he pressed a button on his radio. "If you're not out yet, you've got fourteen seconds!"

While he was saying this more of our shinobi filed into the corridor from holes placed every fifteen or so yards; these passages had been formed the day before by several Inuzuka, forming narrow, slanted tunnels from walls at the edges of the underground base to the floor of the corridor.

Soon enough Shikamaru spoke again. "Sound off! Team One is accounted for!"

"Team Two!" Anko said from not far down the hall, her voice corresponding with a crackle of Shikamaru's earpiece. The squad leaders swiftly continued, confirming all their members were out of the tunnels.

I knew this was one of Shikamaru's plans. They'd retreated into the mazelike tunnels and swiftly navigated their ways here. The stone corridor was necessary so that after fleeing for the tunnels from the opposite, outer side of New Konoha, the enemy, unable to see us, wouldn't know we were all back aboveground. Believing them to be in the tunnels, most of New Oto's shinobi would follow and search for them underground instead of cutting across the land. And since they were unfamiliar with them and proceeding with caution of traps, it would take the Oto and New Oto ninja much longer to get here – if they were given enough time to.

"And sixteen noncombatants, accounted for," Ken declared, concluding the count.

"That's everyone," Shikamaru said, "Fire types, get in position!"

Inuzuka Ken knelt in front of the hole Kiba and the others had come through, forming hand seals. Further away, I spotted Anko doing the same at the next hole.

We'd spent all of yesterday in the group effort of lacing the dirt floors of the tunnels with gunpowder – not enough in any one place to bring the tunnels down, but plenty to keep a powerful fire jutsu moving.

"Ready, and… _Fire!_"

* * *

**Neji ****ネジ**

"_Uchiha!!_"

As soon as he turned around I was crashing against him, knocking him down. We slid several yards before stopping almost at the edge of the rooftop, and I tore away his black mask.

My nose twitched.

Sasuke smirked.

"Who're you calling 'Uchiha'?" he asked. Smoke burst outward, and the black clad ninja pinned beneath me had a different face and a Leaf headband.

I brought a fist to his grinning face, and with the thud of skull against rooftop he went limp.

I stood up. _With the time I spent chasing this fool, he's probably far away doing something inconspicuous by now. There's no point in searching for him. _Almost unconsciously I turned my head as my ears caught the faintest sound in the distance.

…_Fire–?_

All at once, dozens of geysers of flame erupted into the air over New Konoha. My kekkei genkai was immediately active. The tunnels were filled with an inundation of rushing, explosive fire; it had burst through every trapdoor and entrance. Only when the powerful blaze began to fade did I notice what remained of Akiha's and Jin's forces.

"No…"

* * *

**Hanabi ****ハナビ**

Kiba, who with Chouji was peeking out through a small window, whistled. "I think it worked."

Shikamaru sighed like a weary old man, rubbing his neck and shutting his eyes as he leaned his head against the wall. "If so then that's about a hundred and fifty down, right?"

"More than Uchiha said there'd be," Ken pointed out.

"Aw, just skip it for now. For all we know he was intentionally misinformed…"

Meanwhile, cheerful relief was rolling down the corridor. Konohamaru (the little dork) jumped for joy and threw his arms around Udon. Voices that had been grave and sober last night carried triumphant, hopeful tones.

"It worked – Hakage-sama's plan actually worked!"

By chance I noticed the way that Akita, a troubled look on her face, was looking at her still-trembling fluffball of a dog, and my own smile faltered.

In the instant before it happened, half of the shinobi I could see seemed to tense. My hands smacked into a seal.

_Byaku–!_

A Sound ninja crashed through the ceiling, landing right behind Ken, smiling viciously, a knife in hand. A swift motion, and a streak of crimson splattered against the wall.

Ken hit the ground. I screamed. Akita shrieked "Onii-san!!" And before anyone else could react the Sound ninja was jumped and mauled by Akamaru, by Ken's ninja husky, and by a very angry Kiba.

The ceiling and wall were crumbling; more Oto and New Oto-nin appeared. An enormous fist knocked away a large chunk of stone before it could fall on us, and Shikamaru's shadow shot to branch outward. I squeaked as a Sound ninja was frozen a foot away from me.

"Get the kids out of here!!" Shikamaru barked. Chouji's other hand expanded, and his palm blasted out a large section of the breaking stone wall so that it fell away from and not toward us.

Sakura and Kiba stood at opposite sides of the group the other children and I formed. "That basement!" Sakura ordered as the two formed three quick seals, and leaves began to dance and swirl wildly around us.

_Group Shunshin, _I realized, _but they can't flicker this many people!_

I was on my feet, hands already moving through the same trio of seals. I aligned my chakra with theirs, and focused on the group and on the basement separate from the tunnels I knew they were talking about.

Wind whistled in my ears, a huge amount of chakra was wrenched from my coils, and most importantly we were all somewhere else.

"Hanabi!" a high-pitched shrill pierced my ears as I crumpled up on the ground, clutching at a sharp ache in my belly and coughing softly. _Never used… that much ch-chakra at once…_

"It splits the required chakra evenly," Kiba calmed Konohamaru, and I felt a hand pat my back. "I'm fine, and Sakura's just a little shaky, but Hanabi's reserves aren't used to that kind of strain yet. You did good, Hanabi-chan. Are you alright?"

"I'm okay," I grunted, "It's good t-to know I saved you and – Sakura-chan from falling into this s-state…"

He chuckled and helped me up.

Red caught my eye, and I flinched away so sharply that I stumbled and fell on my rear.

"…Sorry," Kiba said, noticing the blood on his almost clawlike nails. He hid that hand behind his back, and surprisingly enough that really helped a lot. I took his other hand to let him help me up again. Sakura had already directed the others to the basement; she, Kiba, Konohamaru, and I were the only ones still out in the open. "Come on, you two," Kiba said, "You'll be safe down there–,"

"Get down!" Sakura yelled.

Kiba shoved the two of us over, and a flurry of shuriken sped by, one landing behind his shoulder and another in his thigh. A harsh Juuken palm on the back sent Kiba to the ground.

"O-oba-san…?" I squeaked inaudibly as the white-eyed New Oto-nin rose to full height. Of course Hyuuga Hireiki wasn't really my aunt, she was probably Father's cousin or something – never mind.

Kiba tried to get to his knees. The Oto shinobi who'd thrown the shuriken strode up to kick him in the side, dropping him again. The man turned in time to smack away Sakura's hand like a fly, knocking a kunai from her grasp, and his other hand clamped onto her neck.

_Scared. I'm scared… _My heart was pounding in a too-familiar sensation. Kiba was trembling on the ground. Blood was oozing from his shuriken wounds. Sakura was suffering in front of me. Konohamaru was running toward–

"No!" I cried, but he ignored me.

"Let her go right now–!"

The man released Sakura and moved to trip the clumsy boy. Konohamaru fell flat on his face.

"K-Konohamaru-kun…"

The older Hyuuga looked at me, and I flinched.

She smirked and walked toward me, and I inched away. "Look at you," she said, kneeling down in front of me. I whimpered as her hand lifted my chin. "The _elite_ heiress of the Main House, out here playing rebellious with a bunch of miscreants. You look scared, Hanabi-sama."

"Don't h-hurt me," I found myself pleading, shaking my head. "Don't hurt me, d-don't–!"

I heard a sharp clap of skin, and I felt a sting searing against my cheek as I fell onto my side.

"You're pathetic," she spat. Hair was pushed out of my face, and a thumb brushed across my bare forehead, and I squeaked as she then traced with her nail a painful line into my brow. "Showing tears, cowering in terror; you won't even try to help that little boy, will you?"

Sniffling miserably, I looked past her. The man was holding a kunai; he'd said something about how Hyuuga-sama had said to leave small children unharmed, but if they did the ones like Konohamaru would just start a resistance all over again in five or ten years. The boy was scared, but glared defiantly up at him all the while.

"K-K-Konoh-hamaru-kun…"

_You idiot… You stupid little idiot! _

_Are you trying to get yourself killed?_

_B-but…!_

The knife rose up, and suddenly I was standing up, shoving past the woman, somehow completely disregarding the warm substance I could feel on my forehead. Teeth clenched, I ran forward.

_But if even a fool as hopeless as him can go charging in without any plan, without a second thought, for the sake of someone else – Why can't I?!!_

Chakra sizzling and crackling violently on the surface of my palms, I let out a furious, wordless cry.

The man turned toward me at the last moment. Head down, I thrust both palms straight into his abdomen.

His eyes widened, and his body gave a violent shudder. We were still for a moment – then blood spurted from his mouth, and his eyes rolled back in his head as he collapsed.

"Did you not get the memo?"

"Huh–?"

A boot slammed solidly into my belly. "The _rest_ of the Hyuuga are with New Sound!"

My eyes snapped shut, and a screaming yell of pain burst from my mouth. But somehow I thought to hook my arm around her leg and, cracking an eye open, shove a palm against her calf.

She threw her head back and loosed a horrible scream. I released her, took a quick step, and lashed my palm into her stomach.

Unblinking, she slumped to her knees, arms a stiff cradle around her midsection. Her eyes rolled as she fell onto her side, and crimson spilled from her mouth.

I winced and toppled sideways, hugging my still-aching belly. Konohamaru, for once, was stunned speechless; Kiba, though conscious, still seemed to be having trouble moving; and Sakura, who'd recovered and been about to run and help, now stood shocked.

"Holy f–,"

"Fishsticks," Sakura absentmindedly cut Kiba off, sparing the several pairs of virgin ears nearby.

"H-Hanabi, are you okay?!" Konohamaru ran up to kneel next to me. "You're not d-dying, are you?"

Tears were leaking from my half-lidded eyes, and a confused array of emotions and memories churned and bubbled around inside me as I stared ahead, and my vision lost focus. My mouth formed a trembling word.

"What is it, Hanabi?" Sakura asked in concern, her hand on my shoulder. "Does it hurt bad?"

"Bl-blood… blood, there's blood…"

With a sad smile, she gently scooped me into her arms.

* * *

**Thirteen, Part Two: Wily Fox, Seasoned Hound**

**Naruto ****ナルト**

_It's like when I fought Hinata-chan… Somehow, this guy can sense my next move perfectly. But how? With his eyes covered…_

This ninja, Ryouken, was strong, as was expected of any jounin. I couldn't even get close to him; all I could do was try to attack from a distance and swap away whenever he got anywhere near me. _And I'm already low on chakra, but…_

I formed a handseal. "Tajuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

Fifty doppelgangers surrounded the man.

"Feh. You think that'll work on me?" he said, dismissing the anxious whispering of his forces.

I pointed toward him. "Go!"

Battle cries filled the air as the shadow clones raced toward him. He grinned and attacked.

His dagger flashed savagely about; he turned and slashed and stabbed and punched and kicked and elbowed, taking no damage himself. Heck, he was _enjoying_ himself. I stared on as he cut down clone after clone in a ferocious blur. _This guy's just too quick; Bushy Brow would've been a better match for him…_

He always knew when a clone was coming from behind, it seemed, which I guess wasn't insanely shocking since he obviously didn't see with his eyes. He slit a throat, sliced one across the abdomen, threw a backfist into a face, kicked his heel into the side of one behind him, stabbed another between the eyes – and then one of the twenty remaining clones used another's back as a springboard.

My eyes narrowed as he made an overly large, unnecessary motion to escape the bunshin's path of flight. It threw its kunai, and he barely dodged in time; the knife grazed the side of his headband. He growled and lunged to smash his dagger into the clone's neck.

It was dispelled, and the incident splashed all the clearer into my mind. He had reacted slower than when combating the rest of the clones. Why'd he have to dodge that one? He'd simply bulldozed the rest with offense stronger and faster than their own. The only difference had been...

The clones, similarly enlightened, jumped back to let fly some kunai. The projectiles shot toward him, closing in on all sides.

He shifted smoothly, dodging most and deflecting the rest with his dagger.

_What? But I was sure…_

The doppelgangers converged to attack again. He shunted aside a fist, beginning to form a swift chain of seals. Ducking under a shuriken and dodging a lunging clone, he crouched and clapped his hands together – and a few bunshin were smacked away as a small pyramid of earth sprang up around him.

_His style's totally different from just a minute ago, and now a protective jutsu? What exactly is it that made him go on the defensive?_

The clones surrounded the stone cage, kunai and shuriken ready. I formed the seals Uma, Tatsu, Tori, Saru, Inu, and held Hitsuji, waiting.

With a sharp crackling the pyramid was coated in fine spiderweb patterns. Then it exploded outward, and every shadow clone was pierced and dispelled by the shooting fragments of stone.

Luckily I was further away, so I inhaled, prepared the jutsu, and fired.

Looking toward me, he raced through a familiar seal sequence, reared back, and fired more swiftly than I could have.

His air bullet blasted easily through mine and kept moving, not even slowed. I jumped aside, narrowly avoiding the tightly packed sphere of wind.

I gasped.

My eyes stretched wide as they would go as a crushing fist smashed into my stomach. The blow threw me at least ten yards, and I hit the ground and rolled to a stop on my side.

I locked my teeth a moment, embraced myself, and curled in slightly, too weakened to even reach the fetal position. My head was tilted back in pain, eyes squinted shut and mouth silently open as I struggled pitifully to inhale. I retched out a mouthful of blood that had collected in my throat.

I heard him approaching. "That kawarimi trick of yours is useless if you're not alert and ready. If you're distracted or not focused – or if your opponent's just too quick for you to react – you don't stand a chance of getting away in time. Your infallible defense is just an illusion…"

I could only weakly cough and hack in response. My vision was fizzy, but I could tell he was standing in front of me. Not good. I needed to substitute–

_CRUNCH!_

"_AAAAAAAHHH!!!_"

I howled as a boot slammed down on my knee and ground brutally against it. Shudders wracked my body like an electrical force, and stiff hands clutched at my lower thigh near his boot.

"When our nation was destroyed in the Third Great War, my best pal and I became mercenaries."

_I don't care!_

He stomped firmly. I hollered again.

"We fought side by side for years, but at some point – I can't even remember why – my friend became an inconvenience. So I killed him," he said simply, his foot leaving my knee so he could lift me up by a fistful of my hair. I was sweating in pain, eyes watering, raggedly gasping for breath. I couldn't move. I couldn't substitute. I could hardly think. I noticed his eyes were white. A milky, cloudy white. _He's blind…_

"He was just one more among the dozens to stain my hands with blood… Just as you will be."

Force slammed into my face, knocking me again to the ground. I whimpered as my broken knee was jostled with the movement, and when I stopped on my back I could feel it lying at a weird-ish angle. The sensation made me want to puke.

"You're nothing; just a brat with a few fancy tricks. So you see, it really is laughable that you and your little friends thought you could stop us."

_Friends… My friends…?_

My friends!

With vision suddenly sharp, I focused on the air above him. A kage bunshin appeared and drew a kunai – and the jounin whirled, quickly skewering the clone with the dagger he'd probably been ready to put in me. I couldn't walk, but my arms were fine. Withdrawing a knife myself, I lashed toward his Achilles tendon; he jumped away before it hit, and I Shadow Swapped with a newly formed doppelganger twenty-five yards back. Now lying on the bridge, I substituted twenty-five yards further.

_I'm not about to die here! _I thought, forming three handsigns. _Heck no! Not while Lee and Hinata are fighting their hardest! _My hands lit up as they hovered over my injured right knee. It was a mess – even with my limited experience, that much I could tell instantly. With plenty of clones' help, I'd learned yesterday how to fix at most a sprained wrist. This was a different matter entirely, but combined with the fox's healing power…!

"Where'd he go?!"

"The bridge, taichou!" someone called.

_Shoot, gotta hurry! The collateral ligaments… _The more important stuff was mostly still in place, and it didn't seem to be dislocated. There were stretches and ruptures, though, and that would make moving impossible at worst and difficult and agonizing at best. Channeling plenty of chakra through the leg as well as my hands, I concentrated on a tear. I grunted as I got the ligament on the inner side to pull into place, where it began to knit and regenerate.

Ryouken stopped briefly at the start of the bridge – and sprinted toward me.

_Concentrate, concentrate!! _The similar ligament on the outer side – it was stretched, swollen. I fed healing chakra into it, soothing the connective tissue, and the fox's power worked it quickly, albeit painfully, into its correct position and shape. I looked up.

A dagger was coming at me.

"_Die!_"

POOF!

Twenty-five more yards back, I hastily rose up, weight balanced on my good leg. I panted lightly for breath, sweating despite the cold.

The man's blank, unseeing gaze pointed toward me. His eighty or so shinobi had moved to stand nearer the bridge.

A chilled breeze tousled my hair about as I glared back at the jounin.

"Frankly, I'm surprised that you can still stand as I am that haven't given up."

"I can do a lot more than just stand." I pulled out a kunai, spinning it about a finger before clasping it in front of me. "I'm going to defeat you, pal, here and now."

He chuckled, pointing with his dagger. "You're a brave little fool; I give you that much. It's been fun." And with that, he charged toward me.

I stepped forward. Pain blazed in my knee whenever the slightest pressure was put on it. Even so I kept moving, half limping, half hopping toward my foe.

We were ten yards apart when I lunged off my left foot with all my strength. Simultaneously I happened to glance upward, high into the gray sky behind him.

But upon spotting a lapse in concentration, he must have put on a burst of speed.

* * *

"_I–itai…_"

My hand opened. A kunai fell to the ground. And I lurched to shower in blood the arm that had driven a dagger through my stomach.

"It's done."

_N-not yet… I've gotta last a little longer. I c-can't go – just yet!_

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu…!"

Two clones appeared on opposite sides of the bridge, some fifteen yards away on either side of him. Loosing attack cries, they charged as fast as they could.

Ryouken tried to pull away, and my hands latched onto his forearm.

"You're not g-going anywhere…"

He smirked. At once a fist cracked into one clone's jaw and a boot rammed into the other's belly, knocking them from existence.

"Thought you had me? I just told you, it's over – so fall over and die already, will you?" He twisted the dagger sharply, trying to get me to release him.

_That's it. I can't go on… _But before I left, I managed to quickly say:

"You're darned right, it's over – However if you think you can win by stabbing shadow clones then you're sorely mistaken!"

* * *

When I'd looked into the sky, I had in fact split my chakra in half, put a clone there, and promptly replaced with it. I couldn't fall just yet, though; I needed to remain unnoticed a little longer. So I looked up as I started to fall, formed a clone, and substituted to place myself twenty yards higher, dispelling the clone immediately after and repeating a few more times. All the while my body's actual momentum was still moving down – so I was literally rising while I was still falling, and a five second "drop" left me a great distance above where I'd begun.

It was there, very high in the cold sky above the bridge and about forty yards behind Ryouken, that I felt two flashes of memory correspond with the disappearance of two antlike specks on the ground. It was time to descend, and to do it fast. I knew this time he wouldn't detect me.

I clenched my teeth and ignored the pain as I slightly bent my knees and spread my arms, guiding the freefall so that I was moving somewhat forward in my descent. Freezing droplets of water collected at my front, quickly soaking my clothes in condensation that streamed off around me as I crashed through the frigid wind, hair whipping wildly, almost like I was flying. Within two seconds I substituted five times more, fluently linking the kawarimi to both quicken and guide the path of the fall; moving my body smoothly even as I jumped through space, I managed during that time to swing my legs forward to get my feet under me, and began raising a kunai in both hands. With another Shadow Swap I was fifteen yards behind the man and as far from the ground.

Some soldiers began shouting as they spotted me.

I appeared directly behind and just above him, knees inches from his sides.

The clone went up in smoke.

And my knife slammed down between Ryouken's shoulder blades.

He dropped immediately, whether because of the blade through the spine, the full enormous downward-forward momentum I'd generated crashing against him buckling up his knees, or a combination of the two I couldn't be sure. He fell fast and hard, driven solidly to the ground, and in that moment I could almost _feel_ the life crumbling under me, cleanly obliterated as if by some savage, crushing force.

Eyes half-lidded, I panted heavily for breath, drawing in biting cold air, blowing out cloudy wisps of fog. My knees were straddling his sides, the right throbbing horribly, and my hands, cold and numb as was the rest of my body, remained locked on the blade they'd buried in the base of his neck.

A cracked, soundless breath found my ears.

"H…ho…w…?"

"Your jutsu made it obvious; you're both an earth and wind type, right…? You can f-feel your enemies' locations and positions through vibrations of anything that's touching the ground … and also can sense any disturbance in the air around you. But the earth, thicker than air, must give a clearer if more limited picture… which is why you focus mainly on it in combat. When the clones started using aerial and projectile attacks, you switched to defense because you needed to rely on a less defined reading from the air… But even for a jounin who's been working on the skill for who knows how long, focusing on both elements at the same time is like trying to use two elemental jutsu at once – just about impossible. So I tricked you into believing you'd caught the real me and forced you to focus on earth – the only way for you to effectively combat those two clones, since you wouldn't be able to dodge them in your situation. And since you w-were convinced I was dying in front of you and hardly expected an aerial attack … you didn't bother switch over to wind in time to detect the real me coming from behind."

"Im…pos-si…_ble_……"

"I guess a wily young fox can outsmart a seasoned old hound every once in a while…" I said, and I felt his heart slow to a stop.

"Ca– CAPTAIN RYOUKEN!!!" a Sound ninja shouted, finally registering that his captain was dead.

Dead.

_I… killed him…_

* * *

**Thirteen, Part Three: Tigers' Claws**

**Lee ****リー**

I jumped. A sword swept by under me and flicked away. Turning and hacking upward sharply, I knocked aside a ninjatou flying toward my neck.

_This fellow might be a better match for Hinata-san… With eyes that could see the chakra strings and an affinity for fire herself…_

They were stabbing toward me from either side. I moved one katana forward and the other back, redirecting the flying blades so that both shot past me. They halted ten yards off and began spinning as they lurched toward me again; I jumped, arms outstretched, spinning parallel to the ground. A blazing sword passed below me, just in front of my face, while the other passed above.

The puppet blades flew in from in front of me, attacking rapidly together; I backpedalled steadily, barely fending off the ninjatou as they flew in a wild frenzy of strikes, the ferocious and violent slashes of an invisible, malicious beast.

_This is ridiculous!_

I thrust both of the attacking swords away with my own, and wasted no time in dashing between them, heading directly for Torakou. He swept his arms back, but I sprinted faster even than his swords could fly. I crossed my arms and prepared to slash, but he backflipped at the last moment so that he landed crouched on the side of the tree behind him.

He sprang over me, and I turned to see his diving form twist in the air, clasping a sword's hilt in one hand whilst sweeping the other hand toward me. He swung the ninjatou he held to send a wave of fire whipping toward my face, and I raised my arms in defense. The fire slice stung and drew blood on my arms, but did not cut deeply. Upon opening my eyes I sharply shifted my arms; a stab was diverted from my neck, but white hot pain nicked the side of a forearm before plunging into my shoulder.

I screamed.

Before I could escape Torakou grabbed the hilt of the sword that had lodged itself in my shoulder, roughly shoving me up against the tree. Holding his weapon firmly in place, he smirked.

"You know, Rock Lee, I honestly can't stand people like you."

Heat erupted through the sword, blasting from his hand down the blade and into my shoulder. My mouth flew open as I cried out again, and my vision whited out for maybe a moment, maybe several. It ended, and I found myself hanging by the blade's cruel support, shaking my head, gasping for breath.

"Ignorant people who insist on remaining so utterly _blind_ to Orochimaru-sama's undeniable power…"

A fist shot into my cheek, snapping my head to the side. The man was no weakling. I gagged as he rammed his knee into my stomach, and then another fist crashed across my face. Blood sprayed from my mouth.

The sword was pulled from my alarmingly numb shoulder, but I was not allowed to slump down; the tip of a scorching though no longer blazing blade was pressed up painfully beneath my jaw.

"Konoha was only the first step; Kiri's the second. Eventually all will crumble in submission before Orochimaru-sama's might."

I tried not to squirm; if I were to even open my mouth the blade beneath my jaw would pierce it. So I endured silently, sweating in pain as he slowly ran his other blade in a shallow line across my belly.

"Only Orochimaru-sama possesses the grand ambition to set things in motion, to create the new world…"

_Slsh._

"_U-uhn…!_"

"He will conquer all that will join him, and destroy all that oppose him."

_Snickt._

"_Gh–!_"

"And yet _you_ really believe three children can stop this, hm?"

Teeth bared, I opened my eyes and glared fiercely at the man. _I do not know – but as surely as we are Leaf shinobi, we will try! _I thought with a snarl.

Clearly I had gotten my point across. Unfortunately, he frowned and laid the tormenting blade perpendicular to the one under my chin, positioning it to slide down the other blade … and meet me for a clean decapitation.

"Sorry, Rock Lee, but you've chosen the wrong side. That one will be destroyed."

As if I intended to die so easily!

_Gate of Opening! _I thought, pulling my good shoulder forward. My strength leaped to a new level.

The white ninjatou was set ablaze as it swung toward me. I could escape neither to the left nor to the right, and obviously not to the front. And that left only…

_Behind!!_

I slammed my shoulder back, throwing the whole of my strength and weight against it. The tree trunk gave out like paper as I smashed through it.

I landed on my back and sprang to my feet, shutting the First Gate once more. I had not fully recovered from the devastation wreaked on my body when using the sixth a few days ago; I knew I would not last if I attempted to sustain even the first one for long.

Torakou was dodging the falling tree. I threw a kunai past him.

"DYNAMIC ENTRY!!" I bellowed, flying back into the open. He jumped away to avoid the kick, and I landed in a crouch to snatch up the katana I had dropped.

"So you want to keep going, huh?" he asked.

I sank into my stance. My shoulder was stiff, but moveable. "You are right – alone, we cannot stop Orochimaru. However, I know that I am MORE than strong enough to stop you!!!"

He nodded toward the felled tree. "I couldn't do that, I'll readily admit. You're in no way short on brute strength, and you're quick and agile; in straight taijutsu you probably would best me. But blade-to-blade? Never."

I frowned. "I find it most disturbing – the way you are capable of going from an Orochimaru-worshipping drone one moment to an almost friendly, if not somewhat competitive and overconfident swordsman the next."

To say the least, I struck a nerve or ten. "What did you just say, boy? I didn't quite catch that."

"What I am saying is simple: I wonder if some form of sloppy tampering has not been done to your mind."

I sidestepped. He shot past me, blade outstretched.

"Oh, dear. Is the little tiger angry, perhaps?"

He yelled and jumped toward me. A quick dash put me beyond the treeline.

"My, my! It would appear the unruffled Captain Kotora-san holds quite the temper!" My tone changed. "Or perhaps it is effected to some sick scheme or other by that disgusting, twisted _thing_ you enjoy calling Orochimaru."

When he loosed a rather freakishly ferocious roar, I turned and ran. _Definitely a better match for Hinata-san…_

I sprinted through the forest, darting and weaving past the trees as I dashed at full speed. I could hear him following behind. In four minutes I slid to a stop through dead leaves and quickly sheathed my katana to remove my leg and arm weights, laying them on the ground. A few seconds later Torakou flickered into existence ten yards from me, swords ready.

"Thought you could get away with that?" he growled.

"You are a fool."

"_What–?!_"

"Whether you revere him of your own accord of you have been in some manner brainwashed to love him, it is your fatal weakness – one way to instantly and consistently enrage an otherwise cool and rational shinobi. Have you yet to realize you were led here, separated from your troops?"

"…Shut _UP!_" he yelled, the fervor of a fanatic in his eyes as he flung his swords toward me. I ducked back into the trees, cut to the side, and bolted toward him again.

His eyes widened visibly at my increase in speed. I landed a solid blow to his face.

Torakou raised his arms, swiftly blocking a second strike and a third. Focusing my chakra, I drew my fist far back before driving it into his crossed arms with all my strength. _Crushing Fist!!_

Teeth snapping together in surprise and pain, he staggered back a few yards. I rushed forward, feinting with my left hand, kicking over his head with my right foot, and spinning out of it to spring the back of my left fist against his chest.

"Agh!" He was thrown against a tree trunk with a sharp thud. His knees shook for a second before he caught himself and reached out with a hand to sweep his arm back.

I launched into an aerial backflip just over the ground. Two ninjatou shot past below me, and I landed in a crouch, katana in hand, as he caught his own blades again.

"That puppet-sword trick is rendered ineffective here," I pointed out. "We are surrounded by trees; with such limited open space you would be required to break and reconnect the chakra strings too frequently."

"So you think you've won? You forget, little fool, I still have the upper hand. You're good with hand-to-hand, but you're slow with a blade – clumsy."

"Slow and clumsy…" I muttered, "Is it really that bad?"

"Indeed your swordsmanship is; and unfortunately for you, what you lack in form cannot be made up for in brute strength. The blade is worthless to one who cannot handle it properly."

"I was not speaking merely of my swordsmanship… but I suppose you are quite right – I still have a ways to go to master full control over the maximum weight."

"What are you talking about…?"

Knees slightly bent, I raised a straight right arm up and behind me, blade outstretched; I would not want to strain my injured left shoulder if I could avoid it. "Try me and find out."

He narrowed his eyes.

"Captain!" a distant holler faintly reached our ears.

"Where are you?!" another called.

"Captain Torakou!"

"Come," I said, "Unless you fear to face me until your men arrive."

He rushed toward me.

I lightly tipped the sword back, allowing tension to build in my arm as I stopped its weight and began moving it forward.

Torakou, seeing as I was apparently unprepared and my blade moving too slowly, lunged toward me.

I channeled a measured amount of chakra down the blade as he slashed.

BOOM–! CRACK!

And _that_ was the sound of Torakou's crashing bodily through two trees. Well… through one, and against another behind it. He had barely blocked the swing in time, but the glancing force had proven enough to send him flying.

_That was only half of them… _I thought, watching as the second tree began to tip over with a crackling roar.

The jounin flew from the dust cloud to attack from above, flipping in the air and swinging both swords down. I raised crossed blades to catch the slashing ninjatou, allowed my arms to begin to bend further as I prepared to sweep them out – and ran chakra into the blades.

He shot to the treetops as if from a cannon, grabbed ahold of a branch to keep from going further, and swung himself toward the ground; after a quick flip he landed lightly on his feet, though nearly stumbling.

"Wh-what… was that…?" he said, "Can you control your strength?"

I held a katana horizontally in front of me, providing him a clear view of the blade. "Chigau. It is the opposite in a way. I can manipulate the resistance; I am not getting any stronger. In fact I am dropping force, and gaining speed."

He gritted his teeth. "So it's those seals?"

I nodded. _Thank you, Hinata-san… _There were eight black seals evenly spaced down the length of each blade, and each one directly affected the entire sword's weight. "Depending on the amount of chakra I channel into the sword, I can extend it to any one of the eight levels in an instant. The seals' effects are nullified on contact with my chakra, producing a spike in speed and power…"

"To utilize a sudden drop in resistance… This should be even more difficult to control than using a sword that's too heavy!"

"Really? I have trained myself to remove leg and arm weights on the fly without the slightest awkwardness in transition. It took practice, yes, but I can manage; you might say resistance training is my forte."

The man growled.

"I remember what you said to me the other day, Torakou-san. Our style is one that requires strength and control in equal parts. I have perfected both, and reached beyond them."

"Don't get cocky, boy! Orochimaru-sama's might will destroy all who stand in his way!!"

As he charged toward me again, I dropped my left foot back to turn my body partially away from him, my right lashing toward his side. "Weight Magnifying Seals…!"

CHING!!

He crossed his swords and turned to block the swing, and on contact the katana pushed him slightly but began to slow…

"Blade of Acceleration!!"

I ran my chakra to the fifth seal as I finished turning my body – and my arm whipped one-eighty degrees from where the sword had initially been blocked, carrying Torakou in a half circle before sending him crashing into and sliding far along the ground.

Springing up in a backflip, he yelled out and leaped toward me again. I parried one slash, and then another; he lunged once he had landed, and I blocked a flurry of rapid strikes while shortly hopping back. I ducked under a wide slash and lunged past him from low, swords aligned horizontally and swinging toward his abdomen. He brought his blade to block, and I pushed to the sixth level to thrust my arms out. He crackled the bark of a sturdy tree and burst into a log.

I whirled to see him dashing toward me, drawing back a flaming sword in preparation for a fire slice. I drew back my own sword, charged it to the seventh level, and blazed past him. His sword was buried in a tree in front of me.

I jumped back toward him, and he blocked with a forearm as I kicked first with the sole of my left foot before turning to kick with my right. The force pushed us apart, and as I landed he moved toward me while swinging his remaining sword over himself and down in a wide, powerful arc; I moved toward him and crossed swords to intercept the downward slash, and I spun once to disarm him, hopped lightly as I turned again to fling the captured ninjatou aside – and came out of the second spin throwing a boot into his gut.

He smacked into a tree and coughed blood, barely keeping on his feet; he was forced to stagger forward until he caught balance near the center of the clearing. Gasping and glowering, he pulled both swords back into his hands.

"That d-does it… I'm finishing you!" he roared madly.

_CLANG!_

"Ie," I said simply, swords sharply crossing in front of me as I bent my knees. "I am finishing you."

_It is time._

I raised the katana higher. Now sliding them apart, I pointed them downward and crossed them again. They separated and met at my right, and again to meet at my left. I began to move faster, crossing them next at the upper right, lower left, upper left, lower right – and the katana rang as I ran my chakra to the first level and swiftly hit all eight points again. The third, the fourth, and fifth – each time hitting eight points in some order in between – were cleared in moments. Sixth, seventh… the swords were flying now, the rhythm growing faster at an exponential rate. In no more than one second I had cleared them both. My teeth ground, and my shoulder seared as I reached the final pair of seals and maintained the flow and the pattern. Sparks were flying as the katana rang.

_More speed … more … more – more, more, MORE–!!!_

Kin-kin-kin-kin-kin-kin-kin-kin–

_Explode, my youth!!_

"_HOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!_"

The first of the inner gates burst open, letting off what seemed like a shockwave as the swords exploded with speed. The ringing _kin _became almost indistinguishable as a steady hum as swords lighter than air invisibly churned the space in front of me. My hair whipped wildly, dust danced, grass on the ground stirred and waved, fallen leaves scampered hurriedly away, all at the wind the blades produced. And the sparks – flecks of silver light rapidly flickered in front of me, focused the most strongly in a ghostly ring of flashing light encompassing the eight points the blades crossed.

_Maximum speed, attained!_

"A t-true … g-_genius_…" Torakou breathed, unblinking. He took a step back.

Teeth clenched, my face dripping with sweat, I bent my knees further, prepared to move. The regular Blade of Infinity focused on rapidly targeting and attacking a number of specific points. This was different.

_The results of the training… My true power!_

"_ULTIMATE INFINITY: BLADE OF DEVASTATION!!!_"

Torakou flung a kunai my way.

The circle of white light contracted toward it to meet the knife as a blazing streak of silver. The kunai landed in several pieces, unrecognizable at my feet. I shot forward.

He flung himself to the side in attempt to dodge.

_Focus to the right!_

The circle was drawn to one side, painting the air to my right with a curved streak of vibrant silver as I passed.

The side of his arm was instantly a mess of red.

He howled as I skidded to a halt ten yards behind him. I turned and bolted again.

The jounin lunged from my path, and I shifted the focus again. My blades shredded his flak jacket and grazed his back, and in moments a few inch high trail clear across his back was covered with blood.

It was difficult to turn if I charged at full speed, and thus when I did I could only move in a straight line. But if I landed even one direct hit…

I turned so that he was again central in my line of sight, within the flashing, slashing circle, and charged. As he faced me the circle pulled into a blazing white sphere pointed straight toward his stomach.

He crossed his straight swords; rammed by the full brunt of the silver focal point, they were peppered with nicks and dents as he staggered clumsily back.

_Running out of time…!_

I cut to the treeline so that I met it at an angle, and turned to plant a foot on a trunk. I circled the clearing twice in as many seconds by sprinting along the tree trunks, the flashing silver concentrated upward, to my left, to rid the trees' inner sides of leaves.

Slipping back to the earth, I circled rapidly as Torakou watched, trembling, from the middle of the clearing. In seconds the man was surrounded by a raging, whorling whirlwind of leaves.

"Konohagakure no Jutsu! Art of Hiding among the Leaves!"

I shot across the clearing. Torakou simultaneously dodged away and deflected the brunt of the blows with his own swords, though his forearms and hands were dealt several scratches and cuts from the strikes that got through. I vanished into the swirling typhoon of leaves and attacked again, and six times more he barely avoided vital damage in time.

_C-cannot keep this up…_

I was in front of him when forced to break from the vigorous motions of Devastation's Blade. So many times had it been repeated, it was actually a sizable effort to break from the pattern; but as I quit running my chakra through them and with gritting teeth slid the blades apart and flung my arms wide, swords outstretched – a position that occurred at no point in the course of the pattern nor any variation or shift of it – I was able to force my arms to freeze.

Torakou lunged toward me in the moment of opportunity. Grunting, I shoved chakra to the fifth seal of my left-hand sword.

"_Acceleration!_" I cried, slamming the stabbing ninjatou from his hand.

I began to reverse my turn and swing with my right. His remaining sword moved to defend–

"_Infinity!_" I nullified the eighth seal, and my sword zipped past his with a burst of speed before opening six slashes across his flak jacket in an instant. _Shallow…_

I spun out of the last swing, and while facing away drove the heel of my left boot into his stomach, knocking him momentarily off the ground.

"Remember, the blade is worthless…!"

He wheezed and stumbled away, and I landed on my feet in a low crouch. Leaning forward, shoulders facing down, I swept out my left arm and threw my sword toward him.

"…To one who cannot handle it properly!"

I had thrown it tip-first and so that it would have passed just over his head. As he was weaponless, he reached up and reflexively caught it with his empty hand.

And was thrown off-balance by the katana that, all magnifying seals active, was suddenly more than a few times his own weight.

His eyes were huge. "Nanda… K-kore ha…?"

I kicked my left foot upward and then pushed from the ground with my right, spinning my body almost parallel to the ground. My feet landed one at a time, and the heavy sword in my right hand swung downward behind me.

Torakou had recovered and dropped the katana to avoid falling down.

My eyes caught the twitch of his fingers above his head, and I leaned further forward.

A ninjatou whistled over my back and swerved to clap neatly into his hand, pointing skyward.

My katana's tip dragged against the ground in its swing, the blade crackling and carving its way through the earth even as it was wedged four inches deep.

He brought crossed swords down with all his strength.

All at once – my katana freed from the earth, and my chakra shooting to shift it from maximum weight to the neutral minimum.

Ki–_SKRASSH!_

Suddenly I had sprung to full height, right knee off the ground, the glinting blade in my hand extended upward as it flowed in a grand, smooth crimson arc – after slicing from navel through sternum through clavicle and partially a side of the neck. His head was thrown back, an explosion of crimson erupting from his open mouth. He was still clutching the hilts of his ninjatou as the better parts of their blades clattered to the earth, cleanly severed.

I spun on left heel as my blade completed its circle, flowing down and sharply snapping to a halt to whip crimson clear of its blade.

Eyes white, the jounin slumped limply to his knees.

Torakou was dead before he hit the ground.

* * *

**Thirteen, Part Four: Proof**

**Hinata ****ヒナタ**

_Th-this isn't looking good… _I thought, panting lightly as I held her cool gaze. _I can't get anywhere near her. She'd be a better opponent for Naruto-kun; he can sustain a long range battle. On the other hand, all I have is the fireball jutsu…_

The battle hadn't been going on long, nor had I taken any direct hits, but from a tactical standpoint I could tell I was outmatched. Iron sand attacks were thrown almost lazily, as if for now she was content with watching me scramble for my life. Thankfully I had plenty of stamina to spare today, but she wasn't even being serious. Yet.

"Aka-nee was always so kind to me…" she said quietly, her head lowered as her eyes gained a sort of light but eerie glaze. "Almost like a real sister, and eventually more… She made me feel so loved, so special…" Growling slightly, she sent a dangerous sphere of iron sand hurtling toward me. I rolled to my left and strode on all fours – a natural, comfortable movement – to dodge as five smaller spheres shot past me in quick succession. Sliding to a halt in a low stance, I formed three seals, formed one more, and body flickered.

"I don't know a lot about you or Akane, but I'm an older sister, too, you know," my plain bunshin yelled as I crouched behind a crate at the side of a building. We were in a field at the edge of a residential area, and though the citizens had evacuated to well further in I hoped to avoid letting any damage be done to the homes and other structures. Fortunately her soldiers remained well further away, and much _too_ far to aid her should she need it; but this also went to show they hadn't the slightest fear I would defeat her.

"You're losing," Kurogiba muttered sourly next to me, his vision trained ahead.

"Urusai!" I whispered back without looking his way. I concentrated on the bunshin.

Midori shouted at my clone, "What's your point?!"

"To resign myself to dying and fight with the suicidal recklessness she did – no matter what the situation, I'd never do that if it meant leaving my imouto behind!"

"What do you know?!!" she demanded, suddenly enraged. More sand exploded skyward from the canister on her back; at the command of her arm it went spiraling down like a drill, crashing over the copy and raising a large cloud of dust too quickly to spot evidence of illusion.

Darting from my hiding place, I raced forward and sprang toward Midori from behind.

She glanced back to spot me, gaze unreadable. "Metal Detector," she murmured simply, and thrust the opposite hand over her shoulder.

"Gah!" Force sharply compressed against my abdomen, throwing me back. I hit the ground clumsily on my backside and tumbled a short way before coming to a stop on my front, wincing in pain. I raised my head. "N-nani…?"

Now facing me, the jounin lifted a palm and drew it back. "Three… Two…"

"Kuso!" _My hidden weapons! _I quickly sat up, ripping off kunai pouch, shuriken holster, tossing aside the knives strapped to my forearms. I tore off my jacket which had six slim kunai stowed at the lower front, leaving the formfitting black shirt, and pulled off straps of the knife holster–

"One."

The things I'd discarded shot to slam through a building behind me – and I yelped as my hitai-ate, pointing back, yanked me up by my neck. My arm was wrenched as the kunai sheath, almost off, was jerked away.

On one foot and clutching a hand at my neck, I could do nothing to avoid the wave of iron sand that blasted into me. I was shoved back, slammed harshly against a wall that crackled lightly behind me; the sand then fell away, and as my knees began to give a pair of hands caught and firmly pinned me at my biceps. Immobilized, I shrank under the older kunoichi's piercing but still unreadable gaze.

_Wh-what's she going to do–? _Oh!

Her lips smashed onto mine, and my breath hitched, my eyes grew as shock and the early registering of something akin to disgust effectively shot my mind blank. I could tell my body had stiffened, sensed warm breath on my flushed face, and I could feel something prodding about my locked teeth.

Without warning, before I could respond or attack or at least try to push her away – a hand slammed, clawlike, onto my stomach, fingers digging in cruelly, pressing and squeezing with all her strength. A jolt went up my spine. My first reaction was to scream, and it was muffled by her mouth; seizing opportunity, a searching tongue slipped in and explored vigorously. A lustful hand roamed from my shoulder down my right side, and up again before stopping to cup and almost tenderly grasp my chest. My head thrown back against the wall behind me, eyes torn wide open, body paralyzed, trembling and rigid, I could only squeeze my eyes shut and whimper in pain as she moaned back and pressed her body up against mine.

By the time she finally released me my vision was swimming up, whether an effect of the painful hold or from lack of oxygen or both I couldn't be sure. My eyes were watering as she pulled away, and it was all I could do to turn my head enough to spare my nose any damage as my limp body crashed to the ground. The impact made my throbbing stomach area sear and ejected a spurt of wetness from my mouth. Whimpering and squirming weakly in pain and horror at what had just happened, I clenched my teeth as my eyes spilled over with tears.

Since the point was probably to humiliate me, maybe I should get the heck up before I get killed while I'm whining like an idiot.

_What – where did that thought come from? _My eyes opened already locked on Kurogiba sitting twenty yards away, staring expressionless toward me. _L-like you care… _I thought, eyes narrowing miserably as fresh tears fell.

The jounin swayed above me, hands cradling her head. "Aka-nee's kisses were so wonderful, so perfectly sweet… She promised me a long one as soon as the army caught up and we were together again … but that's a kiss I'll never get…"

_She and Akane were… _She was confused – lapsing partially into the past again. And somehow in her muddled, twisted mind I'd been both her enemy and her deceased lover, and simultaneously she had tormented me and indulged herself on my lips.

The me of a few months ago might easily have stopped fighting there to wallow in senseless embarrassment and the appalled feeling of uncleanness, the sense of being violated that clung to me after being handled in such a way. As things were, however, I broke out my depression relatively quickly; and when I did, a certain something occurred to me. And once it had, I calmly mounted a response to the situation.

I smacked my lips lightly. There was a taste in my mouth.

_Besides _the ridiculously familiar taste of my own blood. There was something funny, in my mouth…

She had just swapped spit with me. A freaking enemy ninja, a complete stranger four or five danged years older than me, another girl, had just flipping locked lips, groped my breast, put her darned _tongue_ in my _mouth_, and shared all her stinking spit and germs with me.

But more significantly…

Head down, I slowly got to my hands and knees.

_She…_

"You…"

The b!$#&……

"_STOLE MY FIRST KISS!!!_" I screamed, rising and slamming an angry fist square across her face. Feet taken briefly off the ground, the young jounin nearly toppled over and reeled, staggering to keep on her feet.

She shifted aside as I pounced hard, a hand outstretched. I touched ground hands-first behind her, swinging my legs around so that I landed already facing her back. I darted in the same fashion to a few feet from her other side, and I pulled a sort of angled cartwheel precisely as she was turning the other way, pushing from the ground with my hands to slide nimbly into a crouch a few yards behind her, undetected.

I sprang onto her back, locking left arm around her neck, legs around her waist, and right hand onto her stomach.

"_I was saving that for Naruto-kun, you B#$!&!!_"

"What the – get off of me! Let go!"

"_NEVER!"_

Okay, maybe I k-kind of sort of lost my mind for a minute, but I mean… A girl's first kiss is…

A sharp blow jammed into my left side, eliciting a yelp, and she punched and elbowed repeatedly in attempt to dislodge me as I held firm in trying to throttle her. Her head jerked to sting my nose, and she flung herself back, slamming me between her back and the ground. She worked her chin down through my loosened chokehold and bit into my arm. I shut one eye, grabbed a nice deal of hair in my teeth, and wrenched. She only bit harder, and with the hand on her stomach I clutched and squeezed.

"_How d'ya like that, huh?!!_" I yelled savagely (my voice cracked, unaccustomed to the tone) as she wailed out. I was at a worse angle than she had been, and not specifically targeting any nerves or pressure points or whatever (as she had definitely done _something_), but as my hand, steadily filling with chakra, was practically glued to her I had a much better grip. Kicking and thrashing, she rolled onto her front. I rolled off of her and latched my left hand onto the ground. Rolling left again, I summoned up all my strength and swung my right arm around, bent at the elbow, to throw Midori over myself and slam her back against the earth.

_Gentle Ferocity Blast!_

BOOM!

The force threw me off the ground, my right arm high. I spun twice before landing in a low crouch with my left knee fully bent and that hand touching the ground, and right arm and leg extended out beside me. Wait, had I just landed in some kind of pose? _Lee-kun's antics have rubbed off on me…_

My eyes narrowed as I soon spotted a figure slowly standing up in the thinning dust cloud.

_She's already on her feet? How? _"Byakugan," I grunted as the dust settled.

The Oto-nin was looking at herself with mild surprise, a hand resting on her stomach. Black sand was falling in a light but steady trickle from the bottom of her flak jacket, coming from a pad of iron sand on top of her shirt and covering her abdomen. Though much larger than my palm, the entire patch glowed with my chakra. _It absorbed the brunt of the blast, acting as a cushion…_

"Ee? What a frightening attack… If the sand shield hadn't distributed the force, I'd probably be in trouble right now; still, some of your chakra just barely got through. It almost tickles," she remarked, patting her belly to let he weakened sand shield fall. A stream of new sand flowed toward her and streamed down the neck of her flak jacket, spreading to coat and lightly hug her torso. "Guess I shouldn't take chances. Now get ready to die."

_Abrupt… _I thought, eyebrows drawing toward each other as I cocked my head slightly. "Let me ask you, if you don't mind… What did Akane mean to you?"

Her eyes darkened. "Kumo kidnapped me from my home in the third war, and years later I escaped. When I was weak and ready to starve to death Aka-nee found me… She gave my life purpose again… She saved me and brought me to Orochimaru-sama, and I was taken in as a shinobi of his village. Aka-nee mentored me, trained me to be a ninja … she protected me from everything she could, and h-held my hand though whatever she c-couldn't…"

"Orochimaru experimented on you."

"How did you–?!"

"It's common knowledge that some villages work to divulge the secrets of other lands' kekkei genkai, testing their workings and limitations and searching for ways to reproduce them," I said bitterly, "It's a fate I would have suffered as well, had Kumo succeeded in abducting me ten years ago." I hadn't been taken, and still the incident had messed up my life – getting Hizashi-oji-san killed, which in turn bred Neji's hatred toward me and now…

"I will readily be experimented on if it is Lord Orochimaru's desire!" she shot back, and went on more quietly, sadness briefly flickering up in her eyes. "Still, it was hard… I wouldn't have made it through without Aka-nee's support. Over the years I grew older, and our once sisterly bond grew stronger and eventually transformed into something beautiful…"

"Listen to me," I said, "Orochimaru is a manipulator. I don't want to be harsh, but I have a feeling he _used_ Akane so it would be easier to use you."

Her eyes narrowed dangerously. "What are you trying to say?"

I stared back evenly. "She kept you happy and obedient; you didn't complain, and you stayed cooperative. And an avid Orochimaru-worshiper herself, I'm guessing she's the one who mentored you to love and revere him, so you would remain under his control."

"You're wrong! Aka-nee loved me!"

"Whether she truly did or not, she loved Orochimaru more. When she blew herself to pieces for him she didn't care it meant leaving you behind."

"Shut up! You're one to talk after you killed her!!"

"I didn't kill her, and neither did my friends. I already told you, she died of a suicide attack _while_ she was dying from a suicide jutsu. To persist on channeling your rage toward me anyways… You're still just a broken little girl inside, aren't you? Angry at the world…"

"Noisy brat," she hissed, "If you hadn't come here, she'd still be alive!"

"I'm sorry, but we can't just sit and do nothing while Orochimaru does as he pleases! He's no god – just an insane man with a black heart looking to serve his own twisted aspirations!"

"Our loyalty is to Orochimaru-sama above all else; that is our purpose and our duty, so I don't begrudge Aka-nee for leaving me behind. If she were here she would scold me for saying it – but no matter how hard I try, I can't help it! I loved her, even more than I love our Lord Orochimaru! I'm a h-horrible person, I know I am, and _you_ – you who _dare_ to oppose him are the blackest sinners of all!!"

_I wonder if she knows she's crying…_

I shifted to dodge several small spheres of iron sand, and raced toward her. Acting on the Byakugan's insight, I dodged left and right as two more spheres zipped by; three yards from her I touched hands to the ground to duck under another, and with one more stride I lunged to attack.

The sand particles that floated in the air around her grew more concentrated near my arm and side; my punch was diverted away at a lazy swing of her arm, and I lowered my hands to kick one foot back toward her side. She spared not even a glance my way as she curled her fingers and thrust out the heel of her palm. Roughly a disc of sand condensed from the air to block my foot and push against it, and I rolled forward and back onto my feet before rushing from behind.

I prepared to aim my left palm for her spine, but when I was a yard away the magnetic dust flew in and swept up from below. The wave lifted me on my front and easily flung me over its master before dispelling in all directions as I was almost upside-down in the air. I cried out and landed on the back on my neck, grunting sharply in the moment before I bounced and slid a short way on my back.

I kicked my legs up and rolled backwards, swiftly on my feet and lashing with the back of a fist. Midori's arms crossed her body and swept out again in a blur – and force shoved into my left shoulder and right ankle. I flipped head over heels almost one and a half times before my side hit the ground. I cringed as my breath vanished in a strident wheeze, and then was on my feet in a flash and throwing a punch. It was deflected by the sand, and I threw strike after strike. She stepped backwards at a measured pace as I attacked furiously, fists and palms and barefoot kicks flying but none connecting.

"What's wrong?"

I stepped back as a tall wall of sand flashed by between us; when it had passed the jounin was gone and two arms were wrapped around my middle.

_F-fast…!_

"You must be the weakling of the group," she remarked casually behind me, one hand rising to rather firmly squeeze my–

Warmth flushing my face, I yelped with a start. An uncomfortable moment ticked by (At least, it was uncomfortable for me. She, or rather her hand was busy with… er… AHERM!). Then I growled and prepared to quite literally claw that hand off.

Too late. She was gone.

"Claws?" she said ten yards in front of me, an eyebrow raised as she took in the change in my nails.

_**Kill**__…_

"_Shimatta!_" I screeched. The sudden crashing wave of primal rage broke over me like nothing I'd ever experienced before, pounding furiously inside me. The mark was thirsty, it knew the full moon was near, and it had been too long, too long since I had changed. My nostrils flared, and my clawed hands twitched and popped noisily. I wanted to unleash myself **now**–!

Fangs slammed into my left hand, and I gave a muffled cry. He warned me this might happen. I couldn't use the mark today, too unstable – after skipping a full moon, I could lose myself today at any moment in battle, the smallest bit of anger or malice could explode–!

I didn't care!! The urge was too much – to teach that stupid woman a lesson, to break her up and tear her to pieces and devour–!

_NOT HUMANS!!_

CRACK.

I gasped, eyes snapping open. Midori was staring warily at me, knees bent and ready to move, and I wondered what I must have looked like during my internal struggle. I removed my hand from my mouth, and promptly found that both hand and mouth were dripping with blood. I'd bitten deep, and it felt like I had fractured it. But the claws were gone, my hands perfectly normal and familiar.

_It's never felt anything like that – not like that… and with the mark not even activated, no less. To need to snap myself back with pain…_

"…_Ee?_ That was interesting," my opponent said. "What happened?"

I spent a few more moments catching my breath. "I decided … to defeat you on my own strength!"

I shoved toward her. Magnetic sand rushed to divert whatever attack I might throw.

My foot touched ground, and I whirled as I jumped forward. "Kaiten!"

The spinning shield sprang out, shoving sand away and lightly pushing the surprised jounin back. As the sphere shrank and faded, I landed in front of her and rammed a fist into her stomach.

It was like punching stone. …Or, on second thought, a shell of iron sand.

"Forgetful, aren't you?"

My arms were wrenched back, wrists encased in sand, and a force pushed on the back of my skull – and shoved my head down onto a sharply rising knee. The world flashed toward white as fire spread from my jaw, and I was held there an instant longer before the sand behind my head dispelled and allowed me to be thrown back.

My arms were wrenched forward. My hands were passing the woman's hips on either side when I saw what was coming and squeezed my eyes shut.

THAM!

They flew open again as another knee crashed into my jaw. The sand promptly released my wrists, but my head had already been whiplashed back. My feet came off the ground as I sailed back, and it seemed they'd met the earth again as I started tipping backward. My vision, so recently blanketed white, dulled and darkened as my eyes relaxed, free of my control, and my fuzzy sight tumbled away into the top edge.

* * *

It slid down again, and light and color reappeared. The world sharpened. What in – why'd I woken up falling? What was I doing again…?

My back met the ground, and automatically I rolled up on my shoulder blades and pulled in my knees before springing onto my feet.

"_Ita!_" I whimpered, a hand gingerly resting at my chin. And then it came back to me.

I'd been, er … '_unconscious'_ for all of half a second. The full moon wouldn't let me rest today.

"That's disconcerting," Midori stated with a frown. "If you weren't so weak I might be seriously scared right now. Fifty percent of the people I've hit with that combo died instantly of a broken neck. At least eighty, maybe ninety percent had broken jaws. But now, thanks to you… I can no longer say it has a one hundred percent knockout rate…"

"Can you ever forgive me?"

Her eyes narrowed. "That hurt my knee. I saw your eyes go white–,"

"My eyes are always white, Midori-san–,"

"Just what the heck are you?"

"Mostly human."

"I think you might need a reminder of who still has the upper hand here."

I ducked, and a violent kick flashed over my head. After blocking two more strikes I attacked, but my Juugouken was again deflected by shifting clouds of sand. I couldn't land a single–

"Urk!" I croaked, clutching at my neck as a small bit of something grainy slipped into my mouth to lodge in my throat.

"Here, let me help you with that."

With almost disarming laziness she drew back a fist – and smashed it into my stomach. I glared at the ground as I doubled up in pain, air whooshing past locked teeth. Unblinking eyes watering, I staggered past Midori before toppling clumsily to the ground to cough and sputter.

At the very least, the sand was out…

"Yes, you must be the dead weight of the group. I wonder if the guys are having any more fun… Or maybe I'll even need to help them out?"

I lunged toward her. "Haa– ah!" Sand wrenched my foot upward, and I once again found my back smacking into the ground. I swept a kick toward her ankles – and a block of iron sand caught the blow, surrounded my lower shin, and wrenched sharply so that I spun several times before landing on my back once more.

"Still, your stamina is impressive…"

I threw myself toward her with a yell.

THUDD!

A baseball-sized sphere flew from behind her to crash into my stomach. I clenched my teeth a moment, and then hacked out all my breath.

Then another iron sphere, twice the other's size. It drove me fifteen yards and into a wall with a booming crack, and my head shot up with a silent cry of pain.

Before I was allowed to fall, more sand bullets pounded against me, the barrage bombarding my abdomen until an especially solid blow knocked the wall down. I half blacked out, and then woke to find a pile of rubble sitting on top of me. _Shoot… a wall of someone's house…_

After a moment of wheezing, I brought my hands together. Mi, Hitsuji, Saru, I, Uma, and Tora…

I reached up in the confined space, placing a hand on a large chunk of wall lying over me. I thrust my arm out, shoving it forward, and got to my feet. A small dust cloud sprang up as the rubble landed, and as I leapt through the cloud I fired.

_Goukakyu no Jutsu!_

Midori's eyes widened in mild surprise, and she blurred aside to dodge.

"K-kuso…"

"Oh, look – you melted some of it."

"Kaiten!!" I cried as a dozen chips of iron shot toward me. They bounced away and swerved in the air, and aimed for my lower legs and feet as the rotation ceased; I jumped as each embedded itself into the ground, and when I landed stumbled in haste to distance myself from them.

"You look scared," she said tonelessly, holding out an arm. Sand thickened in the air around me, and suddenly it was very difficult to move. I paled in terror as I was lifted slowly into the air by a light glove of sand around my torso. I struggled, but could hardly squirm in the grip of the magnetic sand powdering my body.

"An attracting force in front… a repelling force behind…" She cracked a hint of a grin. "This will hurt."

She took a hopping step and sharply pulled her hand back. I was yanked toward her, and my eyes widened as she thrust out a leg.

I saw stars. If I could have passed out today, at that moment I would have. Gladly.

My forward momentum was crushed, broken cruelly over her boot in my stomach. My head jerked down, my arms and legs stretched forward, my eyes huge, vision flashing as pain crackled from my middle to every corner of my body. Blood shot from my mouth as an awful cry tore from my throat.

Then I was shooting backwards, propelled away by the force and its shove on the iron sand. My back smashed through something, and then something else, before I was halted against a solid something made of stone.

"Koinu!!"

I blinked groggily, my head low, my upper back resting against a wall behind me. _Was that… Kurogiba…sama…? _I groaned. Everything hurt. It was so hard to breathe… And liquid was drizzling from my nose and mouth, down my black shirt…

I placed a hand on the ground in front of me, and after a few tries managed to fully sit up and move the other hand. I pulled myself forward, pausing briefly at hands and knees – and wincing as I sensed the warm wetness that accompanied the pain in my back – before pushing to my feet. Two aligned holes were in the walls of the shop in front of me, and beyond them I could see the distant figure of the Oto jounin. I slowly walked through the opening, across the shop, out the other side. An arm draped across my middle, panting lightly, I glared with one open eye at the older girl.

"I'm not done…"

"Says the one who looks like she's trying not to cry," Midori returned flatly.

"Stupid pup," Kurogiba snarled, getting all our attention. "Are you suicidal? If you don't get out of here, you'll die!!"

Silence followed his outburst. "…I'm not going to run away. I'll never give up – not while Naruto-kun and Lee-kun are giving their all, too."

"Don't you see you can't win–?!"

"I can … and I w-will." I turned my gaze on Midori. "I'm not about to be defeated here."

She smirked. "Ee…?"

Quicker than I could react, a focused force came barreling into the side of my face, knocking my head to the right as it shot past. Drops of crimson hit the ground.

I turned my head to face her again, my glowering eyes not leaving her as I momentarily turned my head to spit.

"Not even close."

"Tough talk. You're a real glutton for punishment, aren't you?"

"I'm not joking. You won't win."

"Hmm? Everyone has a limit, dear, and you look close to it. Let's see how long it takes to make that cute face of yours cry." Sand pooled and rose around her, quaking with her excitement.

"Captain!"

Her gaze stabbed into the chuunin that flickered in beside her. "_What?_" she spat, "I'm busy."

The man frowned. "What's taking so long? She's a walking corpse; I could finish this scrap of meat myself…"

"_I'll_ finish her when I feel like finishing her…"

"Look, you, there's no time for your little games today. Captain Torakou specifically assigned me to keep you in line–!"

"What'd you do to piss off Torakou?"

"Huh–?"

_SLASH!_

One graceful, savage motion of her arm. A swift bolt of sand lanced across his throat, and the man keeled over, dead. My jaw dropped. _Wh-what…?_

Her eyes slowly returned to me, a predatory smile on her face. "_Now… _Let's begin."

My left palm shot out. A sphere of magnetic iron sand melted into lifeless dust on contact with my hand. Byakugan active, I lashed at each sphere that came my way; it seemed when my chakra hit, the effect of her chakra-generated magnetism was nullified. I dodged and jumped and swatted and struck, and then two came shooting from the left and right at once, faster than any of the others. My palm rose, and my right arm automatically moved to block – and I howled as a gumdrop-sized sphere of iron crunched into the tape at the back of my right forearm. The scar – why now?!

Wait. The scar… The scar!

_That's it!_

A dozen bolts of sand exploded toward me. My hands flew into a seal. _Shunshin!!_

I laid a hand over my heart. That was too close…

"Body flicker, hee? Where'd you go? Surely you didn't run away…"

I peeked around the corner of the building and quickly ducked behind it again, pressing my back against the wall. _Calm down. Suppress your chakra… _I ripped the tape from my arm and pulled a fine brush from my kunai pouch.

_The chakra blast didn't work, regular Juuken won't get through, and simple punches and kicks to the body will hardly affect her through that shell of sand. And aside from that, I can't even get near her…_

Boom!

I bit my lip, utterly conscious of the building twenty yards from my hiding place falling down.

_If I do get close enough, I need to make it count._

"Come out! What are you, all bark and no bite?"

I unscrewed the ink flask and dipped the brush, a formula coming to me already, though far from a way to use regular Juuken with my right arm. The chakra blast – a way to make it even more powerful. If I got close enough to hit her, I would finish it in one blow.

The brush danced over my arm; I'd gotten quite good at writing with my left hand. I modified the design, adding symbols, wiping some off, my heart pounding in excitement and panic.

_Here – a simple barrier seal made it deflect back up my arm, but… _I drew in five seals on the front of the arm, one opposite each of the claw scars. The brush flew over my arm, drawing five hasty rings of black running just below each scar, broken only by the aligned seals. The natural barriers created by the wounds – they were reinforced as I connected the seals to the rings. The chakra drawn to my palm for a normal chakra blast was already slow in moving past them, and now would have more difficulty. The strongest block was the one nearest my hand; the weakest was the one farthest from it.

I flinched as a small shed nearby was filled with holes and eventually destroyed.

_Focus! _The attracting seal on my palm – I drew in a touch to strengthen it, and added more attracting seals, two between each of the black rings, on opposite sides of the arm. Tiny seals were scrawled in rapidly, so that the focus of the drawing force would be placed between each pair of seals – the center of my arm rather than the sides of it.

Now above each black ring of ink – simple blocking seals that would more strongly discourage the chakra from moving backwards past the barriers. They were then linked to the attracting seals, so that the chakra wouldn't be affected by the seals it had already passed.

Finally I sketched in seals down the length of my arm – actual barrier seals. This chain of markings was linked to the rings so that their effect would circle the arm for the length that was scarred, preventing the chakra from escaping it. The only release point would be my palm.

I quickly examined my arm, and the handiwork I'd done under the inspiration of pressure. Would it work? Theoretically it looked like it should, but I had thought that about most of the formulas I'd tried…

A shadow passed over me.

I looked up to spot a cloud of iron sand, and it promptly began to rain. I leapt aside as the shower of iron slammed down where I had been, and I body flickered.

Behind Midori, I clapped my left palm onto my right wrist, prepared to channel chakra into it – by entering at the wrist, it would be pulled forward by the attracting seal on my palm. If I could catch her again–!

"Where could she _be!_" With blinding speed a heel snapped across my face.

Well… Ouch.

I staggered back, and before I could regain balance had to scramble to dodge a hail of sand bullets. I backflipped, but my foot landed on a patch of sand; it shifted suddenly, and I began to stumble.

Four more, larger spheres – pain slamming into my knee, the side of my ribs, the center of my back, the top of my shoulder. I dropped to the ground.

"Ee? Thought you could sneak up on me?"

"Gr… Got to… keep going…" I started to my feet, determined not to stay down for long.

"It's hopeless… Why are you doing it?" Kurogiba asked, his voice unreadable.

"I c-can't give in…!"

"Stop this madness! You'll die–!!"

"If you're not going to help then shut your mouth already, Kurogiba-sama–!"

Thop!

A small sphere bruised my forehead.

Iron sand sprang up from the ground around me. Not in spheres, not in waves, merely thousands of particles of sand.

I shut my eyes, and shielded my face with my hands, and barely withheld a cry as it whipped into a violent, shredding frenzy around me, slashing and cutting with no remorse. In three seconds it ended, and I dropped once more.

"Hey, give the dog a little credit. At least he's got sense – he's smart enough not to fight with a loser like you."

"_Kuso_…" Trembling, I got to my knees. A cut at my hairline was leaking down the side of my face; stinging scratches littered my body. I shakily began to rise. "You th-think that's enough to stop m-_me_…?"

"You keep getting up. Why is it that you keep getting up? They're usually groveling and screaming for mercy by now."

"Knock me down as many times as you l-like… You can't call me a failure until I _stay_ down…"

My stomach – another little iron gumdrop, connecting horribly, hitting the celiac plexus and forcing the wind out of me in a choked gag, a sharp, airy cry of protest. My head fell, arms curled up at the elbows, hands clasped at the point of contact as my mouth speckled the ground with blood. I felt sick…

"Strange – I can't pierce through you…" Midori noted half in annoyance, half in interest, as if speaking of some curious anomaly, and I yelped as something small thunked squarely against my lower ribs. "I can't break you, either. Why is your body so strong…?"

Thop!

"_Ah!_"

Thump!

"_Urk–!_"

_Shlik!_

My eyes grew as something shot into my stomach and out my back. Teeth snapping shut in a grimace, I barely managed not to flat out scream.

"Aren't we the little tough girl?"

I shuddered with each blow as five more iron globes, each no larger than a fingertip, shot through my abdomen. My eyes turned skyward as I swayed, and blood was trailing from my mouth as I slumped face first to the ground.

"Hee…? Even if your body is tougher, put the same force on a smaller area and eventually it has to give."

I whimpered, choking back tears as my body quivered. _It hurts…!_

"I guess it's over – _failure_."

_But… But I……!_

"K… Koinu…"

I pulled my arms and legs in slightly, lying on my forearms and knees. A wet cough rose in my throat. My shoulders, my back, my arms, my legs, my whole body trembled as it struggled to pick me up again.

"Come on… Come on…!" Blood dripped from the wounds. Sweating in pain, I ignored it and lifted my elbows, shakily shifting some weight onto my hands…

WHAM!

Struggles were cut short as a tremendous impact at my upper back knocked me to the ground.

"Interesting… Interesting!" Midori yelled, pelting my back with sphere after crushing sphere. "Why do you keep getting up?! Why don't you just lie down and die already?!"

I could only drape my hands over my head, fighting not to cry out. She attacked relentlessly, beating and pounding at my back without pause. My fingers clenched, clasping at my hair. Crimson kept spurting through my locked teeth. But I refused to cry out. I couldn't…!

BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM!

My teeth ground. I pulled my hair, unblinking as tears fell. _Stop it… Stop it… Stop it… Stop it…_

I knew she wouldn't stop. Not until I was dead. I realized in terror I couldn't even pass out – I would remain conscious to the end. My eyes were pouring now.

_S-someone…_

_Anyone…_

_Mommy…!_

"_AAAAAAAHHH!!! HELP MEEEEE!!! Please!!"_

It ended.

"There now, was that so hard?"

I lied there, whimpering like a whelp, gasping for breath, unblinking eyes running with tears as I trembled and shook. I shut my eyes and wailed out, bawling like a little girl. Which I was, it occurred to me. I was really nothing but a little girl, out of her league…

I squeaked when a boot rolled me onto my back, fearing more pain. Hesitantly I cracked open my eyes to see the woman standing above me.

"It'll be over before you know it. Want me to end it quickly?" Her smiling face turned abruptly malicious as a sphere of sand materialized over her open hand. "Or do you need a little more time to _think_ about it?"

I shrieked out loud, my heart flying. Not the pain. Anything – anything but the _pain–!_

"So _what_, are you just giving up now?! I thought you made me a promise, or didn't you?!"

His powerful voice, fraught with emotion, boomed across the field. I stared skyward in shock as it became choked up, utterly unfamiliar to me.

"Or… or was I just right all along?!" he demanded, pain breaking into his voice. I thought that if it were even remotely possible, he'd be crying right now. I found the stunned words taking shape on my lips as something clicked neatly into place.

"Is that… is _that_ why you refuse to help me…? Because you're afraid to have hope?! You coward… You coward, Kurogiba-sama!"

"Kuso!! I told myself I wouldn't count on you. I told myself, I knew it would end like this, but s-still I…!"

_So was it his mistake … for having put faith in me…? Was he right after all? Is it true … that pain is all that comes of never giving up…?_

"The truth is, at some point… Hyuuga Hinata and I became _friends_!"

–"_I promise you, Kurogiba … that I'll be a kunoichi you can be proud to fight alongside."_

"_Heh. I won't count on it…"–_

"I remember, Kurogiba-sama…" My hands snapped up, clutching both of Midori's ankles. "It's up to me, to prove you wrong!!" I cried, grinding my teeth, swinging my legs up, and ramming both feet into Midori's belly in a hard Juuken kick.

She grunted as she staggered back at the suddenness of the strike, and I rolled onto my feet to spring a sharp backfist across her face.

I forced chakra past the first, and weakest, barrier on my right arm.

_Gentle and Ferocious!_

I leapt into a Sempuu kick, and she ducked under a heel strike before blocking a lashing follow-up from the other shin – and crying out as I slammed interlocked hands down onto her head.

The accumulated chakra burst the second barrier and, trapped between the second and third scars, bounced wildly between the barrier seals surrounding it.

I wouldn't give her an instant to retaliate. Ignoring pain, I landed a quick Juuken palm before swinging my right fist solidly into her face. I whirled to whack my left elbow into her midriff, and kept turning to brush the straightened fingers of a cupped hand across her abdomen in a Juuken Stream.

Sand trickled from under her flak jacket. I tapped my left palm against my right wrist.

I drove an explosive fist full-force into the center of her chest, but as my arm straightened I opened my hand to chakra-adhere, jarring her to a sharp halt before she could be thrown away.

At this point a truly massive amount of concentrated chakra was frenzying behind the fifth and strongest barrier as I fed still more energy down the arm. It moved easily past the already broken barriers, but still was not allowed to backtrack.

I then pulled my arm back, and Midori with it – and buried my left fist deep in her no longer protected stomach, chakra blazing from downward-pointing knuckles.

_Shippurendan!_

She jerked forward in pain, and I felt the wind shoot out of her as she spewed blood over my shoulder. I squared my stance, braced my feet with charka, and aimed a word for her nearby ear.

"_Sayonara_."

BOOM!

Energy broke past the last scar in an explosion – an explosion directed forward by the attracting seal on the palm, but far too powerful to be halted even momentarily behind it. My hair whipped in the air, and I ducked my head into a backlash shockwave as my chakra blasted her away in a massive surge of blue-white light.

Midori landed like a ragdoll fifteen yards off and lied spread-eagled on her back. I stood panting for several moments, still glaring ahead, my arm outstretched and the aching palm smoking lightly. Slowly I lowered my arm, squeezed my eyes shut with a brief grimace, and started forward.

Still breathing in soft gasps, I stopped a yard away. The older kunoichi was trembling at erratic intervals, her eyes, gazing at me and straight through me, filled with despair.

"_O-or-rochi-m-maru…sama…_" she barely made out, struggling desperately to raise her head. Gore was running from her mouth. Her eyes were empty, her body was convulsing, and still she was holding on for…

"…Go see Akane," I murmured. "You don't have to work for Orochimaru anymore…"

Her eyes watered as she flinched slightly, and her head fell back onto the grass. "Aka…nee…" she whispered with a soft smile, the torment on her face swept away with the name. Her body relaxed, and her eyes slid shut.

Midori was dead.

I don't know what happened, what took hold of me. It was probably another effect of this point in the moon cycle.

But with so powerful an enemy's death, even as my eyes ran over with tears, I spread my arms, turned out my palms, and threw back my head to let forth a bellowing roar of triumph at the sky.

* * *

**Thirteen, Part Five: Breaking Point**

**Naruto ****ナルト**

I struggled my way off the ground, grunting as I pushed off my good knee and balanced myself on one leg.

"You think you're t-tough just 'cause there's a lot of you?! _Come on!!"_

An army of scattered Oto-nin lined the bridge, starting fifteen yards off on either side of me. If I'd wanted to I might have fled into the water if I was quick enough, but who's to say I'd survive it or even escape? But I had no such plans.

_I have to stand and fight! _I thought, softly panting as I continued to glower toward the Sound ninja that had effectively surrounded me. I almost sensed it as they prepared to attack.

* * *

**Lee ****リー**

A frown on my face, I eyed the dozens of ninja that soon lined the clearing's edge. Several sharp whistles pierced the air, undoubtedly signaling the others in the area.

A healthy burning was within my arms as I raised my katana in challenge. I took a deep breath as the slightest movements revealed them prepared to spring.

_That is right – it is not over yet. The fight for my life has only just begun._

* * *

**Hinata ****ヒナタ**

The roaring howl caught their attention quickly enough. Shouting for their prone captain, spitting furious expletives, the shinobi that had been carelessly waiting more than a hundred yards off came dashing across the field.

For a moment my knees shook unsteadily. I dragged my arms up into a defensive stance. _I'm not sure if I c-can go on…_

A bolt of crimson fire lanced toward them, hitting earth and shifting to spray a line of billowing flames across the approaching army's path.

He landed gracefully next to me from a grand bound, glaring toward the momentarily halted shinobi.

"K… Kurogiba-sama…?" I whispered, eyes widening.

He turned his gaze on me and grunted one word. "Together."

My cheeks gained the slightest warmth as my heart swelled with hope. Face set in determination, I nodded curtly.

He lowered his head and spoke quickly and clearly.

"Hyuuga Hinata, kunoichi of Konohagakure no Sato, rightful heiress of Clan Hyuuga, wolf-friend, my summoner…"

My hands lied lightly on the sides of his neck and muzzle before I shut my eyes and bowed my head, resting my forehead against his, and words flowed effortlessly from my lips.

"Fifth Grand Ookami Kurogiba, son of the great black-blooded Houkou-sama, ruler of fire, my familiar…"

Our voices came together. "Let us join at the mind, and our souls become as one! Youkai Hou: Soul Link!"

Our eyes snapped open at once, and after looking forward together we leapt apart to avoid a hail of shuriken.

* * *

**Naruto ****ナルト**

_I'm about to die._

The thought came as a statement, simple and true, a small, calm revelation to an otherwise frenzied mind flailing in desperation. I was trying. I was beating them back with Shadow Strikes branched ten ways or more, I was Shadow Swapping wildly in defense, all the while hardly able to walk. Still they got through. There were too many.

There were too many, and they just kept getting up.

And just as I found foremost in my mind, with morbid serenity, that I was about to die, in the very back of my mind but ever-present all the same pounded another notion – an immense, frightful secret, deadly and awesome. Though it could save me, I quailed at the thought of it.

I substituted from immediate danger and struck out, hitting eight adversaries in front of me. My shoulder blazed with pain; two shadow steps placed me at the western end of the bridge, where the group spotted and again began to run toward me.

Cold air burned my lungs as, staring unblinking ahead, I pulled a shuriken free of my shoulder.

_I'm about to die…_

_They're about to kill me._

_Because…_

* * *

**Lee ****リー**

_This … is who we are._

Katana clashed with kunai as I traded blows with a particularly skillful chuunin. It was during this deadly exchange, as the man struck with fury to kill, that the entire enormity of the solemn truth was acknowledged.

_No…_

_This is _what_ we are._

I grunted as a knife grazed my side. Yet though every single one of them wanted to kill me and could most certainly do it, no blood but Torakou's stained my blade.

_We are made to kill. Emotionless, as machines._

Clang–ching-clang–cl–_kin_–!

_It is our purpose, for we are shinobi._

* * *

**Hinata ****ヒナタ**

_This is what shinobi do._

The obvious dawned a bewildering revelation as I fought, Kurogiba at my side.

_All shinobi can fight. And kill._

The wolf surged into my mind and bade my legs to jump, manipulating my body easily as would I. A shower of senbon skewered the ground.

_Our intentions conflict. I am a hindrance to them, and so they strike to kill._

We danced across the battlefield. Weary and bleeding, I threw punch after kick after palm, struggling to subdue the horde, struggling to protect the life they were so bent on and in all likelihood near snuffing out. And whichever one stole my life from me, he or she would probably feel little to nothing.

_This … is the universal way of all shinobi… And not even we can escape it._

* * *

**Naruto ****ナルト**

_Is this it? Am I really…_

**Lee ****リー**

…_Am I really going to die this way? Is it…_

**Hinata ****ヒナタ**

…_Is it over? Is this how my life ends?_

* * *

**Naruto ****ナルト**

The Shadow Strikes were losing effect. The moment I noticed this I found myself dodging a flying kunai – but my movement was slow, and it thunked into my arm. I cried out, and as a sword swung toward me I substituted to an open space in the crowd with painful difficulty.

Pain crashed into my head and seared across my stomach. I thought for sure I had just been killed when I dropped to my hands and knees, paralyzed. I blinked, which only seemed to make more spots pop in front of my eyes. And my body wouldn't listen to my mind, but not because of any physical strike.

It was confused.

No – why now?!

_The… the b-backlash of the Kageken… _I thought, trembling and helpless as smiling Oto-nin spotted and charged toward me.

* * *

**Lee ****リー**

Their numbers did not seem to be getting any lesser.

Shooing one back with the swing of a katana, I threw my boot into another's jaw. I turned and drove my fist into a nose. I deflected four shuriken and lunged, feinting with the blade before bringing two knuckles to land between a young man's eyes. I turned again in time to swat a knife downward and hop toward the wielder, swinging my arm over myself to sharply drop the side of a hand beside her neck.

I felt fairly certain I was the singly strongest and fastest ninja remaining, but they seemed endless in number. My blows were growing weaker, slower. I had lost count of my injuries; most were shallow, a few were not. And–

A kunoichi dropped to the ground under the sword I had sprung toward her. Her hand shot down, and a pillar of earth erupted before her to clip my jaw.

The next thing I registered was pain slamming into my sternum. Eyes wide, I was beginning to curl inward when my body thudded against another, nearly knocking someone over. The ninja behind me managed to catch me, an arm folding securely across my throat.

It was in that situation that I regained full awareness. I found that I was fighting for air, struggling weakly; that a coppery wetness was in my mouth; that the one holding me was trembling; and that the nearest others were shouting.

"You've got him – what are you waiting for?!"

"Kill him!"

My ears caught a nervous gulp. With slight movement behind me, I then heard a kunai slide swiftly from its pouch.

I saw our shadows, though hazy under the dull light of the clouded sky, stretched out before me. I could see the silhouette of two figures, my head to the left of and a bit lower than his, one of my arms tugging at the one locked over my throat. His other hand rose up high above our heads, the knife's shape pointed down, toward me.

And as I wondered vaguely which vital point would be hit, I found my eyes drawn oddly to the shape extending to the left of my silhouette head – the hilt of a still sheathed katana. The other, which had been dropped, was lying across the shadow; its gleaming blade stretched across the trembling figure's throat.

* * *

**Hinata ****ヒナタ**

I could almost sense it, almost taste it – every ounce of blood coursing through his body. The tantalizing scent was infuriatingly dulled, in a way that stirred outrage within me, as it deserved to be freed and spilt upon the world; but from where I was behind him I could so easily split this vein or that, free the scent to explode into its true brilliant glory–!

'_Kurogiba-sama!!'_

His mind took a firm hold of mine, and a mental blow crashed down onto my soul. My knees were driven immediately to the earth, and I was myself. I had almost lost it, and I felt that if I started killing I wouldn't be able to stop.

I was at the third level. I hadn't meant to activate it, but I had. Without Kurogiba, I would already have lost it.

The wolf rammed into the man in front of me, knocking him aside, and I ducked my head as he turned to spew a jet of flame over me. I knew he had deterred a shinobi coming at me from behind.

'_On your feet!' _his thoughts barked. He looked to my left, and I turned that way to sharply throw a shin across an approaching ninja's ankles. Kurogiba headbutted the man, and as I spotted a sword swinging toward the wolf he whipped his head around, clamping down on the blade. I leapt over him to throw a spinning heel kick into the assailant's face.

I cringed as I landed, arms cradling my middle where the spheres of iron had stabbed me. I wanted to scream; every move made the wounds throb and my bruised back sear with agony. A lapping wave of encouragement washed over from Kurogiba – who due to our connection was hurting just as much but showed no sign of weakness – and I pulled myself together.

A small water missile neared us, and he lunged behind me as I performed the Kaiten. The water deflected, I broke sharply from the rotation and shot to plant a fist beneath a kunoichi's seal-locked hands, squarely in her stomach. I brought my right hand back to deflect a kunai strike from behind with a hit to the wrist, and turned to drive the heel of my palm into the shinobi's abdomen forcefully enough to knock him away. I grabbed an attacker's arm and vaulted over him, and from behind rose to ram right shoulder and left palm against his spine.

There was no end to them! They just kept–!

I moved forward. A kunai ran shallowly across the middle of my back. Screaming madly with rage and pain, I rounded on the attacker – and was frozen in place. The wolf's front paws slammed him to the ground.

It was him. He wasn't letting me move!

He took the opportunity to ease the fury inside me as the fighting came to a momentary pause. "This thing was created to be unstable. It plays on your emotions, takes hold of the smallest angry impulse; the darkness takes root and multiplies in attempt to consume you. For someone like you it may take longer, but you know it's very possible for you to fall under all the same. That's why you learned control. Fight it off!"

I snarled and started to struggle against him, and another mental blow slammed into my mind, turning my head aside as if I'd been struck. I snapped out of it.

'_K-Kurogiba-sama, I'm not sure how much more I can take! I want to awaken now! I want to–!'_

He was momentarily infected by the strength of my desire, and almost let me unleash it. Almost. _'No, you don't want to – the mark does. You're wounded, and it's affecting your judgment, but you're _not_ badly hurt.'_

He didn't think the word, but I couldn't help catching the sense of 'yet' that radiated from the end of the statement. I wanted to cry in despair, to pass out at the pain, to vomit with fatigue, to slash someone apart in fury. My head spun, and he could barely help ease the stress any longer.

'_Just be strong, and keep going. I'm with you. We'll get through this–!'_

He knocked me down, and six arrows dotted his right side.

My right side blazed with invisible, excruciating pain, and I opened my mouth and screamed.

* * *

**Naruto ****ナルト**

_Well, I can't say I missed him…_ Though admittedly I was much happier to see him than I would usually be, and it was nice to know what the heck was going on with my chakra. Man, did it look different in here! For one thing, the seal was coated in a purple barrier of … I guess it was my chakra. It was looking pretty good, and clearly hadn't taken any damage since the last time I was here. What was really weird was that the room was filled with floating bubbles of red and blue fog or energy or something, the red centered on the fox and the blue on me. And there was kind of a spiral of red chakra connecting us, flowing from the fox, widely looped several times about me, and entering me at a slug's pace – except near me, where it met my blue aura-majig, the red shifted to purple. So that had been happening constantly since a month ago, huh…

"Hey, time's not really passing on the outside right now, right?" I said, watching curiously as I shifted briefly left and right and the spiral moved with me.

"It is, very slowly…" the nine-tailed fox growled simply, and I took its word for it. "Look, did you hear a word I just said or not?"

I waved my hands. "Yeah, I got it. So after being scorched up by your chakra – twice – my keirakukei healed with a mega-huge immunity to your destructive chakra, even stronger than before. That's why when you attacked and I tried to kill us by overloading on your chakra, our chakras just got … twisted together or something…?"

The beast slowly nodded a massive head. "Unfortunately, so it seems… Your chakra is a mixture, usually held at some sixty percent yours to forty my own, fused at a surprisingly basic level... My power is acting somewhat as a fixed supplement to yours. You focus more of your chakra, and consume mine at an elevated rate; you exhaust your chakra and leave little to add on to, and the draw on my power is slowed... But, should you willfully draw out more of my chakra and shift the proportion…"

"So that's what this is about. You think you'll be getting another test drive of my body, huh?"

A deep, throaty rumble rolled from the cage. "You misunderstand… When my chakra reaches you in this way, it's practically yours… Your chakra is strengthened, and with it the barrier you've subconsciously maintained over the seal is strengthened. My chakra would need to outweigh yours a greater deal for me to seize it back and wrest complete control of you… So go on. Have a bit more, it won't hurt…"

The stream of red began to quicken in its spiral. I raised a hand, and rather than the expected blue, a barrier of indigo purple sprang out to arrest its motion. "I don't trust you."

"My interest is in our survival. Trust is irrelevant – the choice is as simple as choosing life over death. I can help… Accept my aid, and show the fools what you can _really_ do…"

I started as its eyes glowed deep crimson. "You d-don't mean…!"

"I do."

I shook my head, trying to ignore the logic I knew was behind him. The very thought… "N-no – I can't. Those techniques, they're too… It's n-not…" Honorable? Humane? Fair?

"Not fair?" It gave a monstrous laugh, causing me to jump. "Did they consider 'fair' when they took you on eighty to one? Nothing is fair in the world of you shinobi. The single fairness that has been established and long settled on… is to kill or be killed. If you have power, **use** it!"

_I don't – I don't want to die!_

Teeth grinding, my hand fell.

Power surged into me. The meager chakra I had left exploded with new intensity, and with a gasp I was thrust back into my real body in the real world. Concentrated energy crackled in a frenzy inside me and blazed a violent violet around my body as I rose easily to my feet, pulling the kunai out of my arm and drawing my hand far back as I stared, unblinking, toward the charging line of shinobi twenty meters off, wide eyes sweeping across them.

'_DO IT!!'_

I don't think the fox would have had to say a thing.

The brief flicker of existence, a momentary tessellation line of orange and blue – and it was as though a blade wielded by a giant had invisibly flashed down the line of soldiers, gouging a straight path of crimson instantly across all their bodies.

I stared in awed horror, barely able to comprehend as twenty unsuspecting shinobi and kunoichi dropped dead.

* * *

**Lee ****リー**

_We were naïve to think it might have gone any other way._

And after all… I was the one who had told them not to hesitate.

My right hand flashed up, clapping onto a hilt, pulling to turn the katana and sheath against my back, and sharply rising to run the length of the blade across my captor's throat in the very sweeping motion in which it was unsheathed.

I was released. Crimson splattered to the ground. The kunai of my would-be killer bounced a few feet. And as I turned I managed to glimpse a boy who could not have been a day older than Naruto crashing lifeless to the ground.

My stomach clenched. I gritted my teeth.

…_When I must, I need to be able to become a shinobi as well._

As a man leapt toward me, kunai raised, I drew back the arm which held a dripping sword.

…_Accelerate._

SLSSH!

* * *

**Hinata ****ヒナタ**

'_Pull yourself together! I'm fine, and you're not really hurt! Just don't break this Soul Link!!'_

"K-_Kurogiba-sama!!_" I yowled. I didn't even know why. I couldn't think straight. My heart was pounding violently inside me. My blood could have been at a rolling boil. And the pain, pain!

But I didn't want to do something I'd regret! I wouldn't–!

But where the heck had sparing my enemies ever gotten me?!!

'_That's it, koinu. Come now, why restrain yourself this way? You have the power to survive. Use it…'_

Survive. I would survive–!

'_No, Okaa-sama, what are you saying? Koinu, don't listen to her! Hinata – can you hear me?'_

Somehow, a distant sound, a flickering combination of other senses – I turned and batted with my hand three arrows from the air.

'_What good comes of exercising mercy?' _the five-tails mused.

A random surge of bloodlust – oh, the sweet, luscious blood waiting to be spilled!! – I don't know how I fought it.

'_The scars that cripple your arm, courtesy of your cousin…'_

I swatted down another arrow, freaked by my own reflexes. Kurogiba roasted a few more projectiles, urged me to stay with him, not once letting go of me.

'_A near-death encounter with a Youkou's kinjutsu – that could have been avoided…'_

'_Stop it, Mum, leave her alone!'_

My neck throbbed horribly, and I couldn't tell if it was agonizing or not.

'_And of course…'_

SPLIK!

'…_Kidomaru's arrow,' _a snide voice finished.

My eyes had snapped wide as I was thrown a stumbling step back, mouth flung agape when the arrow pierced my stomach.

Suddenly my eyes had traced the path, had found him. Before I knew what I was doing the world blurred past, forty meters between us reduced to nothing in an instant.

And with incredible force, I found my clawed hand, ablaze with darkness, smashing cleanly through his chest.

Though somewhat appalled, I couldn't suppress a tiny moan of pleasure at the profusion of hot blood soaking my hand and arm.

Somehow I looked up from the dripping blood – and I gasped as the raised veins framing his huge eyes faded.

"H-Hina…ta…" he sputtered.

My mouth moved.

"Hiken…kun…"

With this sad and pathetic mockery of an attempted apology, in a sort of dazed shock, I pulled my arm from his body. My barely-older cousin crumpled to the ground.

It was so fast…

My sharp teeth ground. My trembling hands clasped my hair. My hurting body shook. My unblinking eyes dripped. And my open mouth watered at the absolutely beautiful scent filling the air, surrounding me, embracing me, drowning out all else, rich and thick and overpowering.

It happened then – a chain reaction of a thousand explosions going off inside of me. A screaming roar of rage and agony was hurled into the column of darkness that stretched into the gray sky above me, as my body convulsed violently, as bones cracked and popped and shifted crazily, as the confined power once held in restraint just beyond my grasp tore eagerly through my body and soul. My limbs shifted in structure, and something especially amazing happened at the base of my spine, and then something else at the sides of my head, and the top. All the while I screamed.

My howl drifted off to an end, and I swayed in a moment of shock before I sank comfortably to all fours. The heavy darkness swirling thickly around me faded to a light, fiery mist. I reached behind my back, hardly wincing as I yanked out the arrow sticking annoyingly through me and tossed it aside.

I blinked. The world was a new one, dazzlingly sharp around me. I smelled every last drop of blood in every body, heard every pulsing beat of the fearful, speeding hearts that sent it though their veins. Something primal stirred at the heart of my being as I found they were frightened of me, and a smile broke across my face as my tail whipped left and right behind me.

I felt _wonderful_.

"Hinata?"

My ears twitched, and my eyes darted to land on the wolf. They tracked the movement as he took a cautious step toward me.

"Easy there, koinu… Remember, this wasn't supposed to happen 'til nighttime? Just–,"

My hand flowed upward, pointing at him. I grinned when my will froze him in his tracks. Trying to sneak into my head, was he?

"_You're not going to stop me_," I hissed darkly, almost surprised at the fierce power in my voice. He tried to escape, and he couldn't, and I snickered as my soul screeched with glee.

I slammed his mind with all my force, and he went rigid and yowled. Smirking, I brushed a hand across my middle, wetting my fingers with blood, and I broke my mind away from his.

In a swift motion I flicked my arm out, sending blades of darkness flashing through the air, shooting toward the reeling wolf. They met him with explosive force, and he yelled as he was blasted into a building dozens of strides away, clouds of dust whipping into the air.

I laughed out loud in sheer delight. He couldn't stop me, and neither could anyone. Why had I ever fought it?! This was perfect. Power raced through my veins, flowed sure and strong. I was strong. Never before had I felt so amazing, and as I marveled a growling chuckle purred into the air. And…

And all around me. There were so many, trembling, eyeing me warily…

So many to be destroyed…

So much blood to be spilt!

* * *

**Neji ****ネジ**

We were done. I had coordinated an invasion, and the Uchiha had counter-coordinated expertly from the shadows. The disorganization had destroyed us, and our numbers had been decimated.

I halted when the snarl tore unprompted from my throat. Something restless thrashed inside me, but briefly it faded. I clutched the mark on my neck, three black diamonds – for the two that were lost that day had long since regenerated.

I shook my head, eyes wide. _What was that?_

"Hyuuga-san?" one of the Oto-nin who'd been running behind me asked hesitantly.

"What is it?" I asked, collecting myself.

He shifted nervously and pointed. "Look."

I followed his eyes to the tallest standing tree in New Konoha, a proud old oak. Perched atop it in an image of cool nonchalance that almost suggested their act was of little consequence, were Shikamaru and a few other ninja – one of whom waved a large, black flag slowly, methodically left and right.

Oh dear…

I frowned, chewing my lip as I watched the mass of pitch fabric undulate and sway high in the still, bitter cold air. This was their response to the attack, and the message was clear enough.

The opposite of a white flag. No surrender.

In other words, war.

The Nara's eyes, though distant, found and locked squarely with my own in a challenge. I held his bold glare, and my teeth clenched.

"Retreat! Everyone, fall back!"

* * *

**Hanabi ****ハナビ**

"N-Neji's calling the retreat!"

"What, for real?!"

"Yeah! They actually did it!"

I heard all this without really hearing it. Whatever was in front of me, I saw the image clearly with no interpretation. My breath was shallow and shaky as I lowered my head, curling up and clasping my freezing hands over my heart.

"Hanabi?" Kiba asked over the rising chatter, concerned. "Hanabi, what's wrong?"

"Nee-chan… Something is very wrong with Nee-chan…"

* * *

**ナルト ****/ ****リー ****/ ****ヒナタ ****\ ****ハナビ ****\ ****ネジ**

**End Chapter Thirteen**

**Hinata: **Activate: Cursed Seal of Mitsubishi! Wait, what the... These aren't my lines–!

**Kurogiba: **Pfft-snort- HAHAHAHAHA! Hahahaha!

**Hinata: **Kurogiba-sama!

(_static–)_

**Lee: **That is it, then. In the aftermath of a bittersweet conclusion, all one can do is move on and look to tomorrow.

**Naruto: **Don't miss the next thrilling installment, and the shocking conclusion to Part One!

**Hinata: **Next is **Chapter Fourteen: Crimson Wave**. Naruto-kun, Lee-kun, Kurogiba-sama… I'm sorry…

Phew! Wow. 64 pages on Word. This is like – MEGA CHAPTER!! RAWR! XD

They probably won't get much longer than this ;)

How was the chapter? I hope so many fight scenes didn't get 'exhausting' to read; I know that happens to me sometimes, when I read a long battle or whatever and eventually I'm like "When will it END?!"

Sorry for so many OC's, but there aren't really that many Hyuuga or Oto-nin to pick from. So when I need a Hyuuga or Oto-nin or whatnot character, I make one!

Yes, Akane is female. Yes, Midori is also female. Please don't review "eeewww, they're like gay, that's nastyyyy!" I don't want to hear it.

Lee's fight scenes are always so fun to write – throw together some crazy taijutsu action and a dramatic finish! Some of his training scenes might make more sense now. How were his new techniques, and Hinata's? Pretty cool, huh? (Yes I'm proud of the techniques I come up with… especially Lee's, it's hard to make techniques for him ;)

Yes, there is something special about Hanabi's Juuken. There've been a few hints here and there, but all will be revealed next chapter!

Next chapter is already done, by the way; I wonder if I should post it soon or make you wait… Nah, jk, I'll post it as soon as I get it typed!

Please let me know what you thought of the chapter! And if you have any questions feel free to ask!

:o)Hinata0321:o)


	14. Crimson Wave

J3F\\\ Journey of the Three Failures

Chapter Fourteen

Hello!

Thanks for your awesome reviews **Yarram, chibi heishi, Redroseblossom, narutos vixen, Omega the darkness, Dominican Kitsune, soundless steps, SaphireShade, Monte-chan, Kuchiki May, ComicXArena, HINAXNARU4LIFE, Kage James, The Absurdist, Rena-san, Cybergades, **and** loughlin**!

Not much to say this time…

Hey, something recently occurred to me – calling Guy 'Maito Gai' would be the equivalent of calling Lee 'Rokku Rii.' Lol. Yep, anyways…

Okay, something a little strange – Chapter Four has 200 fewer hits than Chapter Five, and Chapter Eleven has almost 200 fewer hits than Chapter Twelve. How does that work out? Do people reread some chapters, or skip to chapters based on name, or the previews, or just 'things are boring now, maybe if I skip ahead it'll be more interesting'? XD I don't get it…

Chapter song! (I might do this every now and then, if I know a song that just really fits with it) **"Everyday" **by Carly Comando. There are no lyrics, it's just a piano piece, but it's really beautiful! You can youtube it!

WARNING: Violence! I wouldn't say M-rated, but this chapter has strong violence. If you don't want to see it, skip down to the second section that's from Naruto's POV. If you PM me I can send a summary of what happened.

**Disclaimer: **I didn't own _NARUTO _a week ago, and I still don't own it now! Amazing how that works!

* * *

**Journey of the Three Failures**

**Fourteen: Crimson Wave**

**Part One: Minagoroshi**

**Naruto ****ナルト**

It hadn't taken long, after coming up with the Kageken, for me to realize just how much potential it held. I'd also understood that I would more than probably need it some day down the road. That's what I'd already told myself, but theory and practice were two different things.

With a cold sickness in my gut, I turned to see one among another group of stunned shinobi recover to throw three kunai my way. I raised my arm, eyes trained on the projectiles as I swatted the air with my knife. The three kunai were deflected five yards away from me.

I focused on the frontmost shinobi, guessed the average neck height – and my knife sliced the air. Just like that, ten more – dead.

"Hold your positions!" a man barked as the shinobi wavered. "Spread out and–!"

I lunged, knife pointed forward. Twenty yards from me, the man sputtered and fell, blood gushing from a vital point in his abdomen. I stood there, shocked at my own decisive move.

Though too terrified to speak now, the troops seemed to come to a silent consensus – and begin to close in on me from all sides.

Heart racing, breath fast, I yelled out and swung my arm. Six – dead, throats slit.

I secured the kunai's handle in my teeth and filled my hands with eight throwing stars. I crossed my arms and swept them out, and though I didn't release the weapons eight clones that appeared a short way in front of the enemies I was facing did.

_Kageshuriken!_

Sixty-four shuriken blasted into the line, seemingly from nowhere. As the nearest halted or fell, others behind them raced by unfazed.

I turned to my right, sweeping that hand out; shuriken peppered my foes. I turned and repeated with my left, whirled to 'throw' with my right again, and again with the left, over and over again. Oto and New Oto-nin dropped like flies, but even as they were furiously beaten back by the hail of shuriken the sheer mass of them drew steadily nearer.

Five shinobi raced forward in a line, stacked one behind the other. I flung all eight shuriken aside – as in every direction there were enemies – and hopped toward them, dropping the knife from my mouth into a hand that smoothly caught it already drawing back. A sharp, lunging slash – and the multiple Shadow Blade created the illusion of a single invisible force stabbing straight down their line, spearing through the side of every neck. Then I jumped as the remaining ones converged, Shadow Swapping twenty yards off and twenty more, landing outside the group again.

The nearest detected and charged toward me with no hesitation, and the ones that were armed drew shuriken. I didn't give them a chance to attack.

_Kage Ninpou: Shadow Mapping._

My arm drew back, and in the instant before the strike fifteen clones flickered in and out of existence around and throughout the well-scattered group approaching. Gritting my teeth in concentration on the flood of information, I slashed. Though scattered, I knew their positions; ten of the nearest shinobi fell as ten throats were simultaneously hit.

My hand darted into my tool pouch and withdrew a string of paper bombs, ten evenly spaced on a thread my armspan long and tied to a kunai. I spun once and held the hand out beside me; the wind held the string up in front of me, and a one-handed seal was formed as the tags flapped in the icy breeze. I glanced toward the thirty or so who had stopped approaching at the sight of the tags.

_Shadow Explosion._

No movement linking was required, so only a memory of pain rather than the real thing would be caught when fifteen shadow clones suddenly interspersed in the crowd–

**_BOOM!_**

_The shunshin! _My eyes moved from the dust cloud, and I leapt aside as a ninja tried to strike from behind. The kunai was thrown, and as I jumped back a handseal bade the tags explode.

I landed in a crouch. Twelve chuunin raced to surround me. I scanned their faces, fearful faces cold with somber resolve, as I got myself to speak.

"You're all that's left, right…? Why don't… Why don't you run away?!"

"Chikusho…!" a New Oto man growled. I recognized with detached interest the drunk who'd thrown shuriken at me when I was six, and just a few months ago ambushed me at Ichiraku.

"We follow orders," a kunoichi hissed through her teeth. "This mission was too important to screw up. Already we are dishonored. Better to fight here than meet a traitor's death at Orochimaru-sama's hands!"

Two fingers of each hand crossed in a seal at the beginnings of movement, as they ever so slightly shifted in preparation to attack.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu."

Twelve clones appeared and engaged them individually.

The one directly in front of me – at a good moment I lunged from my crouched position and Shadow Swapped. The knife was buried in the kunoichi's stomach.

The blade was pulled free as eyes landed on another bunshin. The beginning of a slash, and then my body was there, and my knife hacking open a side.

Striking upward from low without a moment's pause, I switched with another. Knife slammed into the juncture of the neck and underside of the jaw, and warm liquid sprayed heavily onto my face and arm.

Diving forward, and switching as a kunoichi stabbed for a clone's gut. Hand on the wrist, knife between the eyes.

Here – a blade run across the middle. A pierced vital point on the abdomen. Another. A slit throat. A quick downward stab behind the center of the clavicle.

The last three copies had been dispelled by now. The knife lashed, I Shadow Swapping to close range. As the shinobi barely jumped back in time the knife tip was thrust out sharply. A clone's Shadow Strike caught him between the shoulder blades, and with an expression of shock he went down.

A four foot Kage Kawarimi moved me from the path of a water missile. With a dagger in hand the attacker leapt toward me, and I leapt toward him. When we were six yards apart my knife cut the air three swift times – three sharp, calculated strikes.

My foot lightly met ground as a heavy thud of dead weight sounded behind me.

The last, the New Oto man yelled with rage and launched himself toward me from behind. A deep breath was taken – and sharply I turned and lunged from low, clearing six yards in a flash. The kunai was plunged deep into his gut, and he lurched to heave blood onto my back. I stepped aside to let him fall.

"K-kuso… bakemono…!"

A frown deepened on my face, eyebrows drawing together. My mouth opened and closed in search of words.

"…I'm sorry."

"I'm s-sure you are … bloody e-_executioner_…!"

And he fell still.

My teeth clenched, unclenched, and clenched again.

The long puddle at my feet was noticed; remains of a water jutsu. The former Leaf chuunin was lying across it, and I was standing in it. A reflection was seen against a dull grey sky, like me but very different, staring back with a lost expression on his face. His hair was messy, familiar blond spikes speckled lightly with curious splashes of streaked purple, and matted in one place with blood not his own that also had streaked down one side of his face, a massive scar of crimson. Whisker markings were sharply defined, and he sported pointed nails and canines. And his half-closed eyes were a piercingly fearsome red violet, a purple situated well nearer red than blue, as was the light aura enshrouding him.

The aura faded, and eyes became a less intimidating indigo, and in a moment a few more things changed back. The stranger in the water was indeed me, I thought with some senseless, half-hearted disappointment. For a few weary seconds I stared, and glumly my forlorn face stared back.

"You look like an old man," I muttered as the New Oto-nin's spreading blood finally reached and blotted out my reflection.

I turned around, and thudded to my knees, and puked my insides raw.

* * *

**Lee ****リー**

_Do not stop._

Tak-tak-_SLSSH!_ Fwo– _SKRSH!!_

_Do not think._

THOP–_ snickt! _Tak-smat-_thud-CRAK!_

_Just keep moving._

"_AAAGH–!!"_

_SHLUGK!_

_Kill._

Kin-kin-_SLSH-kin–!_

_Kill._

_SHRRK!_

_Kill!_

"_DEVASTATION!!!"_

Agonized screams tore into the air as I barreled through the crowd, blades flying, mowing them down one by one. A five second burst, and at least twenty more were down – on the ground, bleeding, dying.

It was as though I were outside my body, watching a puppet as someone else, some abhorrent brute, tugged and twirled masterfully at its strings. There was no time to think. No – I had decided it was not the time to do so. If I thought, I would pass out, or cry, or vomit. So I did what I knew how to do, and I fought. It was not hard. I simply kept moving. It was all I could do to keep going, keep killing.

I shoved my chakra into the blade. It smashed deep into another enemy, spattering my face with blood.

I realized I had not blinked in a while. I briefly shut my eyes, wrenched the katana free, and in a flash of speed had slashed the one I heard coming from behind. I flipped the katana in my hand and swiftly lunged back to the side, thrusting the blade to hilt through another's stomach.

I swept the sword out, whisking the fresh blood into a nearby man's eyes. As I lunged the other blade swung around and accelerated, the edge meeting his neck dead-on tremendous force.

A shivery twinge inside of me.

And then I jumped without warning toward another, knocking his head with a hilt and stabbing down from high with the other hand to plunge the tip down behind the left ridge of his collarbone.

Pulling it out again, I threw one sword and sprinted faster even than it flew. The blade I held impaled a shocked kunoichi's heart, and I grasped the flying sword as it caught up, leapt backwards whilst spinning my body, and slammed the edge down upon another foe.

Two shinobi and a kunoichi leapt toward me at once, from three different directions. Extending both katana out at my sides, I spun on toe to my right; both arms were folded in, my right in front of me and my left behind, and I pushed an inch or two off the ground as my spin sharply jumped in speed. Whirling swords deflected the chuunin's weapons and landed a few slashes and cuts on all three. Halting, I ran swords in a flash of metal across two throats and through one lung before they could recover.

There could not be many left now. I could not see them, but I could barely sense them nearby, all hiding behind the trees. The moment they all revealed themselves to attack, I sprang to the treetops.

Blades flying again, I shot across the branches; great swathes through the trees were stript bare of leaves.

_Art of the Hidden Leaf, _I thought, and invisible with speed in a swirling rain of dancing leaves, I ran Infinity's Blade through them, swiftly, systematically, one by one.

The last one dodged, and then dodged again. But there was not time to be wasted, so as he leaped away I swept my katana twice through a pattern and pushed them to high speed.

I turned to the panting Oto-nin. He stared with fear in his eyes as the blades blurred to a ring of flashing silver light, which I aimed so that through my eyes he was central within. Chakra rooted my feet to the earth, for the speed of the blades was such to actually create a forward pull.

I lunged toward him, pushing off with the chakra in my feet.

The shinobi closed his eyes.

As I reached him the circle of silver contracted, drawn inward into a single blinding sphere of light, directed toward his torso.

_Infinite Devastation: Cannon._

With a vicious shredding noise, he was thrown ten yards before thudding limply to the ground. His middle was a mess of blood, wild crimson slashes starring outward from it. He had died in an instant.

A trail of blood streaked upon the ground before me, a trail of shredded leaves behind, I dropped the katana and swayed, holding my head and shutting my eyes against the bodies strewn around me, against the mixture of fresh green leaves and fresh crimson blood that coated the earth. _Kozue Kuri… would be proud…! _I whimpered at the thought. I realized I was crying. My stomach churned sickly, but I fought it down and with much effort controlled myself.

It was not time to think yet. The others needed me.

Already having decided which was more likely in danger, I picked up the katana with hesitant hands and bolted off through the trees.

* * *

**Hinata ****ヒナタ**

There was pain. I was aware of it, but it wasn't distracting – and it wasn't about to stop me.

There was also rage. An insurmountable, all-consuming inferno of fury at the ones who had tormented me – at all who ever had tormented me.

And so there was joy – ecstasy. The addictively exuberant thrill that flared with every pathetic life I crushed, with every sweet drop of lifeblood I liberated from their veins.

My ears twitched. I whirled to my left, ducking forward so that a lunging man's sword pierced only the air behind my neck. His eyes grew in the brief moment I held his gaze, glowering up at him from the corner of my sight – before I lashed my right arm around, carving lines up his stomach, chest, neck, jaw, sending a spray of crimson shooting into the air.

I turned around. Claws aglow with darkness, my hand plunged, as a knife, through a woman's neck. She dropped dead, and I pounced to thrust my left hand now clear through a man's abdomen. He loosed a pitiful, gurgling cry, and I turned my arm and wrenched my hand free in a shower of blood. Cocking my head, I swept the arm out so that scythes of darkness blasted away a nearby few approaching from my side.

I leaned back very slightly, and a fist from my right passed in front of my face. The man was preparing to strike with his other hand when I latched my teeth onto his forearm, biting hard, and he screamed in agony as I growled and crushed his arm in my teeth. Without releasing, I shoved the palm of my hand into his face. With a sharp CRACK he went down.

My eyes snapped wide as a spearhead suddenly protruded two feet out from my stomach.

Black was tossed from my gaping mouth as I was thrown a short yard forward. Then without a pause I caught my footing and whirled to slash the man savagely from hip to shoulder, growling as I did so, though I sneered as he died with utter shock plastered on his face.

"What the devil–?!!"

One crushing hand easily broke the end off behind me as the other pulled out the spear in front, and I jumped to smash the solid shaft to pieces over a woman's head. I shredded blindingly through several others, piercing and slashing and breaking and stabbing in a frenzied, gleeful high, slicing a bloody trail of death through the crowd.

One managed to capture my arms, hooking his own under them, and another enemy in front of me attacked. Pulling the one behind with me, I lunged onto the stabbing dagger and turned my head to bite into her throat and tear. I shivered in pleasure at the rich blood spilling into my mouth, and then jerked to headbutt the one behind me. His hold loosened, and I grabbed his arm; snarling, I flipped him over myself and slammed him into the ground, and I could feel him break as the earth crackled violently under his back, as a fountain of crimson erupted marvelously from his mouth.

Another man grabbed my arm and thrust a knife into my belly. With an angry cry my free hand flashed out, ripped a gaping gouge across his throat.

Grunting, I pulled knife and dagger out of myself and cast the weapons to the ground, much preferring the supreme raw power of my hands, my claws, my fangs. In a blur I lunged under a punch, my hand lying on his chest as I flowed past. Bringing my arm forward, I pushed the grown man off his feet and slammed him to the ground as I fell. He could only loose a pained wheeze before I lifted my hand and brought it down, crushing his breastbone under my palm easily as if it were made of glass. The earth crackled, and I grinned hugely when a satisfactory spurt of crimson shot from his mouth.

Pain thunked into five places on my back. I turned and glared murderously dead into the attacker's eyes. The woman flinched, instantly dropping another handful of shuriken, and after a moment of paling and trembling she turned and ran. I gave a fierce, contemptuous growl, and covered thirty yards in a moment, pouncing, knocking and pinning her to the ground. My hand landed on the back of her neck and squeezed, and she screamed piercingly until I pressed and finally crushed.

I vaulted from the path of an arrow and dashed on all fours before rising to run my claws through the shooter's throat. Blood rained and splattered as I raked a nearby man's abdomen and punched a hand through another's, and when I was slashed by a blade from behind I turned to cut a woman down with a ferocious backhand. Just as she fell a man raced from behind her, an outstretched arm whacking strongly into my face as he passed. Thrown onto my upper back, I rolled up and onto my hands and rammed a foot into his spine. He shuddered and began to fall, and at incredible speed I darted around and in front of him to lock my hands behind his head and smash my knee into his face. He dropped at my feet, very much dead.

I chuckled, smiling as I looked up at two kunoichi and a shinobi standing not ten yards away. I sank into a crouch, one hand on the ground, and licked a rich medley of blood off my claws, staring intently and innately roaring with laughter as they quite clearly feared for their lives. The one in the middle, quietly sobbing and hyperventilating – she looked ready to faint. I smirked dangerously and growled:

"_I smell fear._"

She turned tail and ran.

"No, don't–!" The man was silenced as I sprang, slashing his throat open in a smooth motion as I passed. Another bound, and I was on the coward's back. She screamed, and a wail of "Onee-san!!" reached my ears from behind as I raised a hand up and smashed a fist into her head. I hopped nimbly to the ground as she crumpled, lifeless.

"_Damn you!!_"

A toothy sneer on my face, I dodged with ease outside her punch and lunged at her from behind. My arms wrapped firmly around her, and she shrieked in terror until I sank my teeth into her neck and tore. The girl fell forward, thudded to the ground in front of me, and as the blood pooled out I threw back my head and howled with laughter.

"H-Hi– _HINATA-SAN!!!_"

I promptly recognized my name – and for no reason other than that my attention had been caught I raced toward the boy, a hand drawn back. He gasped, and I thrust my hand for his chest.

Pain stabbed into my hand when it was five inches away. Outright agony sliced into my fingertips as they neared him, and I felt my entire hand was ablaze and if it was not then it certainly would be if it got any closer to him. The heart of my being screamed 'danger,' and I jumped away with a screeching yell, landing on all fours but for keeping the hand gingerly off the ground. Lips drawn back from my teeth in a snarl, I growled lowly at this one that I hadn't been able to kill.

Maybe there was a reason for that?

No, that was idiotic. There could be no reason I wasn't supposed to kill him, and even if there had been it didn't matter now. My growl escalated as the remaining others whispered nervously in awe, some slowly backing away a few steps.

"Hinata, what … are you doing? Look at yourself – You are dripping with your own blood!"

Tail dipped down, my ears lied low on the crown of my head. Why couldn't I kill him…?!

"Calm down, Hinata-san! I will not hurt you!"

"_Rrrrrrrrrrr…_"

"I will not hurt you, and neither will they. I – I will protect you with my life! I am here… So you can change back now, Hinata-san."

I snorted. "_Can take care of myself…_"

"What is wrong? Do you not trust me? Do you … even recognize me anymore?"

In all honesty…

"_No._"

I sprang furiously, and could manage no more than to slash at his shoulder. He yelled out, and I yelped as in the instant of contact invisible waves of flame blasted up my arm.

"Get her!!"

Two hands firmly grabbed and tried to break my tail. They failed to break it, but, discovering with a start that it was extremely tender, I howled out in pain.

Two swords plunged through my abdomen at diagonals, one entering at my front left and exiting at the right side of my back, and the opposite for the other. At first I thought it was that boy, who somehow I knew used swords, before I opened my eyes to see him standing a few feet in front of me, clutching his shoulder, horror on his shocked face. Two men in front of me were the assailants.

"Hinata!"

The swords slid out, and I sank to my knees.

"She's… not dying, is she?"

"Doesn't look like it. I'll get her throat, and we'll see if the bitch survives that." I was about to move when my tail was bent again, forced painfully, and I stiffened with a stifled cry. The man lifted my chin, exposing my neck, and laid his sword against it. "You know where little demons go, don't you–?"

A kunai flashed past both of us. There was a cry behind me, and my tail was released, and I lashed my claws across his neck. The other swordsman I raked deeply across the abdomen, and finally I whirled, enraged, to knife claws blazing with darkness through the chest of the one behind me, who had let go due to the kunai in his shoulder.

Another man yelled as he came charging in and punched me in the stomach. Not moved an inch, I chuckled lowly at the pathetic strike, and he swung a fist toward my head; I leaned sharply into it, and he broke his hand on my forehead. He yowled, and my claws shredded over his ribcage. Another punched, and I grabbed the arm and swung a fist down on his shoulder. He jerked, screaming in agony as he was broken, and in an instant my elbow was crunching into his throat.

"Why won't you _die_?!"

My claws caught a sword that swung down above my head, and a knife was lodged in my back. The sword rose off my claws, and while ducking under a slash at my neck I placed hands on the ground to smash my heel into a jaw behind me. I felt the sword thrust down into my back, saw the tip burst out a few inches above and slightly to the left of my navel – and lunged forward unaffected even as I hacked out blood, knocking the man to the ground, straddling his sides.

_Me, DIE?! _My clawed fingers grasped at the fleshy sides of his throat, dug, scooped, and tore away.

I rose off him already launching myself toward another, but moved at such speed that I couldn't stop when she raised a weapon. A knife slammed into my chest.

No, not into, against. It couldn't pierce my sternum. And my hand promptly speared her chest and slipped out again.

I raised my arm against a sudden fireball from the side, and my aura flared to somewhat shield me – like I could be defeated by own element! My mouth opened, and as I began exhaling through it a rolling sphere of fire collected within it. I turned to face the attacker as her jutsu ended, hurling from my mouth a stream of pure crimson red flames that swallowed up the woman and a shinobi standing nearby.

There were nine left. Nine remained – nine more bodies brimming with warm blood that needed to be spilt. I raced thought them, and the world blurred madly with speed; my claws found flesh and tore. I slew them as I had all the rest, in a whirling frenzy of pain and rage and joy, until there stood none else to slay.

Surrounded by death, the last standing in a lifeless sea of blood, I trembled. My shoulders shook – and with twice the ferocity of ever before I unleashed a long and passionate roaring cry of might into the sky.

* * *

**Fourteen, Part Two: Bloody Waves**

**Naruto ****ナルト**

_Tak-tak-tak-tak–_

"Huff… h-ha… huff… gh…!"

_Hurry… Gotta hurry!_

I could almost sense where she was, and I knew something was wrong. Up ahead – though it had settled a minute ago, murderous intent … and darkness. My stomach clenched at the plain _wrongness_ of it.

I jumped onto a rooftop, crossed it, and pushed off toward another. Or I tried to, but my knee popped painfully and I slipped. The fox chakra had helped it, but it had only just healed and quickly. My feet hit the ground, and I toppled over.

"Gr…!" I pushed to my feet and bolted down the road.

_I'm coming. I'm almost there!_

"_Lee!"_ I cried as I spotted him, lying down behind the wreckage of a house on the outskirts of town. I flickered to his side. The boy looked pale, and was gasping raggedly for air, his face flushed. His left hand was pressed against his shoulder, crimson as the small puddle pooled around his arm. I reached toward his forehead; he was burning up.

"Oh, Lee, are you okay?! What happened?"

"I am … sorry – I c-could not stop her…"

"What're you talking about?"

"She is strong. And… she did not … know who I was…" His eyes were squeezed tightly shut.

I sucked in a breath. "Hinata…?"

"I am not sure … even you can g-get though to her. I barely m-managed to slip away; she tr-tried to…!"

The wound on his shoulder. Claw marks.

Teeth clenched, I took off the orange top over my blue sweater. "Okay – save your strength." I coaxed his trembling hand from the wound, flinching at how deep it looked, and wrapped the shirt around it. I guided his hand back. "Press this to the wound."

He nodded slightly and cracked his eyes open. "Naruto… It looks bad, but I am fine… She does not give any indication of it, but Hinata-san is in far worse shape than I…!"

"Wh-what?" I gasped.

"G–ga–k–ki–i!"

I looked up as a choppy but familiar voice found my ears.

"Dumb dog – is that you?!"

"Go," Lee whispered.

Nodding hesitantly, I ran thirty or so yards to a building that had been blasted down. There were piles of wood and rubble strewn about in and behind it, one of which was a pile of ash with only a little wood remaining, and on that piece burned an orange flame with a curious, flickering black heart. _How long has he been holding on…?!_

"_W–oo–d–!_" The word was butchered in the air.

"R-right!" I hurriedly gathered more wood from the wreckage and threw it on top of it. Him. "What happened to Hinata?" I asked, sending out two shadow clones and flinching at the drain of chakra. "Her chakra signature feels…"

It was clearly growing easier for him to talk now. "She lost control. She was pushed too far, and transformed early."

"How's that even possible?"

"It's something of a secondary state of the curse seal, and through using the mark so often in training, she inadvertently unlocked the ability to trigger it early."

"I thought y'all trained to control this!"

"Survival instinct and anger overcame her judgment – she can't control herself when she's wounded and in pain, and I couldn't either. Her spirit, incredibly … is somehow even more powerful than mine. In that state she doesn't even need to stop and focus on healing; to an extent, her body will regenerate itself even if she doesn't do a thing. Combine that with her bloodlust, and she's entered a reckless rage, rampaging with little regard for herself – but even she can only be stabbed so many times–,"

"S-stabbed!"

"A blow to the heart, head, or throat would have done her in, same as anyone. And for that reason those were the only attacks she consistently bothered to avoid."

The shadow clones I'd sent out ran back with armfuls of hay to toss on the kindling, and as the fire reached out and spread hungrily, the blackness grew within it. I inhaled, struggled to build up a little wind chakra, and blew out a gentle but distinct gust of wind, and as the flames reared to sufficient size the half-dispelled wolf pulled the rest of his spirit into the medium.

"Her body … has transformed into a lethal weapon," Kurogiba said soberly as he took form. He strode past me, heading beyond the building, and I followed.

We came upon the field, and my eyes grew wide as my breath caught.

"A proud piece of work for Orochimaru, wouldn't you think?" he said quietly, grimly sarcastic. "A weapon of incredible power, swiftness, and endurance. Driven by rage, both difficult to break and self-repairing, and even so more violent the more damage it takes. Practically invulnerable to pain that would debilitate others, and able to keep fighting no matter how broken it's become – to continue fighting to either triumph or death."

My head slowly shook. So much death… so many mutilated bodies, gory and gruesome, as if each had been specifically destroyed in whatever way might spill the most blood. Some with wide open eyes, still with expressions of shock or pain glued to their stark faces. In a daze, I walked past the wolf.

"Just imagine what Orochimaru could do with ten, or twenty such weapons."

Unblinking, I stopped. Twenty yards further, in the midst of the scene of slaughter, she sat facing partly away from me. A humanoid figure covered in a down of short, snowy fur striped with black. Two furry ears sat erect atop her head, matching the tousled raven hair from which they poked. The curved fingers of the hand I could see seemed shorter, or perhaps just a bit thicker – all the sturdier to tear and slash – and her claws larger, defined further than the usual mere sharpening and prolonging of her nails and shaped in a deadly curve. A truly tiny-looking form, she was on her knees, back hunched over, head low, feet pointing outward behind her. I noticed that her feet too had changed – the heel had shifted a few inches upward in a way that made it seem less pronounced, and her instep seem slightly more long and slender above the thick, padded ball of the foot and shortly clawed toes. Her head moved very slightly, as if shifting or adjusting, and I felt a prick of surprise upon first noticing the nearly ankle length, silky-looking black tail as it flicked gently along the ground, from her left side to the right.

Then I heard a small, pained moan, and I saw what was at her mouth, and I realized what she was doing, and my jaw fell in horror.

Her hands were practically smushing the arm into her face. Its wrist was tilted stiffly back, the fingers curled, the hand trembling steadily, and when my eyes followed the line to spot the Oto kunoichi lying on the other side of her my heart pounded so hard I felt sure the girl could hear it. The woman was still alive – her twitching eyes showing their whites and her mouth gaping in a soundless scream, skin deathly pale, as she sobbed and shook and gasped and grunted, squirming feebly for her life.

_She's drinking … her blood…_

"…Hinata…?"

The black wolf-ears twitched. Her jaw shifted briefly back and forth, caused the arm tightly locked in it to move very slightly, as a revolting contortion of a teething puppy gnawing at a chewtoy – and with it a gut-wrenching noise, a fleshy, crunchy wetness met my ears. The arm dropped limply from her teeth and thudded to the ground, the wrist torn up messily and coated in dripping red blood. Her tongue rolled across bloodstained lips as Hinata purred a small, pleasured sigh and tilted her head toward me.

My heart fluttered as serene, milky white orbs fell on mine. For an instant I forgot that this being, neither human nor wolf, was my friend and that she wasn't herself. Her clothes were worn, and her fur was matted wildly with streaks of black and crimson, the latter of which had thoroughly dyed her hands and forearms, but this only served to add to the surreal mysticism of her essence. For an instant she was some exotic, pristine young goddess of wolves, an angel of death, lithe and dangerous and beautiful.

Then her half-shut eyes widened, and her lips parted, and she said very slowly, like it took an effort to speak:

"_Ki…tsu…ne…_"

And abruptly I feared for my life.

I flung myself to the side, and four powerful lines opened on my upper arm.

_What…?_

"Behind you!" Kurogiba yelled.

I turned my head and Shadow Swapped three yards. Hinata's hand slashed through a shadow clone's neck.

"Wait, h-hold on–!"

Murderous eyes drilled through me, and I flinched. A hand plunged toward me neck, and before I could react – it swung wide and high, piercing only the air above my shoulder. She jumped as Kurogiba came headbutting in, and swept an arm out; we leapt apart to narrowly dodge blades of darkness. I Shadow Swapped in a rapid backwards zigzag as she leaped and slashed, leaped and slashed, feet barely seeming to brush the ground as she flowed through alternating strikes without pause. I was dodging blindly in a pattern, and focusing on nothing more than the effort of creating each clone and successfully switching with it, so after eight failed strikes she anticipated. Not aiming for where I was, she spun her body sharply a few times in the air, and before I caught it I substituted – and Hinata was at my side, parallel to the ground and lashing a savage heel back into my stomach.

My eyes bulged, and a freakin' _lot_ of blood sprayed from my nose and mouth as the wind swept from my lungs in a wheezy yell. I substituted backwards two or three times as I went flying, and then rolled and tumbled until I managed to keep my legs under me and slide, leaning forward with one hand brushing the earth, on my feet. Coming to a stop, I grunted through clenched teeth and sank to my knees, an arm folded across myself. _My – ribs! _I thought, lurching to retch another several droplets onto the ground. Raising my head in a moment, I saw Hinata standing on all fours, a feral snarl on her face. I pushed to my feet.

"Look at me, Hinata! I'm your friend!!"

"_Rrrrrrrr…!_"

"Snap out of it! Me, and Lee, and even Kurogiba – we're all here for you now. The battle's over – you're safe!"

"That isn't going to work," Kurogiba said bluntly as he loped up to me. "She's drunk on pain and rage and bloodlust; you're words don't mean a thing to her, nor does she have a clue as to who you are or what _you_ mean to her. Since we're not aiming to kill her she'll fight until she's completely exhausted or you die, whichever comes first – though I doubt you could last long and if you run she _will_ find you."

I frowned at his matter-of-factness. "So what do we _do_?"

"I need to get close to her and talk her back."

"You just said that was pointless! If it's not, then why can't I do that?"

"Look, I know you and the pup are close, but it'll take the bond of the familiar to bring her back this time. Her spirit is too powerful for me to force her to change back if she's actively resisting, but if we can talk some of her back to the surface, and I'm able to get inside her head…"

"Okay, fine – but it doesn't look like close range is gonna work out, not to mention I can't see her sitting down to listen."

"Though you've noticed, haven't you? She can barely stand to touch you. Her attacks are repelled from your heart, and look – she's favoring the leg she kicked you with. It's probably why she hasn't attacked again."

I looked just in time to see her gingerly touch her right foot back on the ground, tail almost straight back behind her and ears flat as she growled at us all the while.

"And," he went on in a low voice, speaking quickly and quietly, "Lee's shoulder was also slashed, though hardly a single one of the soldiers lying around here has a nonlethal injury. Unfortunately, that's probably _not_ due to her willpower or his skill."

"If not, then what is it?"

"She mentioned to me yesterday she'd gotten something to protect you two. What was it?"

"To protect us? All she got were these good luck charms," I pulled it from the neck of my shirt, "and she's wearing one, too."

"That's it."

"Nani?"

"Hers is stainless steel. Yours and Lee's are silver."

"Silver?"

"She has a strong aversion to it in her normal state. In her present form, it should be excruciating for her to lay a finger on you while you're wearing that. The scrawny mutt thought ahead on how to repel herself from you in case just this scenario occurred."

"Hinata…"

"Listen up. I have a plan."

He whispered quickly into my ear what I needed to do, and I nodded. "Got it."

"Then let's go."

I struggled to build up a good amount of chakra. _Uma, Tatsu, Tori, Saru, Inu, Hitsuji! Wind Style: Air Bullet!_

A sphere of compacted air went hurtling toward her. She lowered her head – and her glowering eyes didn't blink as it broke with a crack of energy against her forehead. Black matted her fur, running in a trail between her eyes, to one side of her nose, and down to drip off the top lip of her open mouth as a sphere of light took form inside it.

_Without … handseals…?_

A crimson ball of flame barreled my way, and I lunged aside. She next sent blades of darkness racing toward us at incredible speed, and I substituted to the left as Kurogiba blazed to the right. We circled around her until the three of us were aligned, the wolf and I both twenty yards from the girl.

–"_She may hesitate on which one to attack. That's when you'll get her fired up again."–_

I formed the sign of the ram. _Okay, fox, how about helping me out here?!_

I couldn't draw on too much of its chakra, but it was enough. The violet aura blazed lightly from my body. "Think you're cool just 'cause you glow?! Show me whatcha' got, wolf!"

She hissed in fury, and blurred toward me.

–"_If she thinks you're down, she'll jump."–_

I flopped onto my back. _Hope that was convincing._

With a ferocious cry, she leapt toward me, glowing claws drawn back.

I shoved back to my feet, yanking the diamond-shaped pendant off my neck and extending my arm to hold it out in front of me.

Hinata's eyes grew as they took in the glinting pendant dancing at the end of the chain in my hand.

Her striking hand snapped away, and she leaned back awkwardly for a clumsy, off-balance landing upright before me.

Fearful eyes didn't leave the softly jingling trinket as I slipped to the side.

And Kurogiba's front paw met the back of her head as he swept from the sky, slamming her solidly into the ground.

* * *

**Hinata ****ヒナタ**

**THAM!!!**

"_Uhhn…_"

I blinked as my vision refocused rapidly. I was stuck. My cheek was being pressed hard against the ground. The wolf had caught me. I couldn't move. I couldn't move! No! No, no, NO!! I struggled and kicked furiously, pushed my hands against the earth, and I raised my head an inch, and two–

"Brat, the tail!"

"Got it!"

I yelled in outrage, falling still as he grabbed my sensitive tail and bent it painfully.

He shuddered at my cry. "Sorry, Hinata!"

"Don't try to be gentle. You won't really hurt her."

"_Kill you… I'll KILL YOU!!_"

"And don't you think you've done enough of that today?!" the wolf barked. "Was brutally slaughtering dozens of Oto-nin not enough – now you feel the need to kill your allies, too–?"

"_If you're 'ALLIES,' then why the hell are you HURTING me?!!_"

"Self defense, perhaps? You've tried to kill both your friends in the last twenty minutes – we shouldn't take any chances."

I drew in a breath of relief as my tail was released.

"Brat–?"

"It feels too cruel … and she won't trust us if she feels threatened. Besides, I can't stand bringing pain on the girl I love."

I gasped sharply. Something oddly pleasant stirred in the back of my mind, a fleeting glimmer underneath the pain and the rage and the thirst for death. And jumping into opportunity, the wolf's mind plunged into my own – surging in and latching onto the distant light before it could be lost again and more quickly than I could kick him out.

My breath caught.

"I've got you, koinu. Your spirit is both strong and pure; so long as the tiniest piece of you can be made to resurface, you can overcome anything that attempts to suppress it.

"_K-Kurogiba…sama…!_" I grunted out, voice tight as creeping darkness tried to reclaim what little had escaped it. The wolf held firm, shielding the ounce of light. All the while my head felt like it was splitting in two.

"Remember, the darkness isn't you. It's nil but a parasite meant to consume you, to control you. Choose your human form, and return to it. So what if there is still a lot more darkness? It's nothing against the power of _your_ will."

I grunted again. The light grew stronger.

"_That's it, my friend," _he coaxed gently, aloud as well as within our unified minds. _"Come back. I'll help you."_

What followed I don't fully remember. At some point I yet again loosed a powerful roar; with Kurogiba's help and a tremendous combined effort, though somehow at the same time easily, I flushed all the blackness from my mind. Dark energy exploded from me, filled my sight everywhere, and my roar gradually became a scream as my body painfully underwent a changing and cracking and shifting and popping back to normal.

Eventually Kurogiba's paw released me, and as his mind gave a brief caress and pulled away I realized he had stayed completely with me the entire time, and thus shared the burden of every last hurt of the reverse transformation.

I heard him walk a short distance behind me and say something to someone who said something back, but I grasped none of it. Once I rose shakily to my knees, filled with pain, the full capacity of my mind was occupied with struggling to register the scene of carnage around me.

Though unlike last time, I promptly recalled every disgustingly ecstatic second of it.

* * *

**Naruto ****ナルト**

"Don't," he said as I took a step. "Give her a minute."

"Kurogiba – I listened to you to help get Hinata back to normal, and it worked. Thank you. Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to go comfort my friend."

He looked away and nodded wearily, not looking up to arguing or much of anything at the moment. I hesitated a second longer and started slowly toward Hinata.

The girl was on her knees, facing away from me – almost in uncanny resemblance to when I'd first gotten here. But her hair was its familiar midnight blue, and her bare feet perfectly normal and human; and under the cool, dulled light from the grim sky, an assortment of streams of black and splattered streaks of crimson stood in vibrant contrast to her pearly skin wherever it was exposed. Her clothes were in fact in tatters, torn and pierced and slashed in countless places; one pants leg ended messily just above the knee, apparently lost to fire, and a good half of her shirt was missing or shredded beyond proper concealment. It hadn't been distracting (if it had, I wouldn't be here) when she had been covered in fur and intent on killing me. More importantly, I could tell a bare shoulder was ever so slightly trembling, and as I stopped behind her I realized she was being shaken by hushed tears.

My blue hooded jacket, though a pullover, had been almost completely split up the middle when grazed by a slash. Shortly I tore it open the rest of the way to the bottom and then the top, so that I could now slip it off.

A growl sounded behind me, and I turned partially to see a New Oto-nin who'd regained consciousness, probably one among very few left alive, sitting up and looking about himself in utter shock at his fallen comrades. Kurogiba bristled behind the man, and I spotted Lee, though with great difficulty, hobbling slowly up to the wolf's side. The man's eyes fell on Hinata and I, and he shivered.

"J-just what… What _are_ you?" he croaked.

_What are we…? _My half-lidded gaze drifted into the clouds. A fat droplet of water landed on my forehead even as the dingy blanket broke up in some places. It was raining. Though the sun had just started to peek out, it was raining. My lips parted soundlessly. What were we, really?

"We are…"

_A bittersweet victory, huh? _I mused darkly, lowering my gaze as the brightening world was sprinkled with rain, sieged by shadow. I took a gentle, deep breath as a crisp, wet breeze stirred the cold air. My eyes held the shinobi's wearily, and I knew my face was expressionless and dull.

"…three failures."

With that I turned my back on him.

Kneeling down, I carefully draped my sweater around Hinata's still-trembling frame. Then my arms went on to lightly embrace her shoulders, and my cheek rested at the back of her neck.

"Sshhh… It's over now. It's over…"

And indeed, it was. The battle, our innocence, and our old lives – all of it was over.

I shut my eyes as Hinata's wails of distress sounded over the roll of the mourning rain.

* * *

**Hinata ****ヒナタ**

When we at last dragged ourselves to the center of the ghost town Wave seemed to have become, leaning on each other for support, we were altogether ready to pass out. Those who happened to be peeking from windows must have spotted and managed to recognize three battered, unsteady figures shambling up the street, for they began to pour from the buildings and houses they'd taken shelter in, first a few, and then, as more looked to see what the fuss was over, several. Someone began barking orders and yelling for a doctor. People streamed onto the streets in full disregard of the light rain, worried or stunned or apprehensive or joyous, but the lattermost prevailed as Naruto managed a weak grin and shaky thumbs-up. Then Lee collapsed on my left, and with his sudden limpness I instantly dropped, and on my other side Naruto fell to the ground right along with us.

I had no clue how long it had taken us to walk here, and it occurred to me that for the entire few miles I had just been walking, not really thinking about much of anything at all. I wondered idly how we'd gotten here, who'd been guiding, or if it had been a feeble combination of all three.

My body felt like one big pain; I made no effort whatsoever to get up, nor did the others.

_That's right; we're safe now, aren't we…?_

My arms draped heavily over Naruto's and Lee's shoulders, and theirs weighing limply across my back, I let my eyes droop shut. Finally the utter fatigue caught up to me in full, and though it was the day of the full moon I miraculously fell into a short but restful sleep.

When I woke it was late afternoon, and Kiri-nin were there. In a group of at least thirty the Mist had not one medical ninja, and so Naruto had struggled to heal us as best he could; and I cried in relief when I learned he'd been able to fix up Lee's shoulder wound and, thanks to him and a Nami physician's stitchwork, he would be left with at most a scar.

Already the Mist group had gone to take account of what remained of their intended invaders, which likely explained why, though clearly quite thankful, most chuunin and some jounin kept eyeing us warily and not so discreetly. The captain, who had to be in his late thirties at least, said it was like nothing he'd ever witnessed, and though meant as commendation it threw dark clouds of painful silence over our heads. Wave didn't even know what to do with all the bodies – two hundred and sixty-seven, apparently – and the Mist opted for a burial at sea, slow ferrying work that for sanity's purposes we did not attend.

As we would later know, the rough total of Oto- and New Oto-nin that had attacked Mist that day amounted to a thousand six hundred – not including our two hundred and sixty-seven – all sailing in from different launching points around the island-centered village. Luckily we had come against a relatively inferior group with only four original jounin commanders, which the Mist interpreted to be a sacrificial force (for the vast majority, likely unknowingly) meant to charge in head-on and die while the bulk of the stronger forces struck from the rear. But as it turned out, Sound's not-so-surprise attack was in fact destined to fail before a single Oto-nin could sight the village walls. They had retreated from Mist's might with extensive losses, the complete failure a staggering blow that would leave the Sound reeling – and deter future attacks – for a good while.

Unfortunately for the three of us, there would probably be hunters on our tail very soon.

As per the nukenindo's standards of measurement, the feat of extinguishing so many lives so quickly inadvertently lifted us to a pinnacle of renown among other nukenin. And as we would learn, a brief but nasty side effect befell the Wave not long after we moved on. It was the result of tides and of dumping so many mutilated bodies at sea, and a touch that caused the tale to spread all the faster.

For three failures had turned this place into a Land of Bloody Waves.

* * *

**Fourteen, Part Three: Aftermath**

**Neji ****ネジ**

"You manage to fall into enemy hands. When I find a use to be made of it, you instead flee and return to me only to feign ignorance of your crime. And now your carelessness has ruined my strike on the rebellion…"

His gaze stabbed down into my own as he stopped pacing in front of me. Though he showed no outward sign of it, I knew the man was livid. I bowed my head in shame.

"I'm sorry, my l–,"

_SMACK!!_

My breath caught even though it had been expected. Quietly I opened my eyes again, though I did not bring them to meet his gaze. Pain throbbed hotly in my cheek.

"Please forgive me…"

"I seem to recall someone promising that he wouldn't disappoint me again…"

"I'm s-sorry, Orochimaru-sama," I whispered, a tremble of frustration in my voice.

A hand lifted my chin, and there was a mild gentleness in his eyes, looking down his nose at me, as I met them. "There, there, Neji-kun… You know you are very important to me; irreplaceable, in fact. However…"

Golden eyes turned just cold enough to send a shiver down my spine.

"All the same, I'm afraid this cannot go unpunished…"

* * *

**Lee ****リー**

The Mist captain fingered stubble on his chin as he eyed the two of us in contemplation. We were in a small room of Wave's town hall; Hinata, however, had been too exhausted to come to this small meeting.

"Tell me, then, why such a request?"

Naruto looked to me, and I spoke.

"Instigating a war was likely Orochimaru's intention…"

"So what," the second-in-command barked, "you want us to just do nothing and–?!"

The taichou's flat hand rose, silencing his subordinate instantly. "Continue."

I nodded. "Should you retaliate by engaging in warfare with New Oto, it is certain that no matter the outcome the other nations will become embroiled in another Great War. That is nigh unavoidable when two of the Godaikoku conflict directly."

"I understand your reasoning, but the fact is Konoha can't be allowed to get away with this. To not respond to a deliberate attempt at invasion, an infraction of treaty–,"

"Not Konoha."

"What?"

"You called New Oto 'Konoha,'" Naruto pointed out. "There's a difference."

"Excuse me; but they are the same village, simply with a change in name…"

The boy shook his head, hand moving to his forehead for emphasis. His thumb and forefinger framed the side of the metal plate which bore the mark of the Leaf. "We're not Sound ninja, are we? We're Leaf ninja – and in the village there are plenty more New Leaf ninja persevering in a revolt against Sound. Last we heard the rebellion was still going strong, and they're at the brink of civil war."

"Civil war? So New Sound is actually a village divided?" the second-in-command said, eyes narrowed.

I nodded again. "That is correct, and is why we ask you to wait to take retribution on Oto. Rather than risk the outbreak of a world war, allow New Konoha to fight New Oto for now; New Otogakure no Sato has taken a blow, but if I am not mistaken, so too has Kirigakure. Which brings us to the other request I am afraid we must ask of you."

"What is it?"

"Technically, New Oto is in fact _not _bound to the treaty between Leaf and Mist. Though supported by the daimyo, it is a usurping state that is being resisted by what remains of the true Konoha. So when the time comes, as we essentially qualify as New Konoha shinobi ourselves – we ask that the Mist will aid New Leaf, its ally by treaty, in overthrowing New Sound."

A silence dragged between us, during which time the captain's strong eyes held my own. He smirked.

"I'm in favor of it. This will certainly be proposed before our council; you don't have to worry about that."

I bowed hurriedly, reaching to grab Naruto's shoulder and force him to incline his back as well.

"Arigatou gozaimasu."

* * *

**Hinata ****ヒナタ**

_Some of these … may leave scars… _I thought morosely as I examined my torso in the mirror. From above my navel to below my breast, on my arms and shoulders and back and a few on my legs, my body was marked with so many marks, lines, mostly healed punctures that a few hours ago had been gaping and gushing. One of my hands moved to just below the center of my ribcage, where laid a mark that would probably have looked less severe now had not I ripped that spear out of myself so carelessly. I prodded lightly at it, and sucked in a breath, eyes watering as I flinched in pain.

_Kuso! What the heck are you complaining about? Plenty of those Oto-nin would have loved to get off with just a few scars!! But now no matter how hard I scrub, my hands reek of blood!_

"I sh-shouldn't even be alive…!" I whimpered, lowering my shirt.

"That's enough of that!"

I jumped when the wolf's voice boomed through the door. When had he gotten back?

Sheepishly I trudged to the door, blocking out the frantic psyche that attempted to link with my mind.

"Koinu, what the hell are you doing in there?!! If you don't open this door right now–!!"

The door was unlocked and opened with a 'click.' Kurogiba had been prepared to knock it down in a wild panic, and met my glum eyes with suspicion.

I showed my empty hands. "You don't need to worry; I wouldn't think of doing that. I shouldn't be alive, but that doesn't mean I wish I wasn't."

Calming, he rested his muzzle over my shoulder to nudge his warm cheek against mine. In a brief gesture I nuzzled my nose fondly against his neck before he pulled away.

"Are you ready to go?"

I looked down. "I'm scared," I admitted. "I d-don't want to… Could we see if we can f-find some aconite growing around here–?"

"Listen to me. What happened earlier was the result of an unstable power reacting to a young girl's pent up pain and despair. It was an exceptional situation that drove you to such savagery. Now that you have released most of what accumulated during and before the battle, it should be even easier to control yourself. Now let's do what we know how to do, and have a nice, healthy hunt, ne?"

I sniffled, managing a weak smile. "Hai."

"You can't afford to skip this moon, either. Get some fresh meat in you, let that seal lose a little strength – trust me, in the morning you'll feel rejuvenated. Some of those wounds should finish healing up, too…"

"Right…" Looking to my feet, I noticed a small rag he must have dropped. "Is this it?" I asked, picking it up, and he nodded.

"It was a hare, deep in the forest you three camped in before coming here," he said as I deeply inhaled the undeniably nice scent of the splotch of red on the cloth. I knew he had given it a minor injury to get the strong sample of its scent; it would be easier to get me under control, to get accustomed to the state, if I started out with something to focus on.

"I've got it," I said, its distinctive smell easily memorized.

"Good. Let's go… And, pup?"

"Huh?"

He didn't meet my eyes. "I know it's a lot to ask … but please don't think too poorly of Okaa-sama. Her sole interest was in your survival…"

"……I understand."

* * *

_Naruto-kun…_

"…H– hey, Hinata-chan," he said, stopping a few yards away.

"Hi…"

The hallway was silent for too many seconds. He tentatively spoke.

"Have you been … crying?"

I nodded.

"Oh… Well, we've all been through a lot today, y'know…? But you'll be okay, right?"

I nodded again. "I'll g-get through it, eventually… What about you?"

"I think I can make it… I mean, the most important thing is we still have each other. We just have to put it behind ourselves and move on, y'know?"

"Hm…"

……

"Tell you what, I'll meet you at the bridge," Kurogiba said behind me, and promptly passed us both and continued down the hall.

…_When I pecked his cheek then – was it just a few hours ago? – It was in a blaze of confidence. A naïve promise that after the battle, once we survived to win and see each other again, maybe we could share a real…_

"So, you're going, e-eeto…"

"Hunting?"

"Yeah, that's where you're going?" he said awkwardly, clearly afraid of sounding insulting.

"Yes, i-it is…"

"Oh, well … sorry to hold you up. Have… fun?" he stumbled with uncertainty.

Uncomfortable, I blushed. "Yes, it is e-enjoyable…" I poked my fingers together, biting my lip. When was the last time I'd done that? "Then, I'll see you tomorrow!" I squeaked, walking hastily by.

As I was passing him he began to turn.

"Hinata…!"

His hand met my arm, and I flinched sharply away with a tiny, squeaking cry. In the instant of contact – the shrieking pain of so many ghostly blades penetrating my flesh once more, of bludgeoning globes of iron pounding me into submission – the magnificent taste of hot, luscious blood spurting into my mouth, caressing my tongue as I crushed an arm in my jaws or tore out a throat – the distress at a lustful hand fervently kneading my breast while I was forcibly made to cooperate with a rough, passionate kiss – a torrent of phantom sensation and emotion, like a lightning strike up my arm.

My recoiling didn't go unnoticed, and I almost grimaced as I met again a pair of hurt purple eyes, shocked as though I'd just driven an icy senbon through his heart.

"I-it's… It's not your fault…" I whispered, trying to lower my hand, to stop cradling it so protectively close to my quailing body as if he had hurt me. Except it did hurt; where his fingers had met my skin a thousand frozen needles seared agonizingly, only just beginning to dull to a throb. I tried not to focus on it, and with a trembling word and an apologetic smile I fled.

"Gomenasai…"

I understood. I couldn't touch.

* * *

**Lee ****リー**

"Naruto-kun?"

"Go a-a-away!" he wailed between sobs.

"What is wrong?"

"N-no-thi-thing!"

"Then why are you crying?"

He yelled something unintelligible.

"What happened?" I tried.

"I do-don't kn-_know!!_"

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"Mmeh…" He shook his head slowly.

Eyebrows drawing together, I sat down next to the bawling boy and wrapped my arms around him. Without hesitation he hugged me back, howling into my shoulder.

"You did not cry yet, did you…?" I asked softly, patting his back. "I did, and I believe Hinata-san has as well. It is alright…"

It pained me to see the fearless knucklehead like this, but when it came down to it he was, indeed, a thirteen-year-old boy. One could not always hold it in, and accepting this was not weakness – it was emotion, and it was human.

"There…" I consoled with a sad smile, stroking Naruto's blond tufts gently while he continued to bawl. "It will be okay. Let it out…"

* * *

**Hinata ****ヒナタ**

Fog streamed from the sides of my mouth as I raced through the cold night air in rapid, powerful strides, hands, then feet, then hands, then feet, ghosting over the forest floor.

Smell – close. It was close.

'_See it?' _thought the wolf beside me.

A short, low growl rose up from my throat as my sharp eyes spotted it through the moonlit darkness. My limbs propelled me even faster in excitement, and the wolf was left behind as I cleared distance rapidly. It sensed me – was trying desperately to escape. It wouldn't.

I sprang strongly upward, shooting a great distance forward to crouch briefly on a tree's trunk. I sprang again, soaring in an arch, my back pointed momentarily toward the ground – then hands and feet nimbly met another trunk.

_Prey!!_

'_Make it clean…'_

Springing off at an angle, I shot as a bullet to the earth, the outstretched hand that I landed on snapping its neck between palm and ground, so that it died swiftly and would have no pain.

My feet and other hand landed, and strong claws tore across the skin, raking, grasping, ripping away. With a snarl of success I snapped and swallowed voraciously, rejoicing as I sank my teeth into the night's first kill.

* * *

**Neji ****ネジ**

–"_Neji-sama, Lord Hokage requests your presence."–_

Such was all that I remembered this morning. Blurred remembrance of torturous genjutsu were the most I could manage to procure when I focused hard enough; and so painful were the very memories that I swiftly allowed them to escape me again. Apparently I had taken the pill to prevent transformation not long after the punishment, and then been brought here to wake in the familiarity of the Hyuuga estate.

I felt oddly refreshed this morning, considering, lighter and sharper and strangely at ease, as though a pressure that had been coiling and twisting slowly within me for weeks on end, no, _months_ had been dispelled. Probably for this reason I was in a fair mood as I strolled my clan's estates, despite–

"Neji-sama!"

_What is it now? _I wondered with the briefest hint of a scowl.

"Yes?" I said calmly as I turned to greet the middle-aged Hyuuga striding up to me. He bowed slightly and handed over a paper.

"These five are unaccounted for, sir."

I studied the names shortly, a furrow in my brow. "Lost in the attack? I had no knowledge Hitaka was fighting…"

He shook his head. "No, no – they were gone this morning, their rooms empty, and it's been confirmed they did not exit through the gates. An investigation is getting underway."

"Good. Please proceed," I said, and he strode off.

I looked again at the paper. _Hm… These five…_

"Neji-sama!!"

I whirled at the urgent cry. "Yes, what is it?!"

"She's awake, and she has important news!"

My heart jumped with the slightest unease as I watched Hitode walking up, his mother's arm draped across his shoulders. Hireiki… the one who had been found unconscious the day before, and, according to our medics, had injuries with signs of…

"Oba-san," I nodded in greeting, "It is good to see you've regained consciousness so soon. But judging by your urgency, I assume it's as we feared…?"

Hitode nodded, while Hireiki spoke very weakly. "It _is_ her, there's n-no question… and it's possible that she has discovered her p-power… She did this to me in two strikes…"

"I see…" I said. "This is a major development, yes, but not so immediately imperative that you should be out of bed. Hitode, you could have sent for me to come to her, or simply delivered the message yourself."

"U-understood, sir," he said, blushing slightly.

"Very well; be sure your mother gets her rest, will you?"

"Hai!"

I watched as they walked off.

_So it really is true, and the Main House has been concealing it for eight years… _I mused. _She's the one._

A Hyuuga with an ability that, no matter what breeding efforts were made in the past, might be born into the Main House once every one hundred or so years. The one with a power that, when honed properly, could take life with a single touch, a far deadlier combination of Byakugan and Juuken. A walking, breathing legend in the in the making, per se; inheritor to the art and legacy of a line of heroes a step above a mere clan leader.

This might explain the reason Hiashi had been so desperate to have his second daughter succeed him, a key reason he had so quickly turned his back on the failure that was his first born.

It was also how she, filled with adrenaline, pain, and fear, had killed the Hyuuga I'd sent after her those few months ago – without activating a single curse mark.

Now standing against me was the _true_ Hyuuga prodigy, blessed with talent and supposedly destined to surpass all others…

_So that little firecracker … is the Lightning Hyuuga._

* * *

**Hanabi ****ハナビ**

"Long time no see."

I yelped and looked to see him sitting comfortably on the branch I was passing under. He swung off it and landed soundlessly at my side, hands slipping into his pockets. I sighed and continued to walk.

"I saw you the other day, Sasuke-san, and should the double slash triple agent really be walking around here without an escort?"

"War's just been declared; should you?"

I shrugged. Okay, so that kind of made sense…

"I hear that you practically forced them to let you join, you know."

I scowled. Straight to the point, as usual.

"So after they took you in and trained you all this time, you're just gonna drop it," he said flatly when I didn't speak. "What a waste of their time–,"

"I know, okay! It's not like I planned this from the start!"

"So on the off chance that the next time your friends are in trouble you won't be able to help them, you're giving up? 'Sorry, but I change my mind now'? Even after you saved Sakura and Kiba yesterday…" He shook his head. "I guess you're not as devoted to your goal as you first seemed. Where'd all that resolve even come from to begin with?"

I froze in my tracks.

–_Hinata-nee-chan… When you come back, I'll be strong like you. The next time you need me, I'll be able to go with you and help… I promise!–_

"Something wrong?"

"O-oh my gosh…!" I whispered, tears pooling up in my eyes. "How could I forget…?"

"There you are! …Hey, what are you doing without an escort?!"

"Hanabi is my escort."

"Pfft…" I wiped my eyes and looked at Kiba as he approached, glaring lightly at the Uchiha.

"Yeah, whatever…"

"Then what's up, Inuzuka? Were you looking for me, or the little Hyuuga?"

Kiba blinked, and seemed to remember something. "Hanabi–!" He scowled. "It's weird… Let's just say some _guests_ are here to see you, shall we?"

"For … for me?"

* * *

My pulse quickened as I entered the large, earthen room. Sure, the walls were practically lined with blatantly armed and hostile New Konoha-nin who didn't take their eyes off the outsiders, and none of the five had ever been particularly nasty toward me or anything, but still… Lately it seemed encounters with my _family_ family had a tendency to be unpleasant.

I quickly scanned over faces as I walked, Sasuke and Kiba calming, protective presences at my sides. On my left, the youngest – a slightly chubby boy of only ten, though surprisingly level-headed and serious for a kid. His hair was in a neat bun, and I was surprised to see the symbol of New Oto adorning his forehead; he hadn't been a Leaf ninja, anyways…

_Hyuuga Hitaka… What's a child doing here? _But what were any of them, for that matter?

To the right, a spiky-haired, persistently cheery and energetic fellow – even in a room full of enemies – and somehow at the same time as looking inexplicably somber as the rest, wore a chuckly sort of smile that set his face aglow. A white streak to match the eighteen-year-old's twinkling eyes had been dyed into a few spikes of dark brown hair.

_Hikujaku… I guess he's okay, if not a bit … weird._

After the clan nonconformist, in the front and center of their line, stood a tall, sturdy-looking man with short black hair. He was a skillful warrior in his thirties, and…

_Hiryuu-oji-san – he's a full-out jounin! Anko-sensei and the others are here, but if he does pull anything they might have trouble taking him down…_

The fourth, a kunoichi in her early twenties with a stern but pleasant determination on her face, nodded slightly as I met her gaze. Her long hair was gathered in a single braid. I remembered…

_Harumi-san! _My heart fluttered warmly. _She came that time after I… when I thought no one would – she's the medic who came and saved Nee-chan…_

And finally, a fifteen-year-old girl (or was she sixteen yet?) with dark hair hanging just past her shoulders was fighting not to fidget, utterly conscious of the hostility around her. Her mouth was a forced straight line as she determinedly held a cool look even though she was ruffled.

_Hiyuki… She was friends with Nee-chan, right…?_

I stopped a few yards from the five Branch Hyuuga, each of whom wore the mark of New Oto on their foreheads. Just as I nervously opened my mouth to say something, they simultaneously sank to their knees and bowed deeply to me, gesturing total submission.

_Wh-what?_

"It is good to see you are healthy, Hanabi-sama," drifted powerfully from Hiryuu's lowered head. "Especially during these times when most of our brethren would wish it otherwise."

I hadn't been treated like – well, a Main House Hyuuga, in a while. It took a moment of fumbling for words before I recalled and spoke. "R-raise your heads… please."

They straightened their backs but rose only to their knees, and promptly they removed headbands, baring their curse seals. Then, as they were weaponless, they ran fingertips that glowed with chakra once across their hitai-ate, deftly etching a faint but clean line through each New Oto mark.

"Understand that I do not often break a pledge of undying loyalty and allegiance, but in this case there is no alternative," Hiryuu said smoothly. His gaze turned to Anko, who stood with other shinobi ready to attack. "Might you lower your weapons? The lady may subdue us at whatever moment she so pleases."

Anko frowned. "Hanabi, do you know them?"

"H-hai…"

"Can they be trusted?"

"I… I think so," I said honestly. A few warily lowered their kunai, though still holding them at the ready.

"Why have you come here?" I asked, digging out a long unused degree of strength to pour into my voice. Hold on, is that how I always used to talk? It sounded just a little… snobbish.

Hiryuu met my eyes. "As you know, our honored Grandfather, the All-Seeing Lord Hyuuga Hikaru, is the oldest and wisest of the clan. He selected the five of us whom he knew would listen, and he has imparted on us his guidance."

"Hikaru-sama sent you…?" I asked incredulously. The entire clan called him Grandfather, and all spoke of him in the highest respect. He was neither a member of the Main nor the Branch, in a neutral category all his own, and as per custom he typically remained distant from clan affairs; and if I remembered right, he was Okaa-san's great-grandfather (though of course he probably had hundreds of great-great-grandkids running around – okay, maybe not _that_ many, but a lot). "But why…?"

Harumi picked up. "The All-Seeing One predicts great ruin to befall the Hyuuga, resulting from Neji's rule. Our only hope, he says, lies in a day ahead when the one of pure spirit and rightful blood will challenge him. He believes that person … is you, Hanabi-sama."

_Ch-challenge … Neji…? _"But people usually listen to Hikaru-sama, don't they?" I asked as my stomach helpfully decided to take a try at twisting itself into knots. "Are you the only ones he's told – has he not spoken out…?"

Hiyuki nodded quickly. "He has made an effort to be heard – and Hikaru-sama's words have begun to stir dissent in a minority of the clan. Indeed, likely the only reason he's not been imprisoned is that, superbly gifted as Seer, he is of honorable status. An open act against one so revered might prove harmful to Neji's image. Still, the fact that he does not act against him shows that even Neji still respects him to some degree…"

My knees were shaking. I shook my head slightly. I didn't like this – I didn't like being smack in the middle of clan conflicts, warily hated by some, feared and revered by others… I liked it here in New Konoha, where I was just a normal kid!! "I can't – I can't fight Neji!"

"Can't you?" Hiryuu asked calmly, raising a brow.

"That's crazy! Let him have the clan; I don't want it! Neji's a genius, a monster, and I'm just a kid! He'll kill me–!!"

"You've not been told, have you?" Hiryuu interrupted my hysterics. "That you, Lady Hanabi, are successor to the legacy of the Lightning Hyuuga?"

I felt a huge, invisible fist slam into my gut. The room swayed, and I sank to my knees.

"My lady!"

"Hanabi!"

"I'm fine…" I muttered, gawking at the floor as confused whispers flitted between the New Leaf shinobi. _Me? I'm a…?_

"Be strong, Lady Hanabi," the young Hitaka said in a gentle voice. "Take strength, and lead those of your people who will follow. You're not alone."

"He's right, you know," Hikujaku said, shutting his eyes with a quick nod as he grinned good-naturedly. He laid a fist over his heart and dipped his head with a flourish. "We intend to train your young but capable self in the Gentle Fist; we'll make sure you're ready when the time comes. In the meantime just think of us as your most humble servants, here to guard your life with ours."

Hiryuu nodded. "The future of the Hyuuga may be riding on your shoulders. That is why…" He bowed low again, and the others followed suit. "Lady Hanabi, we are here to serve you – you, the true leader of our clan!"

I was conscious of the rest of the room staring at me, and I blushed. Looking down at hands clasped in my lap, I hid my face behind a curtain of hair. _So I represent some beacon of hope to much of the clan… the clan Nee-chan wants so strongly to protect… _My shoulders gave a little shake. Aw, what can you do?

I needed to be strong, after all… For my Nee-chan, for my Leaf-family, for my family-family…

I raised my head and got to my feet.

"I … I will stand up and lead you. I shall fight."

* * *

**Hinata ****ヒナタ**

"So … how'd the hunt go?"

We were in the hallway again; I'd caught Lee this morning to ask him to send Naruto this way.

"It went well," I said softly. "It was a lot easier with Kurogiba-sama's help, and this morning I woke up really refreshed…"

"That's good… And h-how're your injuries?"

"They healed well…"

"Hm…" He was silent for a few moments. "Hey… Lee told me about your … touching problem, y'know? I'm sorry about yesterday; I didn't know then…"

"It's okay," I said quickly. "A-actually… That's sort of why I wanted to see you…"

"Huh?"

"I'm nervous … my pulse is quick even while we're standing this far apart. My body wants to run away, but in my mind I _know_ you…" I fumbled around for words. "Naruto-kun is someone I know and trust with all my heart. I know I don't need to fear you… and I know I needn't fear I'll hurt you. I'll get past this … I just wanted to take the first step." As if to emphasize this, I took a small, difficult step toward him. "Because if I can't trust the boy that I love, I'll never trust anyone."

"Hinata…" He whispered as I walked toward him.

My heart thumped loudly as I neared, pulse quickening with each passing step. It became very difficult to draw breath. I stopped when I was quite close enough to touch him, my shaking body shrieking for me to get away, to turn tail and run screaming and crying to safety.

No! I wasn't in any danger, and neither was he.

"D-don't move t-too quickly, okay?" I said, almost at a whimper. "I just want to try something…" _And I brushed very, very well…_

"Hinata, are you sure? You're uncomfortable; We can wait–,"

"No – we c-can't wait…"

I bit my lip, trying to get myself to move. He wasn't wearing the silver anymore (he and Lee both had since switched them for the steel ones that matched my own) but it felt as if he was – like something terrible would happen if I got any closer. My skin tingled at our proximity, and my heart thudded against my ribcage. I felt suffocated.

"Hinata…"

I threw my arms around him, resting my head over his shoulder, and held him tightly. The effect was instantaneous; my stomach clenched up, my body went rigid, and my eyes snapped shut as my mouth popped open in a soundless scream. The torrent of sensation crashed and slammed through my mind, and the world blurred for a moment as my body blazed with steady agony. Too much contact all at once – I flinched away to separate our bodies again, though my arms remained determinedly draped over his shoulders.

_It's all in your head… You can do this! _I thought, even as my arms and hands burned intensely. I felt small and naked … vulnerable … weak…

"Are you alright? Should I…?" He spoke quietly, standing perfectly still.

I gulped. This was Naruto-kun, and he would never bring harm to someone he loves. "Yes."

Very slowly, very carefully, his hands drifted toward me. They rested a reassuring few moments on my sides, and slid delicately around my waist, like I was something fragile and might easily be broken. I sucked in a breath, and shut my eyes as my respiration continued in tiny, shaking gasps.

"Hinata–?"

"K-k-keep going…"

His arms fully encircled me, a strong, gentle cradle, while my own slipped snugly around his neck. As we embraced, sharing the warmth of our bodies, I tentatively opened my eyes to see his face a very short few inches in front of my own. I gave a soft gasp as warmth dusted my cheeks.

I wondered yet again, had I not panicked and fled, had I accepted his confession that night in the treetops, under the cloudy, starlit sky, and let the two of us become as just a little bit more than friends … would he have kissed me then? If not then, then by now? Probably – but it was too late to wonder now, I found even as I felt that Naruto-kun would have saved my first kiss from being one that had been stolen – the lewd, forced thing that it was and would always be.

But with Naruto it would be beautiful – perfect. I already knew. It would be tender and gentle. If he might communicate even half those indigo pools' fond warmth through his lips…

"Am I hurting you, Hinata-chan?"

My mouth opened. I was still filled with sensation, yes… but it was _good_. Shocked, I told him the simple truth.

"No…"

_Let me have a redo…_

Our faces grew near.

_And I'll just pretend that my first…_

My eyes slipped shut.

_Is here and now, with you._

Our lips met in a sweet, affectionate kiss.

* * *

"I'm not sure about this, guys…"

"Oh, stop that! It is saddening, yes, but we have already agreed on it!"

"Meh… Whose idea _was_ this again?"

I shook my head with a slightly sad smile. The three of us were outside of the village, at a fork in the road that came west from the bridge. We had said our goodbye to Tazuna, Tsunami, Inari, and Wave; Naruto, Lee, and I wore our own backpacks, each fully stocked with supplies. I pulled the rhombus trinket from the neck of my shirt, nodding for the boys to do the same.

"Say this pendant represents strength in unity. We've only gotten so far by sticking together all this time, but we can't keep leaning on each other forever…" I looked down. "The security of being in a team… in a way, it's allowed us to grow lax as we depend on one another. Even though we might be formidable combined, you have to have realized that alone we're not as well-rounded as we could be…"

I unclipped my necklace and held out the diamond-shaped charm by its side; the others joined theirs to it, and with a click the hexagon with an inscribed triangle was formed; the kanji 'team' was engraved in the center of the completed pendant.

"We'll go our separate ways for now, training in solitude. We learn what we can and search for Tsunade-sama, yes; and we also build up our own power and learn to control it. Then, once each piece has been honed and refined individually, let us reunite as the whole … a team powerful enough to save the Leaf."

With no more words than these between us, we split the pendant apart.

"Man…" Naruto fingered the small fleck of purple in his hair, a streak mostly hidden by his hitai-ate, which had appeared yesterday and partially filled a spike near his right ear. "I gotta say, I'm really bad at making campfires, y'know? I mean, Hinata-chan always used a mini-fireball to light it…"

"Covered!" I chirped with a thumbs-up. "I packed you some matches, but eventually you need to practice using the flint, okay?"

He mumbled a complaint and pouted jokingly, causing me to giggle.

"Aw, will Naruto-kun be lonely without us?" Lee teased, slinging an arm around the grumbling boy's shoulders. He then sobered up. "But I, too, will really miss you both…"

I nodded, and, with some hesitation, stepped up to them. It wasn't difficult to share a group hug – not with the two who I realized had during our time together, quite literally, become my best friends in the world.

"S-stay safe, y'all, okay…? And Bushy Brow, don't overdo it to wh-where you hurt yourself…"

"Naruto-kun, bathe every day! And brush your teeth! And do not forget to f-f-_floss_!!"

"If ANBU hunters come after you, it's _okay_ to run th-then, okay? Goodness knows we all h-have the stamina…"

All our eyes were watering when we separated. Lee gave a smile and stuck out his hand.

"Remember to always work hard!" he said.

Hesitantly I placed my hand atop his, with only a slight tremble. "To never give up!"

His hand covering mine, Naruto finished off, "And to never go back on our word – 'cause that's our ninja way!"

Together our three hands sank, rose, and separated again.

* * *

**Naruto ****ナルト**

_POOF-POOF-POOF-POOF-POOF–_

It really was fun to Shadow Step in the treetops.

Until you–

"Wah!"

A shadow clone popped up above a branch further ahead than the one I'd missed; I swapped places with it to land safely on the branch, stumbling a moment before catching my footing.

"Phew… But I guess that's what I'm working on…"

_Jeesh, the forest is freakishly quiet…_

I tipped forward, swinging so that I hung upside-down on my feet, facing the way I'd come.

_Of course you can't see them anymore, so what are you looking at?_

'_Who knows?'_

_F#&$! What're you doing in my head?_

'_Thought I'd say hi, and congratulate you on the show yesterday. It was quite nice to watch–,'_

I shoved the fox out of my mind. _Get back in your cage, fleabag. And for the record I don't plan to make a habit of relying on the part of the Kageken that's soaked in blood…_

I'd get stronger … so I wouldn't have to resort to it, at least not often. And I'd grow strong enough to save Ero-sennin, and Kakashi-sensei, and all the rest.

* * *

**Lee ****リー**

"Hah…" I was panting lightly as I stopped. _I suppose that will suffice for a morning run…_

Unconsciously I found my gaze had wound up facing the way I had come. _They are miles away by now…_

"Stay well, both of you…" I shook my head. Those two had grown strong – very strong, in fact. Not to say I intended to allow either to surpass me in this time…

I unsheathed a katana, tilting the sword so that I saw a slice of my reflection.

_Kozue Kuri… Again I have killed with this blade, but I have kept to my word and not done so unnecessarily. And though I have accepted these blades and made them my own, I still have not learned how to handle them properly in the most basic ways… _

Form – that was what my swordsmanship lacked. They were not simply big kunai, after all. I would master the way of the sword.

The wind blew, and I looked up to see thirty leaves dancing in the air.

I grinned.

At this moment…

_Before they hit the ground!! _I thought, and with sword in hand I charged.

* * *

**Hinata ****ヒナタ**

"Say … since you're here … want to carry the backpack for a while?"

"Oh, so that's why you summoned me?"

"N-no!" I said as we walked, side by side, along the river.

"Then you're already lonely, that it?"

I blushed. "We haven't really been apart … not since we left the village…"

"…I'll take the bag."

"Huh?"

"Give me the stupid bag!"

I brightened slightly. "Thanks – _friend!_" I said, emphasizing the word and bumping my shoulder lightly against him.

_It won't be so bad … at least I have Kurogiba with me. I'll grow strong enough to help my friends, and to save Neji-nii-san from Orochimaru. And Naruto-kun, Lee-kun… When we meet again, I'll have learned to control my curse–_

The wolf bumped his shoulder not-so-lightly against me, knocking me off the path and into some bushes.

"Hey!"

"Don't start going all lovey-dovey. You're still a scrawny mutt."

Disentangling myself from the branches, I took a bound on all fours and sprang to throw my arms around his neck.

"Quit trying to be so cold! I already know there's a soft spot deep down in there!"

"Hey, no hugs – no hugs!"

"That tough guy front is all an act!"

"What am I, a teddy bear?!"

He leaped toward the river, lost form, and reformed on the bank.

SPLASH!

"COLD!!"

"Serves you right!!"

"You're mean!"

"Thank you for noticing, and I will _not_ carry the bag!"

"What?!"

"Drop and give me twenty!"

"Why?!"

"Thirty!"

"That's cruel!"

"Fifty!"

"One! Two! Three! Four!"

Yeah… At least I had Kurogiba…

"I can't hear you!!"

"TWELVE!!"

"GOOD! Now start over!"

"HUH?!"

"One hundred!"

"ONE!"

Believe it or not, the future was looking up.

* * *

**ナルト ****/ ****リー ****/ ****ヒナタ ****\ ****ハナビ ****\ ****ネジ**

**End Chapter Fourteen**

**Naruto: **Say it…

**Neji: **No.

**Hinata: **Please, Nii-san?

**Neji: **I said no.

**Lee: **Come on, please…?

**Neji: **You cannot make me–!

**Naruto: **Say it and I'll give you five dollars!

**Neji: **(whips out bow and arrow) Sacred Arrow – Hit the mark!

**Hinata: **Did you get it on tape?

**Hanabi: **To ebay we go!

_(static–)_

**Naruto: **Yatta! After half a year we're back, stronger than ever and armed with NICKNAMES!

**Neji: **Nicknames?!!

**Naruto: **NICKNAMES!!! Evildoers beware, for we are the Purple Fox–!

**Lee: **The Green Beast–!

**Hinata: **And the Black Wolf Fang… Come on, guys, seriously?

**Lee: **No, no, no! That was not good at all!

**Naruto: **Come on, Hinata-chan, let's hear it for spirit!

**Hinata: **Spirit?

**Naruto: **Spirit.

**Hinata: **S-spirit…

**Naruto: **Spirit!

**Hinata: **Spirit!!

**Lee: **YOSH! Now we are ready!

**Neji: **You people…!

**Hanabi: **Are complete morons!

**Lee: **And Naruto-kun has become quite the little charmer! NaruHina shall ensue!

**Hinata: **L-L-L-L-Lee-kun–!

**Naruto: **What the hell?!

**Lee: **Ah, the beauty of young love!!!

**Neji: **Oi, this preview is too long!

**Hanabi: **Next up, **Chapter Fifteen: Six Months' Time **kicks off Part II! Don't miss it!

So obviously there was a little silliness in the preview as well as in the 'omake' this time XD

Minagoroshi= massacre, slaughter

See, doesn't "Everyday" just fit with it? The song's beautiful, and slightly dark… specifically, I think it goes well with the 'bittersweet victory' scene where it starts raining.

Those five Hyuuga - they didn't each get a description because they'll be super important or anything... I had already thought of names, and kind of just made up actual characteristics on the spot so all their descriptions could be in one place. :)

Many of you probably have figured it out, but so far only one person has actually given a correct guess as to how Sasuke's lying skills work! Good job!

How was the chapter? And the battle scenes? How about the description of Hinata's 'curse seal level 2' – what, did you think she would actually become a wolf or something? It's just a curse mark, I think that would be a little too far ;) Had anyone figured out ahead of time what the purpose of the pendants was? What did you think of the Hyuuga Clan drama, with Hanabi and the Lightning Hyuuga legend and the Seer's prediction and the Brach defectors? Was the NaruHina moment nice ;) ? And did anyone see a team split-up coming? Anything here or anything else – please tell me what you thought of the conclusion!

You there! Huh? Oh no, the one sitting next to – yes you! Review! Please?

XD Well, see ya later!

:o)Hinata0321:o)


	15. Six Months' Time

J3F\\\ Journey of the Three Failures

Chapter Fifteen

Hello!

Thanks so much **ShadowFaux, Rena-san, Cybergades, Heavenhawk, zentary, Omega the Darkness, foxsadist712, Shizuka Taiyou, Monte-chan, Yarram, soundless steps, Uzumaki Mai, Monkey Ninja Naf S'netog, ComicXArena, Dominican Kitsune, Blizzard of Love, SaphireShade, amethystfirechik, fancyspinner, Grothka, naruhinaramen, **and the anon who signed _monica _for reviewing! Luff ya!

Sorry I didn't get back to a few reviews… I try to answer at least all reviews that have questions, but sometimes there's one I read and I'm like "I'll reply tomorrow" then I sort of forget and would have been embarrassed to reply so late… Well, **a lot of people asked why I split up Naruto, Hinata, and Lee.** To clear up confusion, I'm putting an answer I gave: "They split up because they thought they were becoming dangerously dependent on one another; by being apart, they're "forced" to get stronger as individuals, which is for the better because it ultimately will make them that much stronger a team when they come together again. Whereas earlier in the story they needed to stay together and hone their teamwork for any hope of survival as nukenin, they've grown strong enough since then that they're confident they can survive in the time they're divided. Since they don't know where Tsunade is, all three are going to search."

While I'm at it with the FAQ corner (XD), **why Hinata body flickered after Naruto confessed his love in ch. 8: **"I just thought it made sense there. I mean, the boy of her dreams who never really noticed her feelings before suddenly blurting out his love for her... I thought it would be in-character for Hinata to sort of panic and run away. Unfortunately, this creates a sort of rift between them for a while, what with Naruto embarrassed about being rejected and Hinata embarrassed over (though somewhat accidentally) basically rejecting him." Kind of late, but if anyone's still been wondering, that's my explanation.

I put up some pictures of Lee's post-timeskip outfit on my dA account. Links are on my profile. I'll draw Naruto's and Hinata's outfits eventually.

Whoops… At some point I changed the number of claw scars on Hinata's arm from four to five. Let's stick with five, k?

Gah, it's been a bad few weeks for me… So after I was cut from the basketball team about two weeks into the school year, my dad complained and I was given another chance. Got to keep practicing with them for about a month, then I was cut again. I was on Freshmen B last year, and apparently I just wasn't good enough for JV. Neither were the rest of my teammates – out of last year's eight-girl team, one of us made the cut. I mean, what the heck?! Why even have a B team if you won't give them a chance to adjust to the next level? And I guess I wouldn't be so mad if they would just come out and say it's about talent, but the coach has said repeatedly to all of us that we're all 'a big family' and "In this program it's more about work ethic and character than talent." Low as my self esteem is, I _know _I was one of the hardest working out there, and I worked for the last three years that I played to make myself among the fastest and easily the strongest player in my year. I was the optimist, all the spirit our sad little B team had, I never missed a practice or a game, even went to all the A team games when the B didn't have one, just to support and cheer them on. I love that game, and I love my team, and I love my school. I busted my tail hustling on that court, I poured my heart out for that team, and this is how I'm repaid. I'd thought I was doing so well, too. Maybe the coach didn't want to admit she was wrong in cutting me the first time. Maybe she didn't like my dad (he did blast her out in an email T-T). Maybe it's because I'm of color. I don't know. And one of many justifications (there just aren't enough jerseys to go around; we thought (-cough-assumed) you might need credits in a different class (which I don't)) is that I'd be sad I wouldn't get much playing time anyway – like she thinks she's being merciful in cutting me now. So in other words, I'm apparently so utterly horrible that she feels free to dismiss that regardless of how hard I might work for the next three years, I'll still _never_ be good enough for JV. That's a smack in the face. If that's the excuse, the supposition that I would be sad over no playing time, why not let me decide if I feel sorry for myself or not? I wouldn't mind being the freethrow shooter for technical fouls! It hurts not being out there when my team needs me! If I'd known I'd be treated like this, I would have stayed in football last year (yes, for three weeks I was 'that girl on the football team'). Yes, American football. I would have been punter. I quit when I found out football would have cut into basketball.

I halfway want to tell her, "Thanks, coach. If I learned nothing else from this program, I've learned that no matter how hard I work and how hard I try, I'm a failure and I always will be." But instead I intend to get so good that there's no way I'll be denied next year.

XD Pardon the teenage venting; I got a little carried away, but I could literally talk about this for pages. I guess I'm a bit of a genius in the classroom and a failure on the court…

And now to your regularly scheduled program…

**Disclaimer: **I don't own _NARUTO_.

* * *

**Journey of the Three Failures**

**Fifteen: Six Months' Time**

**Part One: Five Months' Time**

**Hinata ****ヒナタ**

There were two voices in the next room over. Even more, three, maybe four rooms down – my ears sorted out a man, a woman, a younger girl, a preteen male. Here were footsteps; there sounded a knock on someone's door; somewhere else a simply ridiculous yawn was poured, pealing, into the air. At this moment nine faucets were running. Scratch that – six sinks, two showers, one bath. A sickeningly sweet conversation continued to flit over from the two in the next room, and I groaned groggily and buried my face in the pillow – which by the way, and contrary to claim, smelled like it _hadn't_ been washed in a few visitors' uses.

_Eew…_

Sizzling noise – soon enough cooking bacon, sausage, egg, bread were caught up in my nose, and more subtly were found cold ham, cheese, rice, fish, pickles, freshly cut fruit (orange, pear, and apple apparently the most popular), along with jam, honey, butter, and the like. I turned my head stubbornly away, and my eyes squeezed all the more tightly shut when the brightness of the room escalated sharply, announcing the sun had at last surmounted the horizon. With a sigh of defeat I rolled onto my back.

Thud!

"Eep!"

The Byakugan blazed to life as I was abruptly on my feet, and an inexplicable kunai had instantly found its way to my hand. I turned sharply, wide eyes racing left, right, above, behind–!

Bed! Elevated! Right!

Blushing and now largely awake, I set down the knife and knelt to rummage through my bag. Then I remembered and went to open the door; I scooped up a neatly folded bundle of clothes and closed it again to change. They'd offered to take up laundry the evening before, and I had requested mine be left outside the door rather than delivered more safely to the room.

If the door had opened, I would have woken up.

Unlike the pillowcase, my clothes at least – which had been rank with sweat from training the day before – had definitely been cleaned. Pausing a moment, I smiled at the pleasant, flowery scent in the soft blue fabric of a sleeveless shirt before I slipped it on over my underclothes. Over it I zipped up a black, blue-hooded top, like a vest in that it was sleeveless and also cropped a few inches below the breast. Long black pants were cut off mid-shin by blue cloth tape that went on to dress the ankle and instep of each foot. Similar tape wrapped my right arm from below elbow to mid-finger, to hide and protect five jagged, only slightly raised lines on the forearm. For some symmetry's sake as much as that of concealment, the left was wrapped in the same manner but for stopping at the wrist, leaving hand uncovered. Once kunai pouch and shuriken holster were in place, black ninja sandals were put on, and finally I secured the Leaf headband at my neck.

My hands flashed through three seals.

"Henge."

In common sandals, a T-shirt, and shorts, weapon pouches and headband nowhere to be seen, I slung my bag over my shoulder and opened the door looking like any other blue-eyed thirteen-year-old girl.

As I was leaving a calendar by the door caught my eye.

"Nineteenth of June…" I smiled.

For almost five months now I'd been traveling alone but for Kurogiba's occasional company. I had been through four full moons; I had been near home and very far; I had trained rigorously, had gathered intelligence both trivial and vital. I could hardly remember a time I wasn't sore from exertion. I had gotten into a few fights, and I had thrice in the time been forced to dodge trackers for sleepless days on end. And since that winter day in Wave, I had tied four additional humans' deaths to my name.

For almost five months I had made my way and survived the trials of the harsh world, and I had done it on my own strength. And now, in one too-long week that stretched before me, I would be with my friends again.

I couldn't keep from giggling to myself, my heart fluttering gaily in anticipation. A hand unconsciously brushed the trinket of the necklace I wore as I set off down the hall of the inn waking up, coming to life around me.

* * *

It was quiet as death when I went for breakfast. My eyes briefly swept the large room as I made a plate, noting the nervousness in the air.

_What did I miss…?_

No one was even looking at me funny. I mean, at most places at least one nosy lady in the room tended to notice and proceed to gawk and whisper when a petite girl sat down alone with a plate like mine (today a few pieces of bacon, some sausage, slice of ham, and a triangle of toast that was mostly there so it wouldn't look _too_ odd). Though at those times I heard the whispers clearly, I of course had to pretend I did not–

The hairs on the back of my neck crept up.

"_Mrraaaaooow!! Meooooww!_"

The entire room seemed to turn toward the sound next to my table. I ground my teeth, ignored the ugly old thing, and took a snapping sharp bite of toast.

I forcibly suppressed a rumble that tried to start up in my throat as the puffed up feline hissed and spat, throwing a fit. _Leave me alone! Always these stupid cats – I'm not bothering you, am I? I could eat you for lunch. Literally. Not like I really would eat someone's cat, but it would probably taste terrible anyways–_

Claws rasped at my toes.

I snarled viciously at it with a threatening, hissy growl, eyes narrowed in a blaze of malice as I let off an involuntary surge of murderous intent.

It screeched and ran for it, and I swiftly righted myself just as those who weren't already looking looked, those who were watching closely gawked or those who had perhaps happened to glance at the right moment did a double take, and those few who were just a bit more intuitive than the rest blanched, shuddered, or–

Thud.

"Mama!"

_Time to get out of here, _I thought, beet red as I hurriedly finished my meal and pretended not to notice the lady who'd fainted at the table behind me.

* * *

"Thank you, sir, I enjoyed my stay…"

"Wait!" the innkeeper called as I passed the counter near the main door.

_A-am I in trouble? _"Remember, I paid the in advance yesterday–," _In case I needed to leave in a hurry, _"–so what's the matter?"

"Haven't you heard? It's not safe outside…"

I blinked curiously. That might explain the anxiety of the other guests. "Not safe how?"

"A roving nukenin's passing through," the man clarified. "It's best to just wait them out and hope they don't come to you, you see? Trust me, dear, a young girl especially shouldn't be wandering the streets at a time like…" He trailed off as a smirk spread across my face, and his eyes were drawn, probably, to my rather unusually pointed canines. My hands came together. "What are you … doing–?"

"_Reikuchiyose!_"

The innkeeper shrieked squeakingly as I spat a fireball in the reception hall and Kurogiba took form in all his black flamed glory.

"Yo."

"We've got a nukenin to catch!" I said, Byakugan already active. "Not far away, I can sense him. One ninja, and he's got a few thugs tagging along. They don't seem like much, but could you back me up in case it gets tough?"

He chuckled, the sound of a low rumble of flame. "Easy there; you've just been waiting for a fight, haven't you?"

I snorted. "There are people to help!"

The innkeeper peeked from behind his desk. "Are you … a ninja?"

I nodded, deactivating my kekkei genkai. "Yes, sir. My partner and I'll handle the matter."

With that I left the inn.

* * *

_Terrorizing civilians? _I thought, observing the scene before me with a calculating eye as I walked up the otherwise empty street. My chakra was carefully suppressed.

"Let her go!!" a man with a bloody nose and black eye howled furiously, thrashing in the hold of his captors as they held him against a wall.

_Concerned father, captive and injured…_

He whimpered as an arrow thunked into the building an inch from his head. A girl in her late teens screeched, eyes wide in terror as the shooter slung his arm around her waist. "Don't worry, I'm just gonna borrow her!"

_Arrogant moron, ex-Grass ninja, who gets a kick out of showing off his strength over the helpless, but a sharp shot with a bow…_

"You release her right now–!"

"Put a sock in it!" One of the thugs slugged the man in the face, and another in the ribs. The rest chuckled.

_Five brainless goons who're just along for the ride behind their 'powerful' leader…_

A tad on the cliché side, but more importantly…

_How do I defuse this situation without getting anyone hurt?_

"Come on, boss!" one of the gang yelled, pushing the man's head up against the wall. "Put a bolt right there, right between 'is eyes!"

"Huh, you really think I should?" he asked with a grin, and the girl yelled out.

"I'll do whatever you want – just don't hurt him!!"

_Time to intervene._

"That's a nice bow you've got there."

The Kusa nukenin started in surprise, releasing the girl as he turned to see me directly behind him.

"Who the… well, _well_, what a pretty little lady we have here!" he said, blushing lightly with a weird little grin.

_What a sad little excuse for a man we have here… _I thought poisonously as his eyes blatantly roamed my body. Though outraged, I didn't show it; now was the time to look the innocent, cute little girl.

"Where's your mommy, little girl?" A hand drifted toward my shoulder, and I shut my eyes.

"Excuse me," I said sternly, slamming him with a deathglare.

The hand snapped to his side as if of its own accord. He looked a bit disoriented a moment, but held up his cool 'I'm so bad' swagger.

"A-as I was saying," I said, putting on an easy mask of my own and prodding my fingers together. "Would y-you mind if I t-took a look at y-your bow, kudasai?" _That's right, I'm a sweet little lamb, perfectly helpless… _I touched a finger to my lip, and managed a little blush in my cheeks.

He grinned and handed it over.

_Sucker._

"Hehe, don't hurt yourself–,"

"I'll bet you I can hit that cracked stone over there, blindfolded," I said, pointing to one such stone at the corner of a brick building twenty meters away. He started and looked, and had to search for a moment before his eyes found it. He looked back to me, then to it, then to me again.

"U-uh…"

"Y-you see, m-my papa used to use a b-bow, but I h-haven't handled one in _ever_ so long…" I said daintily, affectionately stroking the bow in my hands. "But I b-bet I could hit that stone over there, I c-could…"

"Hahahaha! You're cute–!"

A bag of coins plopped to the ground between us.

"If I miss, you get all my money. If it hits, I get your bow."

He was sweating now.

_They're all the same. Money first, _I thought, smiling sweetly as he handed me an arrow. I fumbled innocently with the weapon, struggling dumbly to take aim and then with a great show of effort pulling the bowstring back an inch or two. "O-oh, silly me! I f-forgot, I said blindfolded, didn't I?"

"Aw, that really won't be necessary…"

I lifted the plain bandana at my neck – a bandana that in fact had a metal plate on it, but was currently veiled by henge – so that it covered my eyes. "O-okay, here I go! But I haven't used a bow in e-ever so long…" _Like two weeks ago when mine broke._

_Byakugan!_

I notched the arrow, drew back fluidly, and fired.

An arrow not only hit the agreed upon stone, but lodged in the crack dead center.

"Pleasure doing business with you."

"…Wh-what the – you – you tricked me!!" he yelled in a panic.

"I guess I did." The transformation was dispelled as I pulled the bandana from my eyes. "And _you_ should be ashamed of yourself."

"Kuso!" Fuming, he launched himself toward me with a fist drawn back. "You little–!!"

**THUD.**

"_Gh…!_"

He hadn't even begun to see it coming. I was low at his right from a swift lunge; his fist had hit some air beside my ear, and my fist had made solid contact with his stomach.

"_Wh…Who…?_"

My eyes opened. "Kurouga desu."

He flinched. "K-ku-_so_…" he swore, eyes slipping shut as he crumpled limply to the ground.

Hearing nervous whispers, I slightly bared my teeth and turned to shoot a dangerous, sidelong glare sharply at his little gang of bandits, eyes wide and furious as I let them go black-and-white.

"_Leave this place._"

The thugs–

Thud.

Four of the thugs ran screaming from my sight.

"Haha, good one! Gotta love it – that look that says _'you have three seconds before I tear out your entrails, rip your head off, and devour your soul!'_" Kurogiba said, giving a horrid impression of my voice as he bounded laughing into the open and reared up to give me a playful push with front paws. I stumbled and shoulder-bumped him back with a smile.

"Come on, Ani-ue, people are staring."

"Arf!"

"There's a big old wolf made of fire over there, but at least it's not talking," I retorted softly, earning a faux-ferocious growl and nip on the arm. I giggled a second but then calmed down; catching on, the wolf sobered as he followed my gaze.

I walked slowly to where the girl sat on her knees, her father knelt at her side as she cried quietly.

"Are you okay? Did he hurt you?"

She looked up at me for a few moments, as if in shock. Then she threw herself to my feet, hugging with arms flung round my ankles.

"Th-th-thank you!!" she sobbed, "Thank you so much!"

I could feel my cheeks burning. "A-ano, that really isn't necessary, u-um… It was nothing; I mean I'm glad I could help…"

"I too thank you, from the bottom of my heart," her father said, bowing his head.

"O-oh…" Blushing, I managed an awkward smile as a few dozen people on the recently empty streets cheered happily.

"You showed him!"

"That was amazing!"

"Like, like, a real ninja!"

"And she was all _fwoosh_, and bam! Loser didn't know what hit 'im!"

I lowered myself, gently coaxing the shivering older girl's arms from my ankles. _She's terrified, _I thought sadly as she wrapped her arms around me the moment I offered a hug. "Hey, you're safe now…" I soothed, patting her back softly, and she managed a small nod in response.

"Indeed, child, that was most impressive," a man more up in age said as he approached. He nodded, and a few men carrying lengths of rope went to the nukenin's unconscious form. "You have my deepest gratitude as mayor for coming to my niece's aid. We will send for Grass to escort him to the proper prison in his homeland; in the meantime I believe the gathering of a reward is in order in appreciation!"

* * *

_This sum isn't half of what's typically given for capture of a high-chuunin level nukenin…_

"I can't accept this – you have taxes to worry about, and I have plenty of money to support myself. Besides, this is far too much for someone hardly chuunin level."

Soon enough I had convinced them to cut the reward.

"Look at this, courageous and noble!" The mayor gave me a hearty slap over the back. "Young one, you set a fine model for kunoichi and shinobi everywhere!"

"You are too kind," I said, blushing lightly. I crossed a fist over my heart and inclined my back. "I thank you for your generosity, sir."

* * *

–"_Kurouga-san, is it true? Are you really going to stop Orochimaru?"_

"_Not just me; the Murasaki Kitsune, the Aoi Moujuu, all the New Konoha-nin still fighting hard in the village, and all the ones who are still imprisoned right now – we'll all have to come together, and put Konoha back in good hands. My friends and I are only a small part of it."_

"_You know the Purple Fox _and_ the Green Beast?"_

"_You could say we're kind of like a family…"_

"_Wow! I've never met them, but they're supposed to be super strong, too, right?"_

"_Haha! That's right! Together we'll be a force to be reckoned with, and we'll do whatever it takes to help our village!"–_

It was easy enough to tell that to a little kid smitten with admiration, but in truth … could it be anywhere near that simple? Already my home was in a wretched state; Fire ran rampant with nukenin, and, with the village embroiled in slow, bitter war, the forces couldn't be expended to deal with them. The land was abused by relentless taxation, towns were occasionally sacked and plundered, mothers, fathers, sons, daughters, _people_ were murdered every day, and if not left jobless, homeless, starving–

Murdered.

And so it came back to this as it always did. So many had I killed. How many more would be killed for the purpose of my goal? How many who meant absolutely nothing to me would I kill to protect the people I loved? I shuddered at the thought.

How many more would I kill, just to survive?

Midori. I had killed Midori. She would have died before she failed her lord, and die she did. Was he that way yet? Was he a drone, willing to make the ultimate sacrifice in service of one so vile and twisted? If I could defeat him, would it mean a thing – or would he refuse to be swayed, and fight me until he died?

–"_He's a revolutionary man, a genius!!"–_

Water tried to escape my eyes.

"Neji-nii-san…"

Would I kill him to survive?

No.

No, because he would not be beyond seeing; he was in darkness now, but he _would _be brought back.

And no, because if he would not then I would die before I killed him.

So when he fought to kill me, driven by festering rage, and I fought to save him, carried by yearning and fond memories…

If he would sooner die than fail his master, and I would sooner die than kill him…

Then if nothing else love was stronger than hatred, and the intimately complex bond of love and hatred that I knew existed between us would prevail over the chains of darkness and manipulation by which he was tethered to his lord.

My eyes cracked open as I just barely sensed a presence.

"May I join you?"

"Sister Inoriko… I never do hear you enter the room…" I looked up at the altar in front of me as the nun approached and, mimicking my position, lowered herself to her knees beside me. She bowed her head to the altar, spending a minute in silent prayer.

"You seemed deep in thought," she remarked thoughtfully when she had finished. "Please, don't let me disturb you."

"It's fine; I wasn't in prayer. I finished earlier, and since then my mind's just been wandering … to thoughts I'd rather not dwell on…"

"Do you still grieve at this time, Hinata?"

I nodded solemnly, not meeting her eyes. "I have dreams at night even now. I see their faces, hear the screams, smell the blood around me … and I continue to wake up thrashing in the night, aching with the lives these two hands have ended. All of them, fellow victims of this cruel world…"

"You speak in the way of one several times your age," she observed. "In one so young especially it is essential to maintain hope even through these desolate times… One must persevere, through internal and external hardships alike. You mustn't think nothing of it; moderate grief is healthy, for it ensures your heart has not grown apathetic and cold. But you mustn't either carry your despair as a weight the rest of your life, and let it to taint, soil, and crush you. You must move on when you are able, and bear faith in the future…"

"You are wise, Sister…" My face was blank as I looked down at hands folded in my lap, and words continued to pour from my lips. "But I remain nigh ashamed to meet your eyes. In the future I'll probably kill again; it's unavoidable. And I fear that one who walks such a path as mine might taint the sacred purity of this place…"

"I scorned you initially, and for that I apologize. You're not like most ninja, Hinata; that it did not take but a few minutes of knowing you to realize, and it has grown only clearer since."

I looked up as a hand lied on my shoulder, and though we were seated a hand's-width apart our eyes met for the first time since the conversation had begun.

"Sister…"

Inoriko rose smoothly to her feet, briefly brushing wrinkles off her habit. "You strive to repent; you are of gentle and benevolent spirit. Kunoichi or not, you will always be welcomed here with open arms, Hinata, and I will always be happy to hear you."

I rose to my feet beside her. "Sister… May I?"

"Of course, dear."

We embraced, and a soft hand, with an almost motherly knowing, tenderly stroked my back when, as I did only at these times and after attaining polite permission, I fell apart and became the child I was as I sobbed quietly against her chest.

* * *

"I wanted to thank you again for your continued donations to the abbey…"

Myself again, I was following her down a familiar hall. I shook my head. "I have more than enough money to support myself. Besides, I brought half of them here; it's the least I can do."

"You treat it so nonchalantly, though you truly have touched so many lives," she said, smiling as she stopped at the end of the hall. Her hand rested on a doorknob. "They really do adore you."

I took a moderately deep breath, pretending to brace myself. "I know."

She opened the door. "We have a visitor, children!"

"How's everyone doing?" I asked, smiling cheerfully as I entered the room behind her.

Toys and books were dropped, small games were halted, and two dozen pairs of big eyes brightened – and in seconds I was engulfed in a swarming mass of hugs as squeals of "Hinata-nee-san!" rang into the air. Soon enough, concluding a hopeless war of tickling and giggling, I'd been dramatically wrestled to the ground by their superior numbers and subsequently thoroughly surrounded, a small girl seated on my shoulders and two more children claiming spots on my lap. I laughed.

"So it looks like everyone's doing just fine," I remarked, and they laughed.

In total thirteen of these orphans I'd brought here over time, in groups numbering five, three, two, two, and one, some from near, others from far – children aged from a miraculous one-year-old girl to a boy somewhere around ten with no place left to turn. And even the ones I wasn't so closely acquainted with had taken to calling me–

"Nee-san, tell us about your a'ventures!"

"Yeah!"

"Tell a story, _please_?"

"Haha…" I ruffled a boy's short, dark hair. "Okay, here's a good one from about three weeks ago, when I found a squad of trackers on my tail. Now we're talking about some seriously tough ninja here–,"

"Tougher than you? No way!" a boy said.

I laughed. "Actually, I still do have a long way to go – Mimi-chan, Kato-kun, you remember our little tracker run-in that delayed your trip here, don't you?"

"O-oh! Yes, it was r-really scary…"

"But of course Nee-san pulled through for us in the end!"

"That's right – trackers are especially tough to dodge. These guys were top-notch, best of the best … and this time, there were _eight_ of them."

"_Oooh…!_"

"Wow!"

"And you took all of 'em on?"

"Ie; I would never have lasted in a head-on fight against so many shinobi of their caliber… So here's how I gave them the slip!"

I grinned, my heart swelling as I swept my eyes over the children, hunkered down for the tale and already hanging on every word.

"So I was sitting at my campfire one calm, chilly night when I caught a scent on the wind. I got to my feet, flung a pail of water over my fire, snagged my bag, and darted into the trees – Byakugan!" I earned an assortment of surprised and delighted squeals, and small hands clapped excitedly. "There they were – eight hunters, skulking silently as wraiths through the still night, walking the path I myself had earlier that day traveled…"

* * *

"You're sure you'd rather not spend the night?"

"I wish I could, but I've stayed in Prairie Country long enough. I shouldn't be in one place for long, and that holds especially true here."

"I understand, dear; I suppose you are right."

"Unfortunately, I may not be back for a while…"

The children hit me with heartbroken stares as they gave a collective groan.

"I'll visit as soon as I can," I assured them. "I might be facing a little more danger in the near future, but I'll get through it!"

Inoriko and the other nuns present smiled kindly. "Be well, Hinata."

I bowed at the waist. "The same to you, Sister."

"Children, what do we say to Hinata for coming?"

"Thank you, Hinata-nee-san!" they chorused loosely, and my heart was warm as I turned to go.

"Goodbye! You may have to wait awhile, but I'll be sure I have some great stories to tell when I see you again!"

No, not if – _when_ I saw them again.

After Naruto, Lee, and I fulfilled our mission.

* * *

**Naruto ****ナルト**

_You're not getting away…_

Smirking to myself, I spun on heel as my foot met the branch, lowered into a sitting position while crossing my arms, and waited. Seconds after six men came into view, unsteady and panting.

"Huff…! Gah… I think we lost him…"

"Lost who?"

"HUH?!"

_Shock._

Their eyes flew upward to lock with mine. Seated comfortably on a branch, my weapon resting against my shoulder, I looked down at them with a casually inquisitive expression. The one in the lead wheeled to look back the way they'd come, and then back to me.

"Well, what is it? Someone chasing you?" Of course I knew a shadow clone had taken my place to run them this way while I passed them up, but that was for me to know and for them to quail over. What could I say? It was fun to make them tremble, and it helped the lesson stick.

"Kuso gaki!" he shouted, and a knife was flung my way.

_Anger…_

Promptly I was seated similarly in a different tree, and the shadow clone left behind vanished smoothly as the knife hit, fading from existence with hardly a noise, not a single wisp of smoke. The blade sailed into the trees like it hadn't touched a thing.

"What're you throwing knives around for?"

_Fear…_

Thoughts at this point? Probably along the lines of What just happened? How'd he get there? Or was he there the entire time? I snickered inwardly as the six whirled in surprise, the beginnings of terror creeping up on their faces.

Another knife was hurled, and I switched this time to another branch within their view – appearing, I knew, to have evaporated and reappeared somewhere else upon being hit.

"Seriously, what're you aiming at? There someone around here I don't know about?"

_And finally, panic._

"L–_Leave us alone!!_" he screamed, eyes huge, filling his hands with knives.

_Fwsh._

"Sir, I think you're seeing things."

_Fwn._

"Now I'm going to ask you to calm down…"

_Fwo._

"You know, there are innocent birds and squirrels that–,"

_Fwsh._

"Would you stop that?!"

_Fwn._

"You know what, screw it."

I spun in a tight circle as I flowed swiftly to my feet, two hands dexterously whirling a naginata rapidly above my head and then once more at the side – and then I was standing on the ground as the spear's shaft slammed down between the leader's neck and shoulder.

So stunned were the others by the sudden action that they couldn't start reacting until I had already lashed the pole sharply aside and against another man's neck, and then raised that end before reversing it, spinning it around at my side so that it clipped the jaw of a third man behind me. As he was sprawled out I followed through with the motion of the swing, my eyes landing on those of one backing away; I maneuvered the naginata in two quick, high circles, shortly hopping forward twice as I did so, and swept it down and around as I swapped to whack him solidly across the back. I ducked back and swept it the other way, lowering sharply to trip a charging foe so cleanly as to flip him onto his back. With a nimble backwards roll I was back on my feet, and turned a tight circle to shift my momentum forward again; I spun the spear twice whilst lunging toward the downed man, and at the end of the second whirl slammed the blunt end down upon his chest. Finally, as the last man turned and ran, I raised the end and shoved forcefully at the air before me. From behind came the dull THUMP of the knob at the end of the shaft ramming a solar plexus, and with a confused sputter he went down.

"Phew…" Glancing over the unconscious bodies, I spotted something one had dropped. Walking over, I slipped the thickly wrapped blade of the naginata through the strap and slung the pilfered belonging into my free hand. "Oh, brother… Sure, I know times are looking a little tough, but still … purse snatching?"

* * *

"Ooh, _thank_ you for finding my purse!" the old lady cried, pinching my cheek. She planted a lipsticky kiss smack on my forehead. "My hero!"

'_Finding?' _She didn't seem to be completely "there," if you get what I mean. I looked around. _Is no one with this old bag?_

"Hey, no problem! I told you I'd get it back to you in a jiffy, didn't I? And…" _Aw, what else can I do? _"Hey, do you need any help walking home?"

"Why sure!" she cackled. "I do tend to lose my way around town every now and then. I swear, these streets keep changing on me…"

"Must be it," I said, our arms hooked as we walked down the road.

"You know, you remind me of my grandson when he was your age; cute as a button, and always so polite! Why, one time back in…"

* * *

After escorting her up and down the majority of the village's streets and learning more about her grandson than I had and probably ever would know about anyone more insignificant to my life, the lady had finally identified her house and I'd been able to see her safely to the hands of her son and daughter-in-law. With that ordeal – aherm, my good deed of the day taken care of, I was able to get back to my original destination. That is, the institution I'd been at most fifteen yards from when I spotted some crooks making off with a well-dressed, confused-looking old woman's purse.

"_Matsuzuki_-_san_!" I called, rapping a fist on the house's door. "Oi, it's me! Ma-tsu-zu-ki-_san_–!"

The door burst open, and a quick fist rapped over my head. "Will you be quiet, you little cretin?!" a slim, sort of nerdy black-haired man in an apron and with square glasses fumed, pointing at me. "This is a _healer's_ place – what if I had a patient?!"

"Itai, that hurt! What're you, trying to hospitalize me–?!"

A watering pail rapped over my head.

"_Ita_!"

"Quiet, you, and what'd I tell you to call me?!"

I straightened and raised my hand in a rigidly formal salute. "_Sem_-pai," I said dully.

"That's right, you little snot, so show some respect."

"Pfft. Like I couldn't beat you in a fight…" I muttered.

"…Pardon?" he said, lowering his head to cloak his face in shadow as index finger pushed up his glasses so that light glinted off each lens. Abruptly the spring day decided to chuck twenty degrees out the window, a cloud leaped to blot out the sun, and I could have sworn I heard a storm grumble forbiddingly in the distance.

"Just saying how awesome you are, Matsuzuki-sempai!" I exclaimed enthusiastically, my face locked in a toothy smile as the core of my soul squeaked a tiny _'Kiiiii…!' _of fear.

He looked up, shut his eyes, and beamed, and I sweatdropped as the day jumped back to normal like a crappy editing job. "Oh, Naruto-kun, you're too kind! Such a good little disciple!" he said, patting my hair.

Seifuu Matsuzuki? The occasional scariest chuunin physician on earth.

"Honey, is Naruto-chan here?" someone called. "You're not threatening to beat him, are you?"

_SAVED!_

"No, dear, of course not!"

_Liar!_

A woman joined him in the doorway to sling her arms loosely around her neck. "Ohayou! Hey, Naru-chan – you changed threads? It's nice on you!"

Seifuu Kiremori? Just the nicest chuunin herbalist on earth. Seriously, these two complemented each other.

"Oh, thanks…" I said, rubbing my neck at her compliment and looking down. Lee and Hinata would probably have thrown their hands up in joy to see what I had ditched my orange and blue garb for – a black sash over deep purple pants and matching sandals with black wrap at the ankles, and on top a black, waistcoat-type vest buttoned up over a light, elbow-length purple top that in turn covered a somewhat loose, long-sleeved black shirt. The loose sleeves were each bound by a strip of purple wrap that rather than coating simply spiraled the sleeves a few times down their length. Now black was the fabric of the Konoha hitai-ate displayed proudly at my forehead, and I knew it cut the small splash of purple that painted a bit of my hair near my ear. "Yeah, my old clothes, plus my hair and eye color, kind of screamed _red-orange-yellow-blue-purple! _Didn't exactly want to stay one color short of a walking rainbow!" I chuckled.

"Pretty spiffy!" Kiremori laughed, "I must say, it's quite befitting of the illustrious and ephemeral Purple Fox."

I beamed. "Oh! Almost forgot – in the mountains to the southeast I found plenty of those leaves you wanted, and some useful roots, too!"

"That's great!" she said, turning to head into the house. I brushed past Matsuzuki, who shut the door with a 'Hmph!'

Opening my backpack, I dug out a few marker-labeled baggies and spread them onto the table.

"Perfect…" the kunoichi said, examining the medicinal leaves she'd requested I collect. "This much will last a while…"

Matsuzuki snorted with false scorn as he looked critically into a baggy holding samples of some shrub leaves with properties that lowered fevers. "I see this time you managed not to trample them before you noticed. Or sit on them. Or–,"

"Enough, you," Kiremori said, whacking him lightly with the watering pail he'd set down.

"Kidding!" he muttered sheepishly, a faint blush coming to his cheeks.

I looked up at the two older medical ninja. "Say… Could I help you organize, or hang, or grind, or mix these one last time?"

"Hm – one last time? Where's this going?" the shinobi asked.

"I'm heading north in the morning," I said, smiling as I looked reflectively down at the bag of leaves in my hands. "It's time I said goodbye to Yama no Kuni, and Soragakure no Sato. I'll need to travel the whole week to get back in time. Matsuzuki-sempai, Kiremori-sempai… I won't see you again for a while, and I wanted to thank you for all you've done for me."

"I see…" Matsuzuki sighed, shutting his eyes. "It's time already, isn't it? Well, Naruto, believe it or not the experience has been a nice one. You were a good student, and you learned well. Anyways, I'm glad that I can safely assert I've left you a capable, maybe even bordering on decent medical ninja," he concluded, halfheartedly fighting a cool smile as he spoke.

I chuckled, rubbing the back of my neck. This was about as much flattery as I'd ever get from him. In his own way, he was giving me his friendly goodbye. "Thanks."

"Heh – so little Naru-chan's finally setting out to embark on his grand adventure. Gonna drive that bastard out of the Leaf?" Kiremori asked.

"That's the goal!" I said. "But before that… You could say I have some old friends to catch up with."

* * *

**Lee ****リー**

_Almost there! _I thought, throat and lungs and arms ablaze despite that I was drenched in a freezing slick of sweat. I charged on, racing higher up the slope of the large hill, or small mountain, until at last the ridge of its crest was overcome.

"_HAA!!_" I bellowed, heaving forward the boulder I had been carrying above my head, a great solid, rounded stone a bit wider than I was tall.

I sprang forward.

Facing ahead, I ran as if backwards on the boulder's surface, easily attaining a fair amount of speed while still maintaining the easy balance of practice even as the rolling boulder hit the more than occasional bump or depression in its rapid descent. Eventually the slope leveled out, and at the last moment I slipped forward, feet meeting the earth in front of the stone. I grunted as it rolled up to press the whole of its weight on my shoulders and I was forced to bend slightly at the waist. My teeth clenched as my zori-shod feet slid and inch or two, and I was presented a dizzying look over the edge of the ravine before me.

Then the halted boulder fell again, rolling off of my back to crash with a roar to the ground behind me.

My arms crossed my body, and a pair of twin katana flashed their greeting back at the morning sun as they were unsheathed. I hurried to the rope that crossed the valley, hesitating only a fraction of a moment. Arms spread and held level at my sides, blades pointed outward, my straw sandals danced lightly across the slender bridge. Forty yards of cautious haste, and I hopped off the rope at the other side.

And there in the forest ahead, moving at a leisurely pace sixty meters off…

There he was.

After running thrice around the mountain, climbing the western side from the starting point while hauling a stone at least large as I was tall, descending the eastern side without losing balance atop the boulder, preventing it from tumbling over the edge, crossing the ravine with tremendously heavy swords in hand and without tumbling to my death – all of these achieved in their entirety free of chakra – while _he_ moved in a straight line up, down, across from the starting point sans troubling with a boulder…

–"_If you're not there by the time I complete my morning stroll…"–_

Could I make it?

_I MUST! _I thought, taking off at a furious sprint. Trees blurred past, and the middle-aged man's cloak stirred in a breeze as I blazed by him and exploded into the clearing.

"_Tag!_" I cried, slapping my hand down on a large stone situated in the center of the clearing. Panting lightly, I turned with a smile. "How was that … Master?" I asked as the Mist nukenin entered the clearing.

"Cutting it a little close today," Master Washi remarked, "but I guess that will do."

"So what are we doing today, Shishou? A mission? Sparring? A practice exercise? A new technique? Whatever it may be, throw it at me! I am ready–!"

The distinctness of a blade slicing the air.

My hand flashed to a hilt.

_CLANG!!_

My mouth opened.

"Wh… You would have… From behind…?"

This had been no reaction test. I could feel it – the force he had used. He had seriously just tried to take off my head.

"Hmph." His katana shifted slightly against mine, where it had been caught inches from my neck. "If you still can't detect an attack from behind, you don't _deserve_ to live."

We sprang apart.

"Master, I do not understand!"

"Your training ends here, boy!" he yelled harshly, slashing his blade fiercely at the air. His free hand cast his dark cloak aside. "Now defend yourself, if you can!"

I frowned, eyes narrowing. "I see," I said, calmly sheathing the sword. My hands rose to my collarbone, unfastening the clasp that held my own black-edged, green cloak and poncho in place. My right hand seized between thumb and first two fingers the left corner of the small poncho, and my left the same at the right side of the cloak. "So that is your intention? Very well, then."

I flung the overclothes skyward.

In an instant I was before the sword master, and three katana were locked between us.

"Trying to get me to look at the billowing robes while you advance to strike; clever," he said, a smug smirk on his weathered face.

I grunted, glaring at the man. "I am only just getting started."

"Then let's see what you can do."

"HAI!"

_CHING-Clang-kin-kin-kin-clang-KIN–!_

* * *

The stone that had stood at the center of the clearing was in pieces. The land was crackled in some places, speckled with a small few impact craters, and strewn about were many shredded leaves, scarred trunks, fallen trees.

The bitter cold winds of Valley Country, home of the Village Hidden in the Ravine, were mercilessly icy and cutting upon my sweat-soaked back. My nose and mouth dripped with chilled blood from a brutal hilt-strike that had bludgeoned through my defense a few minutes prior. Scratches and cuts littered my body, at least one of which I felt already certain would scar. I was ready to pass out with fatigue.

But I did not. Panting raggedly, I moved my blade away from the jugular of the man I straddled, the man whose weapons lied several yards beyond his reach, and rose off him and to my feet. Sheathing the sword, I looked down at him as he stifled a groan and slowly sat up.

"When the sword master deems the pupil ready, they clash. If the master is able to kill his pupil, he searches for one more worthy of succeeding him; if the pupil is able to kill his master, he has surpassed him and shall inherit his name." He sighed wearily. "You should have killed me. In the Mist, that's how these things go."

I smiled, offering a hand up. "That may be so, but in the Leaf I learned that the bond between sensei and student is a precious one to be cherished dearly."

"Kami, you're hopeless," he said, shaking his head before he took my hand. On his feet, he patted dust out of his long robe – an action relatively pointless, seeing as it would need a full wash plus some patching up to remove a few bloodstains and tears. "Guess I can't argue with that. Or complain about it…"

I watched silently as he fetched his weapons. "So, Master… My training is over now?"

He nodded, and I caught the one katana I had been disarmed of as he pitched it toward me. "Yep. I never thought you could do it – not in the four months you said you would. But you've surpassed me, and I have nothing more to teach you."

"I see…" I said, hanging my head slightly. _So this is goodbye…_

"But," he said, walking toward me, "There is one more thing I can give you, Rock Lee."

I looked up, and my eyes fell on the sheathed, shorter blade he held out to me. A short length of red string circled a few times about the top of the dark sheath, tied off and with two small trinkets hanging at the ends. My eyes widened.

"Your … your master's wakizashi?" I whispered.

He nodded. "Take it, Lee. You've earned it."

"I cannot possibly…"

"It's yours. Wield it with the pride of the sword master."

"But–,"

He kicked me savagely in the shin. "Take it!"

"Yes, sir!!" I cried, snatching the blade that was shoved into my hands. Collecting myself, I bowed at the waist. "Thank you for everything, Washi-shishou."

* * *

**Hinata ****ヒナタ**

"Ooooh…" I groaned, wringing my hands.

"Why're you stopping?" Kurogiba asked, walking back to me. "Don't you have to be there in half an hour?"

I shook my head, in anxiety rather than in answer to his question as I folded my arms across my sickly churning stomach. "I c-can't do this, I'm s-s-scared…"

"Of _what_, exactly? They don't seem like the type to turn."

"No, of c-course not," I said, plopping down by a tree. My teeth were chattering.

He spoke quietly. "…You think one of them didn't make it?"

Whimpering, I shook my head left and right. "What if he found s-someone _else_?" I squeaked.

"Oh brother."

"He's a good guy – who wouldn't fall for him? What if he met some sweet, beautiful girl somewhere who started fawning over him – he helped her out, found her lost puppy or whatever – no, a cat, she _would_ have an ugly old cat – so he saved her cat from a tree, and then she cooked him dinner, and they grew close – and eventually fell madly in love – and what if he's forgotten about me–?!"

"That … is _the_ stupidest thing I have ever heard."

"Ani-ue, you really think so?" I sniffled hopefully, "That none of that could've happened?"

"Huh? Oh, no, the rest of it was perfectly plausible – but considering you traveled with him for months and planned a day, time, and place to meet up again, suggesting even that dolt could've managed to forget about you so quickly sounds just a little far-fetched."

I whimpered.

"Not helping?"

"I f-feel sick…"

"Lovestruck teenage human girl – not what I'm here for."

"But Ani-ue–!"

"Out."

I stared for a minute after he dispelled. Then I gave a long, whiny whimper and wrung my hands.

_No… He couldn't have fallen for someone else. When we kissed then, it was a promise … we each assured the other that we were something just a little more than friends … and that we would remember during our time apart that we were – and still are – very special to each other…_

* * *

**Naruto ****ナルト**

"Okay, so I hold out my hand, you switch with me, a gentle toss, and I switch back to catch it," I said, rehearsing this process once more. I looked to the shadow clone, handing it back. "I think we've got it down…"

The kage bunshin nodded quickly, just as nervous as I was.

"Ah, man!" I said, hands mussing at my hair. "Why do I feel like this? I'm Uzumaki Naruto, future Hokage, right – confidence is my middle name!"

"Yeah!" the doppelganger said with new sureness, hands clapping onto my shoulders. "You're ready, you've got this!"

"Yeah!"

"Yeah!"

"Dattebayo!"

"Now get out there!"

"Yatta!"

…

Halted mid-step, my smile slipped off my face. "Who am I kidding? Confidence is my middle name, sure… But Hinata-chan…" I lied a hand on my thumping heart. _This … this effect she has on me…_

_How is it, Hinata-chan … that you can always make me feel this way…?_

* * *

**Lee ****リー**

I sighed. _Only a few more minutes left now, _I thought, walking at a measured pace toward the meeting point so that I would arrive neither late nor early.

"'Murasaki Kitsune' and 'Kurouga,' ne…?"

_I wonder how much you have changed…_

"Naruto-kun … and Hinata-san."

* * *

_I … can see them…_

My lips parted slightly as I caught sight of them, approaching from different directions looking just as stupefied as I. A well-toned, blond-haired, purple-eyed young man whom I could already tell had grabbed a nice few vertical centimeters wore clothes more suitable of color, and despite the same youthful sparkle in his eyes held about him a more refined, suave air, and… Was that a naginata? Splendid! Where had he learned to wield that?

And the girl, smiling presently, revealed canine teeth noticeably more prominent than was common, though still not creating the slightest intimation of threat while held in her friendly, shyly blushing grin. Her face and lithe form had also trimmed away some baby fat in the time, and despite her size something about her toned but not overly muscled build seemed to make evident she was sturdy enough for battle. Her hairstyle remained largely unchanged but for a small, perfect splash of white tipping the ends of the two long, dark bangs that framed her face. Finally, I noticed that situated on her back were a bow and quiver of arrows – quite fitting a weapon for the heiress of the Hyuuga.

It was when we were twenty yards apart, walking and still having yet to speak a word between us, that I noticed neither was paying much attention to me.

* * *

**Hinata ****ヒナタ**

_N-Naruto-kun… Oh my gosh, I th-thought I was past this! Oh, but it's been almost half a year! Don't faint! Don't!_

_Hey… He's not shorter than me anymore, is he…?_

_Wait a second, he's not looking at my … no, he wouldn't._

* * *

**Naruto ****ナルト**

_H-Hinata-chan… Wow. I mean, just … Wow. Beautiful. _

_How long has – just five months, right? I mean, she's … _grown_– Oh snap don't stare don't stare!!_

* * *

**Lee ****リー**

_MY YOUTHFUL COMRADES!! THEY HAVE NOT CHANGED A BIT!!!_

* * *

**Hinata ****ヒナタ**

Maybe it was because none of us really knew what to say that Naruto strode directly up to me as we met.

"Hinata-chan…"

Warmth dusted my cheeks. "Hi…"

Fluently he held out his hand to me – and in his grasp materialized a soft pink rose. He tossed it lightly, snatched it up again with a deft little flourish, and bowed his head slightly as he held out his hand to offer the flower.

"For you?" he said cutely, batting those deep, electrical pools of purple.

I blushed helplessly, giggling as I accepted the rose. "You were a shadow clone for a second there, weren't you?" It made sense – a clone was hiding with the flower further away, and he switches with it and switches back while the clone's not touching it–

He took my free hand in his and swept to one knee, where he shut his eyes and smoothly brought his lips to the back of my hand. My mind sputtered, fizzed, and finally blanked out for the full four seconds we remained this way.

_I-is this … real…?_

He lifted his head, eyes opening to lock gently with my own. Knelt gracefully before me, left hand on my right which he had just kissed, and right hand extended upward as if to cup my cheek, he presented a charming smile; and where before they had been no more than sweetly playful, the indigo orbs that had now captured my lavender were passionate as he slowly batted them once more.

"Perhaps."

_Perhaps… _My mind repeated dreamily, though I couldn't recall what I'd asked. So I just let out a high, trembly little sigh and focused on searing that face into memory before I inevitably

THUD.

"H-Hinata? Hinata, can you hear me–?!"

"_SEISHUN!!!_"

"And why's your nose bleeding?"

"Ooh, Naruto-kun……"

* * *

**Naruto ****ナルト**

"I am so sorry!"

"D-don't be, really. It was sweet of you…"

"No, that was wrong of me! I didn't think your touching fear – I mean, I thought you–,"

"I am over it, don't worry. I was just a bit surprised…"

"Then I shouldn't have invaded your comfort zone – gosh, I'm a moron! If that little stunt was too sudden for you–,"

A pair of soft lips gently silenced my own. Strange warmth gathered up and welled under my cheeks, and, qualm forgotten, I promptly shut my eyes and began to sink into the kiss; but she lapped faintly across my lower lip and pulled away, too soon, too soon.

"It wasn't."

"Huh?"

"'Too sudden,'" she quoted me, smiling mischievously albeit shakily over her flushed face – wearied with an uncharacteristic lunge of boldness, delighted and compelled, perhaps, by the ease with which she had claimed and conquered my lips and my heart.

_I'm yours … and you're mine._

"Say, you haven't been practicing that in these months, have you?" I spoke jokingly, but my heart gave an unpleasant little jerk at the vocalization.

"Practicing? Well, sure, I've worked on my Katon jutsu, the Juugouken, an Ookami art here and there…"

"Hinata…!" I gasped out, desperate.

Again she silenced me. This one was toward the side of my mouth, light and sincere and all too fleeting.

"Of course I haven't, Naruto-kun."

"Huh?" I said lamely, heart drumming as I lay stupefied, enthralled by the allure of those soft, sweet lips.

"'Been practicing,'" she elaborated, "I guess with you it's pretty … instinctual." Warm hands slipped smoothly around mine. "I missed you … every single day."

"I love you," I blurted. And kami, how I'd missed her.

She glowed with happiness. "I love you, too."

This time I met her almost halfway, waiting to politely allow her to first approach. We came together, we sank into it, we relished in and lavished each other, and my solaced heart rose at the caress of her lips. She tasted overwhelmingly of crisp freshness and sweetness and soft light, and I yearned for her, and the kiss deepened, and I grew quite summarily content. Affection welled and undulated between us, magnified in the vibrance of being shared, and–

"A… a-hem."

We snapped apart. Lee was standing there, dumbstruck, as if we were of a different species. I blushed in embarrassment, and Hinata wilted guiltily in my arms. Though a vast six inches divided our faces, our arms remained draped in embrace.

"I-I … can come back later…" he said, unblinking in shock and averting his gaze as he blushed a little himself.

"No," I said abruptly, acting like it was no big deal and like I didn't seriously want to kiss Hinata again right now. "It's fine." I shook my head; it was fizzing and popping and fluttery and floaty. This kissing business was something else…

My gaze drifted to her again, to her perfect face, perfect even since being adorned with those three light scars, perfect in every aspect of the word.

_Intriguing…_

"Well, if you two kids can manage to get a handle on your raging hormones…"

"Kids!" a blushing Hinata protested as my gaze snapped to Lee's snidely grinning face.

"Hey, we're only a year under you!" I said, flustered by the jab.

"Ah, the beauty of spring, young love, and puberty!"

"L-L-Lee-kun–!"

"What the heck?!"

"It is just too cute!" he howled with laughter.

"Okay, Hinata, time to cream him!"

"Agreed."

"Oi, kidding! As I had been planning to say when I walked in on you, and as I was trying to say before you took the defensive, we ought to have a light spar today – in order to get a general feel of where we all are now. But it appears you lovebirds have already come to the consensus to team up on me…"

"Oh – shut up."

* * *

**Hanabi ****ハナビ**

"Oof–!" he grunted as he met the ground.

"Haaaaa…" Pushing a controlled breath from my lungs and steadily out of my mouth, I settled with two curt movements back into my original stance.

"Oh…" Hitaka looked up reverently. "M'lady, you're amazing…"

"Tag team!" Hikujaku declared, lifting the ten-year-old under the arms to set him on his feet before lightly slapping his hand. "Whenever you're ready, my fair lady," he said, dipping into a silky bow.

_It took enough effort just to beat Hitaka-kun… _I thought, blinking salty sweat from my eyes. _And now Hikujaku-nii-san, who's a chuunin…_

"What are you waiting for?!" Hiryuu-oji-san barked. "Are you already tired?"

Gritting my teeth, I swiftly advanced.

Minutes crawled by. He did nothing but dodge.

_Fwoosh-smat … fwosh-fwoosh-fwoosh-smat-smat-fwoosh–_

_Wham!_

"Ack!" I yelped, hitting the ground. He'd dodged me, spun, and planted a heel on the center of my back.

"Got too careless to foresee a counterattack," he noted simply. "Come on, Hanabi-sama. Hit me, even once–,"

He blinked as Hiryuu's fist closed on the neck of his shirt.

"Oji-san?" Hiyuki squeaked nervously.

The man was fuming. "What the heck do you think you're doing, messing around here?!"

"Wh-whaddaya' mean? She's eight years old!"

"And she'll die nine years old if she's not properly prepared for her destiny." He shoved the younger Hyuuga back. Then he turned to me and sank into the Juuken stance.

My eyes widened. He was a full grown man, a jounin, a proud, strong, wise warrior – it was great to have him on your side, but fighting him?! "You're twice my height!" I protested, exaggerating a bit.

"You're short, Hanabi-sama. Every enemy you may fight is taller than you."

"You're a jounin!"

"As is Neji."

"But–!"

"One strike, Lady Hanabi, a single touch – that's all you need defeat him! Likewise you must not be hit; you are young and a female, and therefore lack the stamina to endure many blows. I will attack as Neji would, and if you can touch me you can defeat him!"

"Ch-choto matte–!"

"Don't step back!!"

THAM!

"_Agh!_" I cried as my back struck into a wall. I toppled to the ground.

"Hanabi-sama!" Hiyuki whimpered.

"This is the only way," he said as he approached me. "Forgive me; We have to start now."

My eyes moistened.

"M'lady … do you truly believe you can defeat Neji without taking a stance?"

"Y-you … caught me off g-guard…"

"No, we've been going too slow. I'm sorry, but starting today you'll have to suffer until you can keep up, and I'm not waiting for you. Now please get up, and assume your stance."

"H… hai."

* * *

"Get up."

Nervous whispers buzzed in the room. Many eyes were watching me.

"Stand up, lady Hanabi – or will you forsake your clan?!"

"N-_no_…!" Grunting, I got to my knees. My ears were ringing; I was tired, panting weakly. My left eye was swollen almost shut. Too many pains throbbed across my body. My breath caught momentarily, and I pushed myself to my feet.

THOMP.

"Urk–_!!_"

My sight flashed away. Then he relinquished his hold on the neck of my shirt, and I fell off the huge knee sticking in my gut.

"Stand up," Hiryuu said simply as I lied at his feet, hugging my middle and gasping shallowly, helplessly, pathetically.

Still fighting for breath, I lied shaking palms on the ground. I started to push myself up, faltered and struggled – then I shuddered, retched, and cast splotches of red onto the ground.

Red.

"Hanabi-sama!"

I was paralyzed instantly. My mouth. It had come out of my mouth. So I was bleeding on the inside… I felt faint. I uttered something like a squeak. There was still some in my mouth. My throat. Blood. I collapsed on my side, coughing weakly, my mind skewered over the wind.

I was pushed onto my back, and Harumi's soothing hands hovered over and then pressed gently against my belly. I shut my eyes as a cool tingling sensation spread through my hurting body, and she murmured consoling words.

"Uncle … wasn't that a bit harsh?" Hikujaku's voice was nearby, and someone, maybe he, maybe another, wiped something across my mouth, removing the horrible sticky wetness I could feel there.

Hiryuu ignored him. "You were knocked down seventeen times, and the one time you failed to rise again was not because you were unable to go on, but because you're petrified at the sight of your own blood."

I sat up and shoved furiously onto my feet. "What do you expect me to do?!" I yelled, though I soon broke out in tears. "I obviously can't beat you, so why the heck did you do that?! Telling me to keep going when I can hardly move – knocking me down before I can even finish getting up…!"

His eyes were stony as he held my gaze. "You are gifted as a fighter, and you are the Lightning Hyuuga. While this may be so, it is also true that you've been sheltered and spoiled since birth. No one has ever bothered to appraise your worth as anything beyond simply being better than your older sister."

I flinched, causing several teardrops to be flicked from my chin.

"It's great to get up again after being knocked down, but it's absolutely useless if you've already decided you can't win. You weren't fighting to win; you were putting on a show, to convince yourself and everyone else that you gave it your best shot. Frankly, if you intend to fight Neji that way you'll simply be killed."

I shuddered again.

"Don't be saddened, milady; be angry. Be frustrated. Become stronger. Try harder. And by all means–," he was suddenly before me, "–if you don't intend to win, don't get up at all."

_SMACK!!_

An open hand met my cheek with a resounding crack, but maybe the ringing was only in my head. I met the ground on my side and rolled. Seven Leaf ninja – four tokubetsu jounin, Hitaka, Hikujaku, and a feral-looking Kiba – were immediately standing between he and I, but it didn't matter; Hiryuu already was walking away. My mind seemed to numb with each throb of my searing cheek, and I was hardly aware of the concerned faces around me, of Harumi rolling me over once more and setting her hands lightly aglow.

Even if no one would tell me so, if most would make him out the villain as a jounin beating up on a small, roughly genin-level girl, the fact remained that it was my loss – utterly, brutally, completely.

I lost consciousness with tears of humiliation hot on my face.

_Chikusho… Hyuuga don't cry……_

* * *

"Hitaka-kun…?"

"Ah, you're awake."

"H-how long…?" Slowly I sat up on the futon, grateful for the cup of water he offered and quickly downing it.

"It's been about twenty minutes. Everyone's gone to the mess hall."

"Oh… Thank you for waiting for me…" I looked at him and blinked groggily in the dimly lit room. I gasped, suddenly alert. "My eye – what's wrong with my eye?!" I cried, hands flying to the gauze that was wrapped around my head, securing a light pad over my left eye.

"Easy! Nothing is wrong. " He gently took my hands. "Harumi-oba-san says to leave that until tomorrow morning, to help the swelling down. Speaking of which, how do you feel? Can you stand?"

"Yeah," I said, and he watched me get with relative ease to my feet. He nodded.

"May I escort m'lady to the mess hall?" he said, humbly lowering his head and extending a hand.

I suppressed a scowl. 'Escorted' everywhere, like Sasuke – which was really the annoying way to think about it.

"Please," I accepted. It wasn't really the sort of 'question' you turned down – unless, of course, you didn't feel like going anywhere. And in that case he would be forced to stay with me and miss dinner himself–

"Need you my shoulder?" he asked, offering his support.

"No, I'm fine."

We left the room and headed, hand in hand, down the hallway.

"You know, this escorting business is pretty unnecessary – I mean, not that I don't appreciate you all, because I do, but now thanks to me your dinner's probably gone cold."

"Milady's rice will also be cold; it is of little consequence to me. Besides, as it is Hiryuu-oji-san's fault your rice will be cold, rightfully he ought suffer the same, but I gladly offered to take his place. And of course someone must always be with you…"

"To protect me from harm, yes, I know. But how much harm can there be down here? It's our own base."

"One may never know. Should the roof cave in I should throw myself over you and be crushed in your stead. Should a Sound ninja round that very corner right this moment…" His free hand darted to the bow hung on his back. "I would give my life without hesitation, Hanabi-sama, to shield you from harm; I'm afraid you'll just have to put up with me for now."

"Please don't say that…"

He gave a quizzical look, blinking. "This is nothing new, Lady Hanabi. It is merely the way of the Main and the Branch. And it has always been my destiny to serve you should you be named successor to the clan."

"The clan is jacked up…"

"Pardon?"

"Just kidding that I guess 'harm' doesn't include that which comes in the form of Hiryuu-oji-san."

He frowned. "Please don't allow Oji-san to upset you–,"

"No; don't try to make me feel better. He was right, you know, and he did it because he cares about me. As much as I dislike him nonchalantly beating the crap out of me, I went into the battle resigned to losing. Even if it is about impossible right now for me to even touch a jounin, I still should have tried harder. And next time … next time, I will. Because if that's the hardest I can fight for you, I'm not halfway worthy of all you do for me."

Smiling warmly, he gave my hand a squeeze as we entered the utterly huge, utterly underground cafeteria. "Do not be so quick to question your worth. You will be a fine Leader, Hanabi-sama."

"Uh, yeah," I said with a sheepish grin, rubbing my neck. _Hopefully not._

"I will make your plate should you wish to join the others."

"And make you carry two plates? No."

"You are injured…"

"I don't feel that bad."

"Oba-san says you will be terribly sore in the morning."

"I kind of saw that much coming … and I don't think not carrying a plate to the table will change that."

"It is proper to–,"

"Too late, there's a plate in my hand."

We each served ourselves the rationed salted fish, half a pickle, one hardboiled egg, a glass of water, and a small cup of rice. Food that didn't expire quickly. The fish was smuggled in by the barrel – rolled over down an underground chute just big enough for a barrel to fit and just sloped enough that the barrel would roll. The lengthy tunnel connected a benevolent, unsuspicious shopkeeper's cellar to an earthen room near New Konoha's very own mess hall, and about a dozen barrels came each month, all packed with fish that could remain safely edible for several months more. The food was funded and snuck to the shopkeeper by the efforts of many, and undoubtedly if discovered all would be put to death.

In return, New Konoha survived. It survived, and its shinobi and kunoichi fought valiantly to prevent Sound from tightening its stranglehold, from claiming dominance in the slow, constant struggle for the village.

"…when I asked, and he said no. 'It must be the one of pure spirit and rightful blood,' he said. I can't fight in her stead; she must be the one to defeat him…" Hiryuu shut up as he caught sight of us approaching.

Hitaka and I sat down at the low, simple table: a flat, rectangular stone lay over two thicker rectangular blocks that held the surface about ten inches off the floor. Harumi, Hiyuki, Hikujaku, and Hiryuu briefly bowed their heads at my arrival, and I gave polite greeting before pulling out my chopsticks.

"Itadakimasu…"

I almost braced myself before taking a bite of dry, dry fish so pungently salty it made my nose burn a little and triggered immediate desire for the water. I would get down a few more bites before I drank; the drinking water ration, while not so strict thanks to the plentiful source in the river cutting through the village, was still encouraged due to the difficulty with which it was retrieved, and so though no one would bother me about getting an extra glass I preferred to make my water last. Besides, the fish really didn't taste that bad. You kind of learned to like it…

I glanced over at Hitaka, and at the other three who'd finished eating before we arrived. The young genin was taking the meat from his fish, dividing a half of it into four, and giving it to the older Hyuuga. This was done at every meal; Hikujaku and Hiyuki took half of their fish, divided those halves in two, and offered them to Harumi and Hiryuu, and Hitaka would similarly distribute half of his to his elders. This was kept to except for the occasions in which Harumi declined to take from Hikujaku, as although naturally slim he was a man and not so much younger than she as were Hitaka and Hiyuki. I was routinely excluded from this ritual by unspoken decree; it had been that way from the start, never breached or questioned.

At this I mentally blinked in confusion – as if a light had been flicked on and I'd just spotted something laughably obvious in front of my retarded nose. _Oh… _Something clicked into place as, with delayed slowness, I figured out where I fit in this particular hierarchy.

"What are you doing?" Hiryuu asked as I took the half of fish I hadn't eaten off of and began dividing it into four. I shook my head quickly, blushing in embarrassment.

"I'm the smallest of all of us," I said. "The ration that's plenty for me isn't satisfying for most of you, right? Of course I should cut my portion…"

"We cannot accept your food," Hiyuki said, her voice surprisingly firm.

"What?"

"The ration," Hikujaku explained, the normal radiance gone from his face, "is what's been designated each single person of New Konoha, regardless of age, weight, gender… While we can share ours accordingly, your portion belongs to _you_, Hanabi-sama. It is not our place to steal from you what is yours." He spoke slowly, trying to stress the words.

"'Steal!' And what if I order you to accept it?"

"I implore that you do not," Harumi said sincerely, a furrow in her brow.

I was at a loss for words. "I don't _need_ this much!"

"Then throw it away," Hiryuu said simply.

I winced. My gaze searched about each stern face in turn, and I had the sudden awkward realization of having spoken taboo. Face hot, eyes hot, I looked down, looked away, hastily finished my meal in silence.

_I don't understand!_

* * *

**Hinata ****ヒナタ**

"_Hyaaaaaah!_"

"_Haaaaaaa!_"

"_Geeeeeeee!_"

THUD! WHAM! THOMP!

…

…_Itai…!_

_I think I got Naruto-kun… Naruto-kun got Lee-kun, and Lee-kun got me…_

I tried unsuccessfully to sit up, rising halfway and falling back again with a groan.

_Oh well… The important thing is … that I kept up with them…_

* * *

**Lee ****リー**

_That became quite a bit more serious than we originally intended… A light three-way spar, indeed! How long were we at it? An hour?_

_We were all determined, I suppose… Each determined to show, with their own two fists, that they would not be holding the others back ever again._

_And my, how they have grown… Though using the naginata merely as a staff, Naruto-kun is dangerous with that thing. And while the staff was obvious and expected from the start, the senbon were not… _My gaze moved to the trio of needles that had effectively paralyzed my right arm. _I cannot believe I let myself be caught by that…!_

_But even more amazing is Hinata-san's growth… She has transformed herself into a true kunoichi… Where before she had little more than her determination to carry her … she has now gathered and solidified real strength to depend on._

A smile came to my face. I did not think I could go on fighting, and the others seemed to be in a similar state. "Let us call this one a tie, then," I called, slowly sitting up. "There is no point in continuing any longer."

"Agreed," Naruto submitted drearily, waving a lethargic hand while still lying down.

"Hai," Hinata consented as well, falling onto her back with something about a "quick snooze."

_I guess I am the only one who can move, then, _I thought with a small swell of pride as I got slowly but surely to my feet. "Oi, medic-kun! Care to remove these senbon before you pass out?"

"Oh, right! Best to avoid yanking those out any which way…"

* * *

**Naruto ****ナルト**

–"_It is dark. In the morning, after we all have rested, we can share the intelligence we have collected and determine our course of action…"–_

The last one up, I cast the pail of water over our fire. I sat on my sleeping bag for a few still minutes, watching a thin ribbon of smoke trickle up and fade, listening to the hum of the crickets in the night.

Then my eyes were drawn to her.

She was already deeply asleep, as evidenced by the slow, barely discernable rise and fall of her chest. The thought tended to come unheralded that this would be the ideal time to admire her body; but my eyes never dwelled more than momentarily upon it, and probably never would, seeing as my gaze was seized unfailingly by her resting face. Now, when she was at rest … was the only time you could see such pure serenity on her face, a pristine pearly tone in the soft caress of the moon, a face at this time only untouched by the day to day concerns, by the trials of life, by the sadness of the world.

The calm line of her mouth wrinkled into a frown.

I started. Was she waking up? Could she feel my eyes on her?

A furrow troubled her brow. She stirred unconsciously, a tiny sound of pain squirting from her mouth. Her face was tight. She whimpered and thrashed.

I was crippled with despair. Anguished, I was quickly at her side, watching helplessly on my hands and knees. I shook my head slowly left and right, on the verge of tears.

"Hinata…!"

Her eyes spilled over at the same time as mine.

Utterly affected, I was gripped in emotion, I was horrified, I was transfixed, I couldn't look away. Her breathing was quick and jagged with pain, her eyes darting frantically beneath closed lids. Why was this happening? What sick cruelty was this?! What ailed her in her dreams, to rob her of the peace she knew only now?!

"Hinata," I repeated at a whisper. To someone watching I knew I would look still and calm but for the quiet, horrified tears streaming freely from my eyes, but inside I was overcome with despair. I didn't understand. It was tearing me apart. My hand crept out, paused, drifted to stroke her shaking one. Unexpectedly, her hand closed gently and clung to mine, and the trembling died down.

My mouth opened silently, a surprised, hopeful prick of relief blooming inside me. Her other hand was drawn from where it lied, finding and clasping my own.

Maybe I could've worked my hand free without rousing her, or maybe I could not. But I wasn't about to find out.

Blushing awkwardly for a moment, I turned my head and reached with my other hand for my sleeping bag, moving as little as possible. Quietly I dragged it toward me over the grass; briefly I shifted somewhat onto her sleeping bag, pulled mine closer, and lied back down on top of it.

I looked again to her solaced face. It was right again; it was tranquil. Slowly my free hand cleared the small space between us, and I felt the warmth of her slow, gentle breath as my thumb brushed a glistening tear-streak of silver from her cheek.

I smiled as her soft snoring was eventually resumed.

"Sweet dreams … Hinata-chan…"

* * *

**Lee ****リー**

"Haahh…" I yawned drowsily. _The light is warm…_

As I had for the last several days, I rose with a jolt, threw my blanket off, and realized that I had _not_ slept late and Master Washi was _not_ at this moment tallying the minutes I had overslept for (extra) laps around the mountain.

_That is right… The three of us are together again… _And it was no surprise I was tired, after that hearty throwdown the day before.

Smacking my lips with a slight grimace at the morning taste in my mouth, I turned my head to look to the others.

I blinked.

I sprang to my feet near them, leaning forward to observe.

My eyebrow twitched.

_So … ridiculously … kawaii…_

Their sleeping bags had been pulled up close, and the peacefully dozing younger ninja facing each other with her blanket between them; she was curled up against his chest, her head beneath his jaw, tucked snugly into the crook of his neck, and resting on his arm which enfolded her so that the hand lied on her blanket-draped shoulder, and she cradled his other hand dearly at her chest.

I smiled slightly in spite of myself.

_They really are adorable together…_

* * *

**Naruto ****ナルト**

_I guess we sort of gravitated toward each other… I wonder if she'll beat me up for this?_

I heard and felt the sudden intake of breath, the disruption of the soothing rhythm.

"…E-eeto… Are you awake, Hinata-chan?" I said hesitantly.

"Hai…"

"I can explain–,"

"The nightmares…"

"Huh?"

"I slept through the night. I didn't have any nightmares…"

"Oh. Glad to hear it," I said softly, as I wasn't sure if she was fully awake. I really wished I could see her. My fingers lightly stroked her shoulder. "Hey, Hinata-chan?"

"Hm…?"

"Do you want me to move?"

Her relaxed grasp on my hand seemed to tighten briefly.

"M-may I… May I just breathe you in for a little longer…?"

"Of course…"

'_Beating me up' – this is Hinata, not Sakura…_

…_She's so warm, _I thought, now giving her shoulder a light squeeze as she, like a puppy, nuzzled her nose against my shirt at my chest. "Hinata-chan … What _do_ I smell like?"

"You smell of herbs and greenery," she murmured. "Earthy, upturned soil … freshness … energy, life. And ramen. When did you have ramen?"

I chuckled. "Shop in this town I passed through a couple of days ago. The smell does stick."

She nodded softly. "And your blood … is extremely enticing… Courage … vitality…" I felt her lips brush bare flesh at my collarbone, and her hands tensed as the faintest shiver ran down her body. "Strength… Like I can almost taste its very scent… But I love that I can be confident I won't hurt you now. We can be close like this, and I can fully enjoy the strong rhythm of your heart without fearing the sound might drive me feral…"

"I've never worried about that," I said. "You're too strong to let a curse influence you so easily." I shifted to momentarily press my lips to her forehead. "I trust you; I know I'm not in any danger from you. And if I was, I'd still be here anyway."

"Naruto-kun…" She smiled up at me. "We really should get up now."

"I guess so," I admitted, moving my arm from around her and watching as she pulled away. I sat up.

"About time, ye of raging hormones," Lee said, pitching a few apples our way.

"L-Lee-kun!" Hinata squeaked, face coloring even as she caught hers. "How long were you listening?"

"You would have needed only to sit up to see me," he said, blinking.

"Hey," I said, "Call us puberty-stricken if you want, but I know that what we have is more than simply a few new hormones telling me to latch onto the first beautiful girl I see." I offered her a grin, and she shyly smiled back and nodded in agreement.

"I know," Lee said simply. I looked at him, and he took a bite of an apple.

* * *

**Hinata ****ヒナタ**

"Where is it…?" I muttered, rummaging through my pack. I had a few more hidden underground in case it was lost, but the nearest was half a continent away…

"I do know that New Leaf is holding out," Lee said, "They say that they have a good third of the village as their 'territory,' and New Sound cannot keep the rebels down."

_Come on… _I turned the bag upside-down.

"I think there's a Sound prison here," Naruto said, his finger landing on the map. "Underground, like the others. I didn't enter, though."

"Did you two search for Tsunade-sama at all?"

"Huh? Hinata-chan, you found what you were looking for?"

I held the end of the scroll in my left hand, and the roll in my right. I stuck out two fingers of my right hand so that they passed over the dozen large summoning seals aligned in it as the scroll was unfurled. With several popping noises and bursts of smoke, an assortment of scrolls and rolled up papers were spat onto the ground.

"What is all this…?"

I sat and opened up a large, colorless map riddled with drawn in notes and numbers and lines. I unrolled a small scroll labeled '6-10' on the ground on top of it.

"Nine…" I pointed to the circled number on the map, and the corresponding notes on the scroll. "Sound prison discovered February 16th. At the time I found it, at least, it held Kakashi-sensei, Kurenai-sensei, and Akimichi Chouza, among about a dozen others."

Naruto's eyes were wide. "No way… You actually…?"

I nodded. "I sniffed out and documented the locations of seventeen Oto prisons, and with the Byakugan identified some two hundred of our jounin. I checked up on Jiraiya-sama twice; now it looks like they've got six ANBU levels guarding him."

"Hinata-chan, that's amazing!"

Lee opened his mouth. "A-and – what about–?!"

"Guy-sensei is here," I said with a smile, pointing to the number fourteen.

He nodded, a fond sparkle briefly lighting his eyes. "Then what about Tsunade-sama…?"

"She doesn't want to be found."

"Nani?"

I looked up. "I know her scent, but she's not one of the Densetsu no Sannin for nothing. Somehow she figured out I was looking for her – that she was being followed – and then every time I get close the trail ended and it was like she just vanished into thin air…"

"But why…?" Naruto began.

"You are certain she is aware of you?" Lee inquired.

I nodded, picking up and handing to him a simple, thin blue scroll and pointing to a blue dotted line that stretched a great distance on the map and was dotted with dates from May 5th to May 12th. "The most recent time, she finally got fed up and decided to find me."

–"_I'm a friend, and I just want to talk! I'm a kunoichi of Konohagakure no–!"–_

"It was in a forest at night. I never actually saw or heard her, and I probably only sensed her because she was flaunting her chakra to intimidate me. She gave me a bit of a firm warning…" I touched a hand to my stomach, cringing at the thought. "…And I didn't wake up until noon the next day."

"Yikes…" Naruto said, examining the similar red, green, and yellow lines on the map.

"This is quite the problem," Lee said, rolling up the scroll.

"I'll say – so what do we _do_?"

"What else can we do? I mean – we'll just have to keep trying." I smiled. "After all, the three of us are together again, and we're stronger than we were before. For some reason … I get the feeling that we can succeed now."

"That, or we'll all be knocked out."

"Or that."

"You never know."

"Hey, let's try to think positive!"

* * *

**Fifteen, Part Two: One Month's Time**

**Neji ****ネジ**

I took in a long, shallow draught of hot green tea, my eyes not leaving the poster on display across the counter from me as I did so. Sloshing the tea around in the cup, I wrinkled my nose in distaste. Here was a particular work of our propaganda; creating a villainized face of the enemy. They were ideal candidates – revered among the opposition, already despised by many, and the only rebels roaming free. They represented an uncontrollable power, an immense, obscure entity that could not be gauged. The faces here were images designed to arouse en masse a healthy terror, and by extension hatred: they were in some indirect the way the source of every problem, were stocking the rebels with their mysterious supply of food, were at fault for the village's present state, were the reason your brother or sister or friend was dead, were the monster under your bed, and if the Sound could fall then they would supposedly be the ones to bring it about.

Long revoked was a certain request I had put out so long ago, as they were obviously no longer genin level and had proven to be of greater than minimal threat. Still, it wasn't like they were seriously dangerous.

I drew in another sip, glaring coolly at the wanted poster. The other two were fine; the other two didn't matter. Her image, as the others, was twisted only so much as to remain recognizable and distinct from the realm of fiction. She was pictured with vicious, pointed teeth and overly prominent fangs, her more probable soft smile curled into a bestial snarl. Included on her cheek were three pale markings I recognized as having myself inflicted. One white eye was held open a degree wider than the other, and both projected malice and the slightest hint of insanity.

The artist hadn't done her justice.

She was horrid in her own unique way, and this the artist had failed to grasp. There was so much _more_ to hate about her than a few exaggerated animalistic traits. I should know – I knew and hated this girl on a deeper level than anyone else.

She was a delicate, inferior creature. Readily yielding, she was ever wavering and irresolute. She carried herself in such a way as to communicate her weakness to the world and ask that the world please be gentle to her because she was just so disgustingly pathetic. She spoke softly enough to ensure all who might listen knew she thought little of her words. She tried – half-heartedly, as she did anything – to reach out in kindness, infuriatingly, stupidly failing to realize the slight that was dealt to one empathized by such a pitiful thing that had no right pitying anyone at all. She was a miserable, stuttering waste of existence.

"So it's true? They've banded together now?"

My ear twitched subtly, and I glanced in the direction of the wary voice. These were my comrades – mostly chuunin, and in conversations of their own a few fellow jounin who were largely disregarding the chuunin – and at the moment half of them were a bit less than sober. It had been confirmed more than a week ago that they were together again. These fools would busy themselves trafficking rumors about nukenin of their own village, nukenin whose up-to-date files they surely realized but neglected to realize they had access to. But here was proof the propaganda was working: the overwhelming preference for the ignorant thrill of a rampant imagination, pierced astoundingly every so often by a tidbit of news, a stab of fact that simultaneously rooted the ethereal entities in realness once more and flung their formidable faces to even greater heights of awe and fear and roundabout hatred.

"What's so special about these three fellows, anyway?" I muttered just loud enough to be heard at an opportune break in the tavern's noisy din, my cheek resting lightly on the back of my hand as I watched the tea slosh in the mug. I _had_ been heard. Now I'd done it – they were excited. Predictably, heedless of the asker, they tumbled on.

"They're monsters, that's what, monsters–!"

"Between the three of 'em, they've put down a coup in the Land of the Moon, an uprising in Greenery–!"

"Took down Kurosaki Raiga, of Kiri's Seven Swordsmen–!"

"Got the Star's deputy Hoshi_-'kage'_ arrested, one of 'em did–!"

"And then that craziness in Bird Country–!"

"Don't forget, rumor has it they squared off against the Akatsuki – roughed 'em up and sent them packing!!"

"_Monsters!_"

"Kill ya' with a smile!"

"Wiped more'n two hun'erd of our valiant men and women off the map…"

"Apparently it took them about an hour…"

"They've got two, not one, _two_ biju standing behind them–!"

"Damn monsters–!"

"Two of them – they really are demons, see! These kids aren't normal!"

"Yes, yes – the girl can be stabbed a dozen times and keep fighting!"

"Two of them are demons, and the third that isn't is still just as tough! That _proves _what a monster he is!"

"The worst is the Kitsune – they're starting to say he's the Yellow Flash reborn, powerful enough to topple a small army singlehanded!"

"Kami forbid, we may have a Purple Flash on our hands!"

"But the Black Wolf Fang is worse. A cute face hides the monster underneath–!"

"She's made a pact with demons–!"

"Has a body made of steel–!"

"And when the moon is full she transforms into a bloodthirsty, marauding savage!"

"–loyal companion – she summons a beast from Hell!"

"Don't forget the Aoi Moujuu – he's got the blinding speed and legendary strength."

"But with no jutsu–!"

"It doesn't matter, fool! With brute force–!"

"And skill – he trained under a rogue Kiri master, that disciple of the samurai–!"

"All three of them're a menace!"

"Yes, monsters!"

"And now they're together–,"

"They call themselves 'The Three Failures.' Is it supposed to be some kind of joke?"

"No."

At this intervention the foolishness halted. I could feel the gaggle behind me swivel to face my back. That was another thing – someone regarded as having firsthand knowledge tended to rapidly become the focus of these conversations upon joining them. They were excited anew; cousin, teammate, chuunin exam opponent – Hyuuga Neji, someone who knew all three, was actually bothering to speak to them.

"…Oh!"

"Hyuuga-sama!"

"Commander Neji!" The nearest, a talented chuunin boy just short of my age who I'd led on a recent mission, beamed admiringly and nodded in greeting as whispers began darting into the suddenly quiet air.

_Perhaps the propaganda is backfiring… _I thought as I glanced over my shoulder, at he and the rest of the herd, fools staring hopefully for some nature of guidance. _The usual babble was different, with a sense of franticness. They're supposed to direct their hatred toward New Konoha… but instead they're actually starting to get nervous over…_

I sipped my tea as the last of the whispers faded, as the chuunin's awed quiet caught and spread until eventually those less engaged and the totally uninvolved jounin chanced to elect to spend this moment in silence.

Eyes shut, I set the cup down on the counter. The short sound thudded into the still room.

"It's a sort of wry sarcasm – they go by it, but refuse to be addressed by it. My guess is they intend it to spite those who looked down on them before. Calling themselves 'three failures' isn't much of a joke, however; it's a reference to where they began and, though they'll never acknowledge it, what they still are."

* * *

**Hinata ****ヒナタ**

"I'll."

"Aisle?"

"You'll."

"Yule."

"We'll."

"Wheel?"

"You're!"

"Your?"

"It's… Ah, I give up!" Naruto groaned.

My ears twitched.

"Hinata-san, what is wrong?"

I looked up. "We've got company."

The two followed my gaze to the three figures standing a distance down the road, their stony faces set in glares of hostility.

"It does not appear that they intend to let us pass," Lee remarked.

* * *

**Neji ****ネジ**

"Wh… What do you mean, Commander Neji?"

"They're weak. I've fought with all three of them before, and while they've clearly grown stronger since then, the fact is they're nothing but failures at heart."

* * *

**Hinata ****ヒナタ**

"What seems to be the problem, gentlemen?" Naruto asked calmly, the naginata he held resting against his shoulder.

The apparent leader pointed at us and spoke up, glaring daggers. "We hear three hotshot brats've been screwin' with the code…"

"You mean sparing our enemies? Yeah, so what? That against the _law_ now?"

"I'm warning you," he growled, "You can't just go around takin' XXXX on the nukenindo."

"Watch your mouth, would you?" Naruto's arm motioned gracefully toward me. "We're in the presence of a lady."

"Boy–!!"

Naruto began walking forward, his free hand raised to gesture for peace. "Easy there, brother, we're all outlaws here! And laws among outlaws just sound … well, stupid."

The man attacked.

Naruto smirked.

"Fear the Shadow Fist."

* * *

**Neji ****ネジ**

"That's it; they're not destined to succeed. No matter how powerful they may become, the end result will be the same."

* * *

**Hinata ****ヒナタ**

"Wh– what is this…?!"

I smiled warmly. One hand tucked into a pocket, the other still holding the naginata at rest against his shoulder, Naruto was circling around the man at a calm walk, and several shadow clones were constantly appearing and fading while doing the same. Though I knew his steps were constant and unbroken, he substituted repeatedly and smoothly with his copies; the effect created was that around ten boys were prowling along a number of concentric circles at any one moment, and no single one Naruto ever remained in existence for longer than a moment or two. It would have been a challenge for even Lee or me to pinpoint the real one.

"Stop messing with me – Uzumaki Naruto!!" the surrounded man yelled.

"Oh, so you've heard of me, huh?" Their routine uninterrupted, all of the coolly smiling blondes present – even those arriving mid-sentence – spoke as one, the same mischievous twinkle in every pair of eyes. "Then do you know what it is they call me? The Purple Fox, the Violet Phantom, the Shadow Fox…" they listed off nonchalantly, "or, my _personal_ favorite… The Demon Illusionist."

The circle vanished.

The nukenin's eyes widened in the single alarming, off-balance instant of calm – before his body was tossed in place by a rapid string of invisible blows, and finally four of the clones came into brief existence striking forehead, the side of a knee, the other side of the ribs, the top of the shoulder with their staves to vanish the instant a late fifth flowed in low connecting a strong staff sweep to the back of his ankles. The man's back succinctly hit the ground.

"Oyasuminasai," Naruto said simply, raising his head.

The other two began weaving seals behind him.

_And that's our cue._

* * *

**Neji ****ネジ**

"One of them is Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi no Kitsune and can hardly do a thing without the demon's help. My former teammate challenged me regularly and never could touch me."

* * *

**Lee ****リー**

_Fwoosh-fwo-fwoosh-fwoosh-fwo–_

"OSOI!" I declared, spinning on heel to dodge my enemy's dagger, darting behind him in a flash of speed, and ramming my elbow sharply into his back by the time I had finished enunciating the word.

* * *

**Neji ****ネジ**

"My cousin, however, is the most wretched of them all." I took a sip of tea and glanced to the young chuunin. "Tell me – what would you do if you happened to cross paths with '_Kurouga'_?"

The answer was immediate – violent, urgent, and uniform from the entire room.

"Kill!"

"_No!!"_

The room that had been seized by its inexplicable passion was silent again, and the boy's yelp was high and fearful as I was suddenly in front of him, looking down severely into his eyes. He squirmed in discomfort, but was too frightened to back away.

_**She … is … MINE……**_

"No," I said tonelessly, touching a slightly pointed nail to his throat. "She would kill you."

"B-but…" he squeaked, eyes bulging, "Y-you said they're w-weak…"

"Inevitably they've acquired a fair deal of strength through training and experience. If _you _face her…" He whimpered faintly as my nail just barely pricked his flesh, as a bead of crimson blossomed on his neck. "You will die. The same goes for most of the people in this room. But those three will never attain any real level of power… And for that reason they'll never compare to someone who does have true talent."

* * *

**Hinata ****ヒナタ**

I dodged and shifted easily outside strike after strike. Red in the face, he yelled and threw all his weight into a furious punch.

I slipped aside, grabbing his arm and hooking my foot in front of his ankle. Bent at the waist, I spun with him in two tight circles, and the speed of the rotations held him barely off the ground. With a grunt I twisted around and maneuvered the captured arm behind him; with a hand between his shoulder blades and with the feat of abdominal strength and skill in execution that had curtly redirected the force of his initial lunge and the acceleration of two spins, I slammed him solidly into the ground.

* * *

**Neji ****ネジ**

"That is why, when the destined meeting of 'Kurouga' and I arrives…"

My nail traveled an inch over his throbbing pulse, freed a beautiful morsel of hot blood to trace a smooth, delicate crimson streak down his pale neck.

"Against my superior power … against I, who possess real strength and harbor for her a truly deep and intimate hatred of the utmost intensity…"

My hand flashed into my kunai pouch.

**THUNK!**

The knife was buried in a poster on the wall, lodged deeply between the sneering figure's white eyes.

The boy fainted, and a heartened roar of fervent acclamation shook the room.

* * *

**Lee ****リー**

The man's gaze was guarded as he eyed us from across the fire. He had been the quickest to regain consciousness. I wondered what he was thinking as he observed the interaction of three teenagers, essentially children, an oddity among children, an anomaly among nukenin.

He watched as Hinata took Naruto's arm, which had suffered a nasty cut ironically not from the battle but rather an unlucky scratch when he and his clones had hidden in the brambles that lined the forest path. A soft 'May I?' and nodded consent, and she held his bared forearm to her lips. A pink sliver of tongue darted out and flashed across the line of crimson, and for the briefest second and with the slightest shiver of her body her eyes became unfocused as a gleaming, pointed tooth, perhaps by chance, came to rest at his arm. Then the moment had vanished, fleeting and past, and with ease she went on to lap gently along the length of the cut. The boy's healing capabilities, supplemented by the strange properties of her saliva, promptly knitted the wound shut. She met his blushing thanks with a fond smile, and he reached for his water bottle and took a swig.

"Water?" he offered our guest.

He eyed it warily and pointed to me. "Have him drink some."

"So you did your research," he said, tossing the bottle my way. I caught it and took a few gulps. "If it was a weaker poison, Hinata and I'd hardly be affected."

"Research and reality are two different things…" he muttered, accepting the bottle I offered and taking a drink.

"What if I was a shadow clone?" I asked as he handed it back.

"Huh?"

"What if I were a clone of one of these two simply disguised as me?"

"I guess I would be in trouble…" he muttered.

Naruto withdrew, with tweezers, the rag that had been boiling in a small pot of water over the fire. He blew on it for a moment, and then took it in his hands to wring out the excess. He waited and peered across the fire with a boyish, expectant face, and the man relented and held out his hand for the teen to clean a gash at the thumb pad from when he had fallen.

"…Why didn't you kill us?"

"What reason do we have to kill you?" Hinata asked.

"It's what we intended to do to you."

"But you didn't," Naruto said simply, lowering the red-smudged rag back into the water and opening his kit for a disinfectant salve.

"But we _would_ have–,"

"So would plenty of other challengers, bounty hunters, and enemies before you," I said.

"Holding together so long … sparing your foes … When nukenin band together they do so only for as long as they benefit. When nukenin cross paths they kill or are killed–,"

"We do things our own way."

"Then going through so much trouble after the fact … giving the man you just clobbered stitches…"

"Doctor's instinct," Naruto said dismissively, rubbing in the ointment with no less care than he would have applied if tending to Hinata or me. "And I really didn't mean to break the skin there–,"

"Why are you so calm and relaxed?! Do you trust me? Any moment I could whip out a kunai and–,"

"Who said we're relaxed?" Smiling pleasantly, Naruto looked up and lied his hand over the man's. "If you attack now, we'll kill you. It's as simple as that. But I'd rather that didn't happen, y'know. I'm just fine with enjoying our peaceful conversation."

He stared back at the three teens who indeed were all smiling pleasantly at him.

"…You are strange," he said, dazed at the life he clearly felt he should no longer have.

Naruto shrugged. The man didn't flinch or startle away as he ran through the three seals that set his palm aglow. Naruto held the lit up palm over the laceration.

"…Will you answer me one thing?"

"Depends on the question."

"Shoot."

"We already have."

"What's your purpose?"

The wound closed, and Naruto's jutsu promptly subsided.

"Our purpose … is to take back our village."

The three of us shared a meaningful look.

Naruto packed up his medical kit; the pot was dumped, the fire extinguished. Soon enough, we were ready to continue on our way.

"My name's Ketsuki."

We looked toward him. Without looking up, he gestured to the leader who had needed sutures and the other one still unconscious. "Kazuya. Itsuke."

Naruto nodded. "Uzumaki Naruto. Hyuuga Hinata, Rock Lee. Nice to meet you."

"…Good luck."

"Thanks. Safe travels."

_We may need all the luck we can get now. Hinata-san has Tsunade-sama's scent, and we intend to find her._

_Find Tsunade-sama…_

_Free Jiraiya-sama…_

_Rescue the jounin…_

_Save the village._

_We will succeed, because we must._

After all, we were no longer three dropout genin, nor were we three tenderfoot nukenin.

We were now Kurouga, Aoi Moujuu, and Murasaki Kitsune.

The Black Wolf Fang, the Green Beast, and the Purple Fox.

Hinata, Lee, and Naruto.

The Three Failures.

* * *

**Hinata ****ヒナタ**

We were sitting in the middle of the desert.

"We are lost, are we not?"

"Do you know how hard it is to follow a scent over sand?!" I screeched, at the end of my rope. I was tired, I was dirty with a mixture of sweat and sand, my eyes were watery, my nose was itchy, my throat was raw, and random gusts kept slapping sand in my face.

"So we are lost."

"Hey, we've got the map…" a tired Naruto drawled.

"And no landmarks," Lee pointed out.

"_Kuso!_" I swore, though it didn't sound like much of anything amid my hiccoughing and sneezing out a nose-ful of sand.

"Hinata-san…" Lee patted my back and dug my water bottle from my pack to offer to me. I gratefully accepted.

Naruto trudged up to us. "Man, I'm melting…"

Pause! Okay, though he'd gotten more toned it wasn't like Naruto was especially ripped or built (he was thirteen. Lee had more muscle than him), and it wasn't like I hadn't seen him cool off shirtless before, but he usually had his fishnet underneath. So it was unexpected when I looked to see right next to me, suddenly in plain bare glory

ZomgpecsabsNarutokun–

THUD.

"…Hinata-chan? Ah, her nose is bleeding! This must be a really severe heatstroke!"

"Baka – that will help her sense of smell! Look what you have done!"

"I gave Hinata a heatstroke?!"

"NO!"

"Ooh, Naruto-kun…"

* * *

**???**

I was lying in the sand. I was lying in the sand, thinking. About many things. It was the same as always and remained all too much to think about; it swirled inside me, throbbed, maddening. The need of relief was growing desperate again.

I was lying in the sand, in the shadow of a dune, glaring at the horizon, when the scent came on the wind…

Mother stirred, aroused, and my eyes grew.

_Her… Chuunin exam … The one whose blood smelled so appealing…_

_She's with the Nine-tail's host … the one I didn't kill that day…_

_And the one who escaped us… twice…_

_But the girl's blood is … yes, it's different. Very different. Powerful._

_It reeks of Five tails…_

_How…_

_**Enticing…**_

* * *

**ナルト ****/ ****リー ****/ ****ヒナタ ****\ ****ハナビ ****\ ****ネジ**

**End Chapter Fifteen**

**Naruto: **I… I've become…?

**Lee: **A most DASHING young GENTLEMAN!!!

**Naruto: **Yeah! How'd that happen?

**Kurogiba: **Your nickname… is too close to my name…

**Hinata: **(scared) Hey, the people call me what they want to call me!

**Kurogiba: **Oh, come on! And if you underemphasize the 'o' they even mean the same thing!

**Sasuke: **Why am I not in this one?

**Hanabi: **You got moved to the next one.

**???: **And why am I there as **???**? Wait, here too…?

**Kurogiba: **Trust me, I know how you feel.

**Naruto: **Pfft – like it matters? Gee, I _wonder_ who you could be?

_(–static–)_

**Naruto: **Hey… I remember him!

**Lee: **And it appears he remembers us…

**Hinata: **Next time, we face off against – uh… a mysterious three question marks…

**Naruto: **Seriously! Everyone already knows–

**Lee: **Quiet!

**Hinata: **We're not getting out of this without a fight. Our most formidable challenge since we've come together again has arrived to put us to the test. With three–

**Kurogiba: **Me too!

**Hinata: **Four against one, we might have had a good chance – but he's in his ideal element here…

**Lee: **Near Sunagakure, he confronts us with only one goal in mind. The village that aided Orochimaru in starting all of this … and the person largely responsible for the tyrant's defeat of Sandaime-sama. Since then he has become a menace disowned by his own village, and is more lost than ever. A cycle of hatred has done this to him–!

**Naruto: **And it's up to us to knock some sense into him! Get ready for something amazing to happen!

**Hinata: **Next time: **Clash in Sand**!

DONE! 56 pages! For once I actually think this chapter turned out pretty good!

Zori: Straw sandals worn with tabi socks

Yama no Kuni: Land of Mountains

Soragakure no Sato: Village Hidden in the Sky

Oyasuminasai: Good night

Osoi: Slow

Kudasai: Please (I think XD)

Choto matte: Wait a second

Ani-ue: Older brother

Kuro: Black Rou: Wolf Ga: Fang - So while 'Kuroga' would be 'Black Fang,' assuming 'Kuro' and 'Rou' are blended together 'Kurouga' is Black Wolf Fang.

Turned out with a little more NaruHina than originally intended. Yeesh, I don't know where so much sappy fluffiness even came from. I guess the diehard NaruHina shippers got a treat, and those who don't care for it – sorry if you wanted to puke every ten minutes! XD

So I read that 'waistcoat' is a British word. Though I'm American, I used it since it's more specific than 'vest,' which is totally general. It seems like 'waistcoat' only refers to the dressy sort of vest worn under a tuxedo or whatever.

I'm thinking about making a bit of a sidefic called "Gaiden of the Three Failures." It would have a bunch of oneshots of OC backgrounds (Akane and Midori, Master Washi, Kozue Kuri, Kurogiba, etc.), scenes that got cut out or just wouldn't really fit in any convenient place in the story, timeskip events, NaruHina scenes from the other's POV, AU/ comedy scenes, and what if's, for example.

How was the chapter? I hope I was able to make you laugh at least once ;). What do you think of Hinata, Lee, and Naruto after their months of training? You might have noticed I skipped over a few battle scenes; I'm saving action for next chapter. Sorry for going outside the regulare 5 POV's - I won't do that too often. There was a scene with Sasuke and Neji, but it got taken out half because it just didn't seem to fit and also because I wanted Neji's first post timeskip appearance to be that scene in the tavern. I almost want to take out Hanabi's scenes, too, for the same reason – drama sort of throwing off the lighter mood, but then there would be nothing about New Konoha's condition … meh, oh well. How do you like the more mature Naruto, or do you not like it at all? Was the NaruHina good, bad, too sudden, OOC?

Please tell me what you think! About anything! Comment! Complain! Ask a question! Call out my mistakes! Just please review!

Since I won't be back within the month – Happy ChismaHanuKwanzakah! If you're not covered by that, happy holidays all!

:o)Hinata0321:o)


	16. Clash in Sand

J3F\\\ Journey of the Three Failures

Chapter Sixteen

Yo–! (Jumps behind desk soon peppered with kunai, shuriken, and senbon) Ah! Déjà vu!

Hehe, so… Late again. Sorry about that! The chapter got long and had to be chopped in half again, though, so chapter seventeen shouldn't have nearly so long a wait.

Phew… Staying in basketball as manager might not have been the best thing for me. Even though I couldn't bear _not_ being there, being there and watching them practice and play brought a lot of nostalgia and sadness. Maybe a dumb thing to get all depressed over… meh, I can't help it. Last week Varsity's playoffs kicked off in a grand showing where we brought 18 players (11 varsity, JV's starters, and the two most talented freshmen), four managers (I ran the camera), and the cheerleading squad and mascot to take on the other team's ten or so players … and we got our butts handed to us in what was practically a layup drill. Lost by more than 50. XD Coach was mad at them… I'm not _glad_ the season's over, but it's a bit of relief that the stressful and depressing manager-ing, that had replaced the main stress release in my life, is finally at an end. Offseason starts soon, and fortunately I can't be barred from participating in it no matter how supposedly talentless I am ;)

Anyways, thanks for your reviews **Omega the Darkness, ShadowFaux, Creshto, Rena-san, grahamgarret powerofanime, Heavenhawk, Kage James, soundless steps, Shizuka Taiyou, narutos vixen, loughlin, Electrified by Evil, Zamrok, Lady Azura, Bardad101, Haruka-Hime, narutoartlover, OnGuard, Crystal shadow7, Dominican Kitsune, asheranaiel, SaphireShade, Cedarx, Mahina, Kai Dragon, Uzumaki May, Cybergades, Malix2, Chaney2250, Shinobiscribe, Stygian Styx, ShadowSage99, **and the anonymous reviewers who signed _53r4ph1m act-alike, zzz, puppy,_ and_ crackashi_! I heart you all! Thanks for everyone's feedback and support! :D :P C: L: :) A smiley's worth a hundred words. Okay, maybe not. But you get the idea XD

In my summary, due to a lack of space, the last thing I could squeeze in the pairing 'NxH'. I recently realized something – I have two main characters whose names begin with N, and two for H. So, presented this information, one might interpret this as NaruHina, NaruHana (WEIRD), NejiHina(Eew…), NejiHana (BEYOND-EEW!). To clarify, this does stand for NaruHina. XD I fixed it now.

One last thing! For anyone wondering about the **timeline** up to this point, I'm putting part of a review reply I sent, with a few small changes:

_Naruto's birthday is October 10, Lee's is Nov 12, and Hinata's is Dec 27. _

(By working backwards with the time Neji states has passed since the protagonists left the village, we can find_) The story starts in Oct; let's assume Naruto is 13, Lee is 13, and Hinata is 12. (_By working backwards from Hinata's birthday, we can find that_) The tracker team fight is set on Nov 29, at which point Lee is 14, Naruto and Hinata still 13 and 12. This is the first significant full moon in the story. On this day, Neji also states that in 14 months Orochimaru will take his body. _

_About 29.5 days later a moon cycle is completed, so the Akatsuki fight, Hinata's b-day, and the second important full moon take place on Dec 27. _

_The next full moon, then, which coincides with the day of the Nami massacre, is Jan 25. At this point twelve months remain to the supposed point when Orochimaru will take Neji's body. _

_The timeskip starts, full moons_ (roughly_) Feb 23, Mar 23, Apr 21, May 20, Jun 18. (_A day close to_) June 26 is the reunion of the 3, and a month is skipped to July, at which point they are heading toward Suna, 6 months remain for Hinata to save Neji, three months until Naruto is 14, four months until Lee is 15, and five months until Hinata is 14. Neji turned 15 on July 3, and Hanabi turned 8 on March 27. _

_The timeline is mainly centered around the first definite date we get, Hinata's birthday, which though not stated is Dec 27, and from there the full moons. So the story has covered less than a year overall, with only 3 months of story and 6 months of timeskip._

Hope that cleared up some confusion!

Please enjoy the chapter!

**Disclaimer: **I don't own _NARUTO_.

* * *

**Journey of the Three Failures **

**Sixteen: Clash in Sand**

**Part One: Plight of the Hyuuga**

**Hanabi ****ハナビ**

"_Haaa!"_

–"_Tatakatte. Fight, Hanabi-sama."–_

_Smat-smat! Tmp-SMAT!_

–"_Fight, every single day."–_

"Eek!" She shrieked as my palm barely missed her side.

–"_Fight, and become stronger."–_

She was backpedalling hastily, blocking, deflecting.

–"_Fight, m'lady."–_

A nonlethal palm to the heart, a quick shot to the right lung. Her back met the wall. She lunged to the side.

–"_Fight."–_

If one were struck thrice, or fell to their knees, the match would be called.

–"_Fight."–_

"Wait, s-slow down–!"

Swiftly my left feinted for her thigh, my right feinted for her face, left fist was tucked into right palm, and I lunged to jam my elbow into her stomach.

"Three strikes…" Hikujaku remarked happily as I heard my opponent's Byakugan waver.

Withdrawing the offending elbow, I raised my head and drew myself up to full height. The older girl winced with a tiny, wettish cough, and as the rigidity of shock left her body she hugged her middle and sank to her knees.

"_And _down for the count!"

Hiyuki let out a long whimper, her eyes shut. "Itai…!" she whined.

My face softened as I worked myself down from combat mode. "Daijoubu, Hiyuki-nee-san?"

She nodded. "H-hai…"

"Don't use your elbows," Hiryuu said. "Even if Hiyuki is … not the most gifted of Hyuuga her age, you should avoid making a habit of shortening your already inferior reach."

"Hai."

I stepped back shortly, and Harumi flashed by in front of me, a fierce palm outstretched. Hikujaku came from the other side, and I deflected his palm before planting my own on his shoulder. One foot lashed back, catching Hitaka's ankle as he lunged to strike from behind. Using his force with my own, I carried him momentarily on my back and flung him over myself; Harumi's advance was halted as she caught the boy, and I darted in to lash a palm lightly against her belly.

"Snap, she killed us!" Hikujaku exclaimed.

I turned to Hiryuu, prepared to face an attack that I probably _wouldn't_ be able to fend off, but he simply nodded. His kekkei genkai faded.

"Good. That's enough sparring for today."

* * *

**Neji ****ネジ**

I gazed steadily at the withered old man seated across from me as the tea was served. A gentle smile was borne on a face that had probably been quite handsome in youth but now sagged with age, and folds of skin crinkled at the corners of kindly white eyes dull as once great, ancient candles that could at any given moment now, seemingly at the slightest, whimsical brush of the air, glimmer their last and flicker out for eternity.

"It is not common for the leader of the clan to consult me," he ground out in a gravelly voice, knobbly, wrinkled fingers lifting his teacup. "But I suppose it's not common for anyone else to consult me, either."

I cleared my throat quietly as he took a sip. I tilted my head toward the Hyuuga who had served us. "Please leave the room."

His eyes shifted nervously to the old man.

"Yes, please do as he says."

"Sir," he said, bowing respectfully. With a wary glance my way he left and slid the door shut behind him.

"So, tell me…"

"Come, now; there is tea. Let us enjoy the tea before we move on to more tedious things."

"Hai…"

I sipped my tea in silence.

"How goes the clan these days? Well, I should hope?"

"Quite," I answered, the word clipped.

"Ah, good, good… That is reassuring to hear."

I set down my cup of tea.

"Honored Grandfather Lord Hikaru-sama… there is something I would like to know."

"Indeed, we all have those things we'd like to know. Why, I wish I knew how…"

I suppressed a scowl. _Mocking me!_

"_Grandfather," _I snapped him out of his reverie.

"Ah, yes, what is it, child?" asked the oldest and the wisest.

"Just how is _my_ leadership so flawed that it will bring about the downfall of the clan?"

He chuckled. "You question your leadership, child?"

"I know what you've been saying. As the result of my being leader, the Hyuuga will supposedly fall into ruin."

"Right you are, lad."

"Then what can I do to avert this devastation?" I said, my eyes narrowed. "What can _another_ leader do that I cannot?"

"The clan is in the wrong hands, m'boy; the tender balance of the Main and the Branch is the foundation of our way of life."

"So that's it, then? Now that the Branch is in power, you come up with _this_?"

"You're mistaken; I know what, but you asked why, and that's the best I can explain it. When one upsets our way of life, one way or another, the consequences are bound to be dire…"

I stood. "You lie; that is not the Branch's destiny. You've simply grown fond of the Main House, haven't you?"

"I am impartial, my child; you know that," he said with a gentle smile.

"You don't like me, do you?"

"I do not; you will drive this clan to Hell."

"Heh," I remarked. "Honorable Hikaru-sama, I would advise you to keep in mind the Main House is no more – just as we are not the Branch, but _equals_ of one clan united. With your days on this earth already limited, I would be simply appalled if some tragic misfortune were to befall you now."

He chuckled warmly, the corners of his eyes crinkling with his smile. "What a sick little child…"

Steel rested at my throat.

"Threatening a frail, defenseless old man."

A breath of laughter left my mouth. I turned my head to face him, mouth opened to bare my fangs. _"You mean to kill me, Honorable Grandfather?" _I asked, glaring into his bright white eyes.

"Unfortunately, no." The knife was slipped back into his sleeve. He ambled back to his seat. "It's not my place to end you; that is the destiny of another."

"The one of pure spirit and _rightful_ blood?" I scoffed.

"Exactly. You will be leaving now, child."

"Thank you for your time, Hikaru-sama."

* * *

**Hanabi ****ハナビ**

"Ha … ha … ha…!"

"Come on, Hanabi-sama, in through the nose and out through the mouth, or you'll dry up your throat! Don't get lax just because we're almost done!"

"Hai!" I said, correcting my breathing.

"You know, I think you can run faster than this," Hikujaku remarked beside me, not even tired.

"I … can't…!" I gasped between breaths, eyes trained ahead. _Keep moving – just keep moving – almost there…_

"'Can't'? Well you certainly can't, not if you're thinking that way!"

When I ignored his pep-talk he put on a considerable burst of speed.

"Uh-oh, you're falling behind!"

"…Onii…san…!" I complained.

"Don't let me finish first! Not in the last stretch!"

I could see the other four waiting now, at the end of the path, Hiryuu holding the stopwatch in his hand. I yelled and exploded forward.

I raced past Hikujaku, and then past Hiryuu.

Then I happily collapsed.

Hikujaku snickered. "That's the mentality to have, m'lady. Believe in yourself; don't accept failure so easily."

"Y-yes…"

"Come on, walk it off," Harumi said, gently helping me to my feet. I looked to Hiryuu.

"Better than yesterday," he confirmed with the slightest air of approval. "You should start walking. If you're too sore, you'll do worse tomorrow."

"Right…"

The five fell into a loose formation around me as we set off slowly down the road. Or maybe 'road' was a misnomer – more like a path too worn out by many sets of feet for much grass to grow, and over time edged here and there with pebbles once the distinction had grown clear enough. We were in the heart of New Konoha – at least as far as the aboveground portion went. The pebble-trimmed streets had taken form around a haphazard arrangement of tents, stone huts, structures of stone brick, and the occasional log building, and in the grass between roads and buildings several interspersed saplings were growing in whatever areas they could be guaranteed enough sunlight. Clearly visible a couple of "blocks" away was a field which, the amusing spectacle of black-clad ninja attempting to farm aside, successfully produced a fair stock of cucumbers and carrots, but as of yet the attempts to cultivate rice had met with failure. Still, the vegetables that were grown, the chicken pen, the rainwater pots, the handful of buildings with varying purposes, and one of three watchtowers – all of this was heavily guarded, making this sector's security the tightest in the village. That is, the New Village Hidden in the Leaves.

"Hey … Hiryuu-oji-san?" I said a moment after waving back at Iruka-sensei, who was currently stationed on the rooftop of the council building.

"Hai, Lady Hanabi?"

"You said my only hope of defeating him will be in the first seconds of the duel – the very first trade of blows, during which he'll hopefully underestimate me enough that I'll be able to connect a lucky hit before he's wary of any threat. If that's so, why spend so much time each day building the stamina for a long, drawn-out battle rather than honing my taijutsu to increase that lucky hit's chance?"

"There are a few reasons, m'lady. This type of workout is particularly suited to strengthening the mind, thus sharpening focus, and in building upon both the spiritual and physical energies chakra supply and control will gradually improve. Not to mention, the more stamina, the longer you can efficiently train other areas before shutting down with fatigue. Aside from that, running is a good extra workout to keep one's body healthy and resilient, and though you are in perfect shape I would rather not take any risks or cut any corners in regards to your health."

"I'll say – wouldn't it stink if you caught a cold the day before your clash of destiny?" Hikujaku added devilishly.

"Don't even joke…" Harumi sighed.

"I guess I never really thought about it that far … but I think you're right…" I clenched my hand briefly, and opened it again. "Lately I've begun to notice I feel … stronger. It's hard to explain – like my body is stronger, and lighter … and I have confidence in it, like I'm ready to move at any moment."

Hiryuu nodded. "That doesn't come from sparring alone. The jogging, sprinting, agility work – all of these can only benefit you."

"Hm… That makes sense. Then why don't you ever run with me, Uncle?"

"I've been there and done that, and if all of us were to run with you our ability to protect you might be reduced by as much as eight percent. Besides, this moron always has too much energy," he said, thumping Hikujaku on the head. The teen sniggered in response.

I heard someone's Byakugan awaken, and looked to Hiryuu-oji-san in time to see it fade – a frequent precautionary surroundings check, but always done when we came across a certain someone who had almost too much enemy contact for the jounin's comfort. I followed his gaze to the one leaning against a brick building's wall fifteen yards down the path, chatting comfortably with the two escorts who commonly accompanied him.

"Look who's back from the snake pit," Hikujaku muttered good-naturedly.

"Konnichi ha!" I called, waving.

"Oi, little Hyuuga!" he said, uncrossing his arms and starting toward us, Sakura and Kiba in tow. He was about to tuck his hands habitually into his pockets when Hiryuu shot him with a look.

–"_No hands in your pockets within ten meters of Lady Hanabi."_

"_But if you just checked me with those eyes–,"_

"_No exceptions."–_

The boy rolled his eyes before he spoke to me. "Up for some Lightning work?"

"Hai, Sasuke-sensei!"

"Stop calling me that…"

* * *

**Neji ****ネジ**

"Hm…" I scanned over the report with a critical eye before handing it to one of the Hyuuga sitting across from me. I picked up a different paper.

'…_At night the five rotate two hour watch shifts, giving her ten hours of sleep while they each get eight…. The rebels eat a rationed meal twice a day, in balanced shifts so that while half of them eat the other half are guarding the village. Breakfast 1 is at 8:00 AM, breakfast 2 is at 8:30; supper 1 is at 8:00 PM, supper 2 at 8:30. Of course those nocturnals covering village's night guard eat their breakfast in the evening and dinner in the morning, but she and her circle operate outside many of the village's general routines which most shinobi take part in…. Either way, she and her five bodyguards are in Group 2 and eat at 8:30 AM and PM, plus a tiny, quick snack of vegetables at 2:00 PM that can't exactly be called lunch…' _My eyes skipped down again. _'I can't determine where the food comes from; they don't let me anywhere near the cafeteria…' This is useless… _My eyes scrolled down.

'_In the last month she's taken to sparring with random genin, chuunin, and tokubetsu jounin whenever they're not busy, and spars with six to ten others aside from her protectors in the regular day…' But how often is she _winning_? _I wondered lightly.

'…_Obviously Hyuuga Hiryuu is the greatest threat among the defectors, followed by Hyuuga Harumi…'_

'_Council meetings are held on Mondays, but for safety's sake in case of attack not all council members ever attend any one meeting…'_

'…_For protection their 'Hakage' is accompanied at most times by his second-in-command Mitarashi Anko, considered their most powerful shinobi. These two attend all meetings, but sometimes in Shadow Clone form, and no one knows until the end of the meeting whether they were real or not…'_

'_Hyuuga Hiryuu attends meetings every third Monday of the month, during which time the others hang around outside the council hall or go for a short walk…. Even without their strongest present, they're pretty relaxed at these times … confident they're safe in the heart of New Konoha…'_

I didn't look up at the knock outside the door. "What is it, Tenten? Shino, Ino?"

Tenten opened the door and entered the room, flanked by Shino and Ino. "What's up, Neji? Sasuke sent us over…"

"What exactly did he tell you?" I asked, eyes narrowing.

She blinked quizzically, and Shino answered. "Before he left he suggested we drop by your office and see if you required any assistance. Well – do you?"

I smirked, straightening a few papers. "How thoughtful of Sasuke. Unfortunately, as you can see I've already all the help I need for the moment…" I gestured to the three Hyuuga diligently poring over the reports with me. "But you have my thanks regardless."

Tenten frowned, walking up to my shoulder. "What're you up to?"

I set the papers down, and with a straight face I met her eyes. "Not much."

"I can tell when you're hiding something, Neji."

"I'm hiding nothing. I'm simply rather busy with something at the moment, and I would appreciate it if you could step out–,"

"Hold on!" Unnoticed by us, Ino had begun reading the paper atop the stack I had just ordered. Eyes wide, she snatched it off the desk.

The nearest of the three Hyuuga rose suddenly to his feet, towering easily above them; Tenten flinched back slightly in surprise, raising her arms defensively as Ino ducked behind the older girl with a shriek.

"Are they bothering you, Neji-sama?" the man asked icily. Ino glared at him from behind Tenten, who held her ground and his gaze.

A low, angry buzzing filled the air as Shino glowered disapprovingly. "Excuse me, but I believe Neji is perfectly capable of speaking for himself."

"He can, and Neji-sama has told you to leave – so why are you still here?"

"_Sit, Harumaru," _I hissed, and he jerked to attention, hostility evaporating into thin air as he immediately complied. "All of you, settle down," I told the other two. "You're being rude to my close comrades. Harumaru, apologize."

"F-forgive me," he said, momentarily bowing his head to the three.

Tenten suppressed an uneasy scowl. Ino put the paper back on the desk.

"Neji – what is all this?" she asked seriously.

I sighed. The Hyuuga were telegraphing _'just give me the word' _on their faces.

"There's an awful lot of information here … about Hinata's little sister."

A furrow jumped in Shino's brow.

I rubbed my forehead, exasperated. "How to put this… our double agent Uchiha is quite friendly with her; surprisingly, this is proving convenient to us now. I asked for some information about her, and now we have her schedule, her daily routine … where she is and who she's with at what times…"

THUD! THAM!

I could feel a bruise swelling on my cheek as the back of my chair hit the floor under me. Tenten crashed to the ground not far away a second after, gasping in pain.

"How _dare _you swing at Lord Neji?!" Hireiki screeched, storming toward the fallen girl. Shino prepared to attack the jounin.

"_STOP!" _I boomed, my voice leaden with power. The Hyuuga kunoichi squeaked and shuddered away, attention snapping to me as she whimpered an apology.

"Tenten, what's wrong?!" Ino cried, kneeling by her in concern. The older girl, lying on her side and clutching fitfully at her stomach, grimaced and hacked out a few droplets of blood.

"Tenten…!" I said, crawling up to her. "Daijoubu–?!"

"_You bastard!_" she yelled, lunging furiously to grab the neck of my shirt and slam another fist across my face.

_Byakugan! _I swept an arm back – catching harshly across the face the third of the Hyuuga as he lunged over the desk to retaliate.

"Stop hitting me!" I cried.

"God, put a leash on those things!" Shino spat.

"Your subordinates could use a lesson in respect!"

"_Shut up!"_

"Y-yes, sir!"

"Bastard," Tenten repeated, sobbing. "The Lightning Hyuuga? Who cares?! She's a child, Neji – a child!"

"Tenten, you're a chuunin now. Ninja aren't meant to let their emotions control them."

"That's why they're here?!" she demanded, pointing to the three now silent Hyuuga. "Y-you're … assassinating Hanabi-chan…?"

I looked into the girl's tearful, horror-stricken eyes.

"Yes."

She flinched. Shino gasped. Ino whimpered.

"What's wrong with you?" Tenten whispered to me not for the first time, unblinking.

"It'll be too much trouble to let her live. Her very existence continues to stir dissent in my clan, but she won't be much of a symbol of hope when she's not around."

"…I don't know you anymore…"

I felt a minor pang of discomfort in my chest. I shook my head. She never did understand. In truth, none of them did.

"Get out of my office."

Without a word she rose to her feet, eyes blank and without any light. Numbly she wiped her mouth, turned to go. Shino and Ino were close in following.

…_Doesn't understand. It's time to let Destiny run its course._

I took a deep breath. Wiping a drizzle of blood from the corner of my mouth, I stood, righted my chair, and was seated again. "You can't go around attacking everyone who raises a finger against me – especially not our fellow comrades, at that."

"Please forgive us. It will not happen again."

"Try not to be so formal and subservient. You're making me feel like I'm of the Main House and that is _not_ a good feeling."

"Of course."

"Returning to more important matters…" I spread the stack of papers in a line on the desk before me. "Based on the information we've been provided, what would you consider the best time to carry out your assignment?"

"Obviously the opportune moment would be during the meeting." Harumaru looked at a paper. "Three o' clock, the third Monday of the month…"

"Tomorrow," Hireiki realized.

The third and youngest, Haritsu, nodded. A dark natured boy with eerie, cutting eyes, skilled in Juuken, a year younger than I … and an ace archer. "I'd definitely prefer to avoid risk of trading palms with the Blazing Dragon of the Hyuuga Clan," he said, tossing a dull glance Hireiki's way. "That seems to be our best shot."

"Is it?" I said. "Take a look at this – 'Hiryuu is the biggest threat.' 'If we cross his charge, Hiryuu will not hesitate to kill.' 'In the skirmish at the watchtower, it was Hiryuu who turned the tide the moment Hanabi was in potential danger'…"

"Everyone knows about that – our surprise strike on their watchtower. Sound was simply unlucky that Hanabi was there at the time. A bunch of enemy ninja were too close to his leader, and decisively he struck them all down…"

"That's the problem," I said, "What is this detail doing in a report about Hanabi? In these latest reports Hiryuu's name is used multiple times, though the rest are hardly mentioned by comparison. If not for the inclusion of that well-known incident, his emphasis of this would almost pass as reasonable. But Sasuke isn't eager to be helpful; he's coaxing us to the conclusion that we _must_ move during the council meeting."

"Okay, but … what's the harm in that? What are you saying the Uchiha's up to?" Hireiki asked.

"He's taken a liking to my little cousin; even if he hadn't, he's too soft to turn a blind eye while a child is killed. Assuming by tomorrow he'll have some manner of counter-plot in place to ensure her survival, we have only one opportunity to strike."

"Today."

"Precisely."

* * *

**Hinata ****ヒナタ**

"I don't think we're very far from Sunagakure no Sato…"

"I think you are right," Lee agreed. "So, do you believe Tsunade-sama stopped in Suna recently?"

"That doesn't seem likely," Naruto contemplated. "After all, doesn't Sand currently lack a Kazekage? They took a real blow when Orochimaru betrayed them. We don't know what their visitors' policy is, but it seems like they wouldn't want to run the risk of letting a powerful foreign ninja into their village at a time like this."

"That may be so," Lee said, "but keep in mind that this is a legendary sannin, who has lived a long time and been wandering the earth for years. We cannot be sure what kind of connections she may have in the other lands."

I plopped down on my rear, digging my water bottle from my pack. _This is not my kind of climate… _I thought, noting the sunburn forming on my arms. "Whatever the case, there's hardly a chance she's still in the village now. The scent isn't very fresh – a few days old, actually – and she tends not to stay in one place for long. But at the very least, it couldn't hurt us to see if we might be allowed to rest a night, maybe learn a bit about Suna's condition, and possibly … see if Sand would be willing to help the Leaf overthrow Sound."

Naruto gasped.

"But before we get moving…" I looked sheepishly back to the others. "Who's up for a short break?"

"Again?"

"Come on, Hinata-chan – with your kind of stamina?"

I took a sip of water, wetting a parched throat. "It's this weather. We really should have traveled by night to begin with; it'll be dark soon, and once it is I'll feel better."

"Okay," Naruto sighed, "if you just _have_ to take a break now – Hey, kidding!" he said, jumping as my claws sprang out.

"Get down, and be quiet," I hissed. "Did you hear that?"

"…Hear what?" Lee asked in a moment, as we crouched at the base of a sand dune.

_There…!_

"_Gaara!"_

"_Where are you?!"_

"Hinata?"

"Two people are shouting half a kilometer west-southwest… It sounds like those two older Suna genin, from the chuunin exam … and they're looking for Gaara."

Lee flinched. "I had almost forgotten about him."

"Then there's a psychopath on the loose?" Naruto said.

"Naruto!" Lee scolded lightly.

"What? It's true."

"Naruto, suppress your…! Too late. We've been detected," I announced, Byakugan activating. The boys quieted down, and Naruto suppressed his chakra, but they had slready sensed us.

What were their names? Kankurou and … Temari. They stopped on the other side of the large dune.

"It's not him," the kunoichi, Temari whispered quietly – at this distance too quietly, for the average ear. "It's somewhat like him, but different. And there's definitely more than one person…"

I held a finger to my lips, signaling for the others to keep silent.

"We could just let Gaara find them, then," the one called Kankurou whispered back under his breath. "I'd rather not approach him now, anyways. But a few kills should help him wind down a bit."

"Kankurou!"

"What? If he gets any worse, you know he's bound to turn on us next."

"What if they're enemies?"

"Again: Gaara. Will. _Literally_. Crush them. Gaara will calm down. Gaara _won't_ crush us."

Oh, the things people whispered…

"So you don't want to warn them?"

"Sumimasen – you already have."

Naruto, Lee, Temari, and Kankurou looked quizzically either at me or in my general direction at the statement. I nimbly hopped a fair distance to the peak of the sand dune and landed in a crouch, smiling politely.

"Konban ha. It's great to see our friends in Sand are so concerned for our wellbeing."

"That Hyuuga kid…?!"

"Why are you here?!" Temari demanded, a hand snapping to the battle fan on her back.

"Now, now, there's no need for all that," Naruto said, waving a hand as he and Lee walked up beside me.

"You all…?" Kankurou muttered.

"We all, indeed. It has been quite a while."

* * *

**Neji ****ネジ**

"You can't do this!"

"Just get in the room…"

"What's the meaning of this, Neji?" Shino hissed.

I shook my head as the four New Oto jounin guided he, Tenten, and Ino into the room, their hands securely bound behind their backs. "You'll be waiting in here for a bit. This is simply a precautionary confinement. When the mission is completed, I'll have you released."

"Are you out of your mind?!"

"No," I said to the blond, "I'm preventing you three from doing something treacherous. You're letting your emotions run wild, and your thoughts are becoming skewed and irrational. But Orochimaru-sama has given me his approval for this task. With her around, we run the risk of losing the power of as much as twenty percent of the Hyuuga Clan…"

"Power – is that all you care about? This is an eight-year-old's life!"

"My point exactly. Your petty emotions–,"

"Don't you have a heart?"

I sighed. "You'll thank me for this later. If you were to do something traitorous, it would fall on me to deal with you. I'd prefer that didn't happen."

"Then what about Sasuke? What if he tries to stop you?"

At this I smirked. "If _Sasuke_ does something traitorous… I will be more than happy to deal with him."

Ino lunged at me, hands tied and all. One of the jounin caught her and firmly pushed her back again.

"Don't try to escape," I said, and shut the door.

* * *

**Hanabi ****ハナビ**

There – my chakra looked just like his did. "Got it. I changed the nature…"

Sasuke nodded in front of me, his Sharingan trained intently on me as my Byakugan was on him.

"It took four point seventy-four seconds," Hiryuu supplied, Byakugan active as well. "Now, how long can you keep it up?"

I pulled in a deep breath and directed the crackling chakra to my hands. Releasing the Saru seal – that of the Monkey – I exhaled and sank into a Juuken stance.

Sasuke smirked and beckoned, but not in a rude, superior way – simply a silent 'I'm ready.' I advanced on light feet and threw a palm; he deflected the forearm while slipping outside, and an ankle hacked against my own. I hit the ground rolling on my side, and got my feet under me to hop away in evasion as the Uchiha lunged in with a palm strike. Ducking, I deflected a second palm with a sharp upward thrust of my forearm against his wrist. My other hand darted for his ribs, and he snagged the wrist and jabbed two fingers toward the forearm. My foot flashed up, knocking the attacking hand aside, and we broke apart and clashed once more.

Of course he wasn't going all-out – this was more Lightning Release practice than sparring – but there were a couple of reasons he could be moderately serious when he came at me. For one thing, when I activated and stirred up my chakra, readied it for Lightning Gentle Fist, my chakra flow more than quadrupled in speed – and the vivid energy, bolting through me wild and refined, made me feel lighter than air, sharper, quicker, and though it wasn't of much importance a fair bit stronger. My eyes, as always, could see the moves; and thanks to berserk-fast reflexes guided by the experience of who knows how many accumulated hours of sparring, my body could react to them.

The second reason was that he was utilizing almost nothing but what moves he had gleaned from Neji's taijutsu style in the time he had been sparring regularly with Orochimaru's other apprentice, and wasn't yet particularly fluent in the movements of Juuken.

Even so, he was a tough opponent. And as always, it took him no more than an instant to detect it when my chakra snapped back to regular state. Heck, he noticed it before I did, and I was in the middle of lunging to strike when my hand was slapped aside and two fingers hit my forehead.

Once again, just like that, I was dead.

"That's not good enough," Sasuke said honestly, shaking his head. "You're getting stronger, but he could still easily beat you with an arm tied behind his back. Maybe two."

Hiryuu nodded. "Your greatest defensive advantage is that your opponent must be so wary of touching you, and particularly cautious to completely avoid any contact with your hands. Even if depletion of your chakra supply lowers your control to the point that you're prone to accidentally release the Lightning Activation technique, at the very least you must come to know your limits well enough to predict _when_ this is going to happen."

"Yes…" I said, looking downward. _How far away am I? I have plenty of raw talent, but not enough skill to even use it effectively…_

"Hey," Sasuke said, "We can give her a little credit. Most eight-year-olds wouldn't yet be able to utilize Raiton at all, affinity or not. It says a lot that you're able to sustain it for so long…" He looked to Hiryuu. "I want to try something."

"Such as…?"

He held up his hand, and promptly it was blanketed in a dusty mist of sparking lightning – and Hiryuu was standing between the Uchiha and me.

"Easy," the boy said. "It's a sort of test that Kakashi ran by me once before. If she's correctly converting her chakra to Lightning, she won't be shocked. If she's doing it incorrectly – well, at the most she'll receive a light shock. You already know that Raiton types have the unique characteristic of practical invulnerability to their own element; it's why Hanabi can practice against me without worrying she might accidentally kill me. In fact, against me regular Juuken would be more effective than Lightning Juuken; if hit with the latter, my keirakukei would simply conduct the similar energy and merge it with my own."

Hiryuu slowly stepped aside. I looked up at Sasuke.

"So… this'll test the strength of my Raiton?" I said, forming the Saru seal.

He nodded and reached toward me.

"Not the heart," Hiryuu growled. "You can touch her on the arm."

"Don't you trust me yet–?"

"One cannot be too careful."

He sighed, his hand moving from where it hovered over the center of my chest. His sparking hand, shrouded in energy, met my forearm.

_Ack–!_

My lips parted very slightly at the enormous rush of energy that was jolted into my body. Entered at my arm, caught in the flow of my chakra, within a moment speeding through my coils.

"Well?" Sasuke said, "Did it shock you?"

I blinked at his calm face. What was he getting at? "No," I answered truthfully. My body was just tingling a little and I sort of couldn't feel the ground under me, was all. Did he even realize he had just flooded me with his chakra? Maybe he just had so much _more_ chakra than me, he didn't figure how much he'd zapped me with…?

"I see; that's a good sign," the Uchiha said, calling me back to attention. "Looks like your Lightning Release is even stronger than I thought. Use it well."

"U-um – yeah," I said, too quickly.

He put a hand on my shoulder, and I looked curiously to his eyes. Intense charcoals were trained heavily on me, almost causing me to shiver. His brow seemed to furrow very slightly, but if it had soon relaxed again. With a brief, light squeeze on my shoulder, his meaningful stare broke away from me.

"Catch ya' later," he said simply.

"Uh, see you. And thanks for the lesson!" I said, only to a retreating back that promptly blurred and vanished in a swirling of leaves.

_What was that? _I wondered, looking up at a swollen, setting sun.

_What is it … that you're trying to tell me?_

* * *

**Neji ****ネジ**

Hands in pockets, he slinked up the dusk-bleak path with his head down, eyes closed. Only just after he had passed me did he come to a halt and look up.

"What are you doing here?" he said none too warmly, not turning his eyes my way.

Arms crossed, leaning against a wall under a roof edge that cast over me a pocket of shadow, I snickered quietly, gently baring my teeth. "Bravo. You certainly found me quickly. Dutifully protecting your home turf, hmm?"

"I'd know the reek of your sick energy anywhere, swine."

"Now, is that any way to address your superiors, chuunin? Then again, I guess while we're here you're another New Leaf-nin and I'm an enemy shinobi."

"While we're here, darn straight you are. Do you have any idea what happens to me – what happens to our entire operation – if I'm caught chatting here with you?"

"That would be quite a pity, losing a source of intelligence. What would they _do_ to you, I wonder…?"

"I'll ask again: Why are you here?"

I smirked, looking up into the gathering darkness that was blanketing the world for slumber.

"I just thought you ought to know that Hyuuga Hanabi is dying tonight."

The first hum of cricketsong poured into the still, lukewarm air.

"…And?"

"I thought you might like to know. That's it."

"Then I assume one of Orochimaru's trusted is tailing me."

"Is there a problem with that?"

"None at all."

"Splendid," I said, smiling as I pushed from the wall and stepped out onto the path behind him. _"Because I can guarantee that whatever New Konoha might do to a traitor would be a stroll in the park beside what Orochimaru-sama would devise…"_

"Hn. Whatever," he said, and began walking away.

_Tonight… the Hyuuga will be united at last…_

I turned my gaze skyward, sipping in a soft breeze as I marveled at the pale waning gibbous that shone down on us from above.

"It's a beautiful night, isn't it?"

"Yes, sir. It is."

_What a beautiful night, indeed…_

* * *

**Hinata ****ヒナタ**

A shiver rattled down my spine. With a gasp, I looked up at the chipped fragment of moon illuminating the stony expanse of cold sky.

…_Darkness is approaching…_

At this notion I shivered again. I had better get back to camp.

* * *

**Lee ****リー**

I prodded a twig at the base of the fire. The wood that fueled it had not been easy to find, but it burned well with its dryness; the fire was strong, so that even the cold desert winds that reached us in the shallow dip between dunes in which we currently resided failed to extinguish it.

"So… you are certain you do not want food?"

"We've got plenty," Naruto said next to me, "We packed before we got to the desert."

"No, thanks," Temari-san said flatly. "This is our homeland; when we are hungry, we'll find food ourselves."

Arms crossed, the glaring Kankurou nodded in agreement.

I sighed. Whether they were starving or content, the response would have been the same.

"We should save our breath, Lee," Naruto said. "A ninja's got to have his pride, after all."

"You calling us arrogant?" Kankurou snarled roughly.

"Not at all," Naruto stated. "I meant just what I said."

"Even so," I added, "I thought I ought offer. I certainly do not consider us enemies at this point; there is little reason in clinging to old differences."

"Hm… We're not enemies, huh…" the Suna kunoichi mused, her weary gaze lost in the flames. "It's funny… That Orochimaru actually had the nerve to send Sand your files to be added to the new edition of the bingo book."

"Temari…" Kankurou warned, looking toward her.

"Orochimaru…" Naruto muttered. "_He_ is our enemy."

The flames snapped and crackled through a thick stretch of silence.

"I suppose you would not care to tell what you two are doing out here…?"

"The better question'd be What are you supposed fugitives doing in our country?"

"…We're looking for someone," Naruto answered him.

"Well, that makes all of us…" Kankurou remarked.

The fire crackled, crackled noisily between us. I poked it with the stick. Naruto scratched his chin. Kankurou's fingers played at his hood. Temari rubbed her neck. The fire crackled.

"…Where'd that girl get off to, anyways?" Temari asked.

"Hunting," Naruto said simply.

"She left her bow."

"She doesn't need it."

"Outsiders never have an easy time of securing food out here."

"She can manage."

"Aren't you scared she'll get lost?"

"Not really."

"What if Gaara's found her?"

"She's not easy to sneak up on."

"What's wrong with the food you packed, anyways?"

"Not to her preference."

"What's her preference?"

"Fresher."

The Suna-nin eyed us dubiously.

And almost jumped as Hinata came sliding on her feet down a nearby dune.

"Sorry I was gone so long," she said, walking up to seat herself between Naruto and I.

"Don't worry about it," Naruto said, patting her shoulder.

"Huh," Temari laughed with a sidelong smirk. "I knew she wouldn't find anything."

"I did," Hinata said, blinking, as she reached into her pack for a water bottle.

"Hey, try to conserve that…"

"Hai, hai…"

The Suna-nin stared. Hinata took a swig of water, finally caught on to her mistake, coughed, shut the water bottle, cleared her throat. She was blushing like mad.

"_So_," Naruto snatched the siblings' attention, "you won't tell us what you're up to or what's going on, but you seem pretty keen on hanging around us. Why's that? Want a few sacrifices nearby for when you run into Gaara?"

"You ask that pretty calmly," Kankurou noted.

"Excellent attempted subject change," the younger boy remarked.

"Last time," I said, "I faced him alone and quite nearly won. I have grown stronger since."

"If that's what you're basing your confidence on, you oughta' forget it," Kankurou said. "You haven't witnessed the half of Gaara's power."

"Perhaps not," Naruto said, "but I doubt we were half as tough back then as we are now. Anyways – why _are_ you two hanging around?"

"Pfft…" Kankurou scowled at the fire. "Truth is, Gaara's finally been banished from the Hidden Sand."

"It's rare for shinobi to be exiled," Hinata said, a furrow in her brow. "Usually … I mean…"

"Execution? Assassination? Believe me, they've been trying for years; it's a wasted effort, and a wasted assassin's life to boot."

"That's terrible…"

"What is?" the Suna man asked. "How many assassins they've been sending after Gaara, or how many lives Gaara's taken? Don't answer that," he chuckled humorlessly.

"But at this point they couldn't let it go on," Temari said. "That is – let Gaara go on preying on the people of the village."

Hinata gasped quietly.

"Lately it's been getting more and more out of hand. His urges to kill are becoming stronger than before, and he's not easily satisfied…"

"And now that he has been exiled from his home, his siblings are out here searching for him…?"

"…He's our brother," Kankurou said quietly, his head low. His eyes narrowed, torn. "No matter how little he thinks of us, no matter how messed up he is, I can't ignore the fact that he's my little brother and he's alone out here…!"

"What would become of him, left entirely alone?" Temari said tonelessly. "The monster he is now wouldn't compare, and _we _would be the ones shouldering guilt and regret. So we ran away. We had no choice."

"That is admirable," Hinata said softly.

"All the same," the young man said, "we're looking for him but don't want to find him. I'll admit it; I'm scared of Gaara. Anyone with half a brain would be scared of Gaara. And what with the way he is now, if he's desperate enough for blood, I doubt he'd think twice about killing even us."

"Hm…"

With that we were left for several minutes listening only to the flames. They would begin to burn out soon.

"I want to meet him."

The Suna-nin's eyes flew to Naruto at the abrupt statement.

"…You got a deathwish or what?"

"Not at all," the blond said. "It's just … I can almost sympathize with him. Hated and feared, driven from his home… Without Lee and Hinata with me back then, I don't know _what_ would've happened. But he's _been_ alone, hasn't he? Even before that, for a lot longer than I ever was, he's been alone…"

"But you wanna _meet_ him? That's not smart…"

"What do you think you can do for him?" Temari asked. "Talk to him? Become his _friend_? Sorry, but he might be beyond saving."

"'Beyond saving'…?" Hinata asked, her eyes narrowed. She met the older kunoichi's eyes. "Then what are you two even doing out here?!" She looked down again, lowering her voice. "I like to believe that few people are beyond saving…"

_Hinata-san…_

Naruto nodded. "So – Hinata, Lee, you with me?"

"Do you really need to ask?"

"Definitely."

"There you have it!" Naruto said. "With our combined power, I seriously doubt Gaara can top us. We'll see if we can't get through to your brother, ne?"

With a sharp inhalation, Hinata's back snapped straight, her face alert as she gazed off into the distant sky.

"What's up?" Naruto asked.

She looked suddenly to him, eyes refocusing. "Demonic energy – different from yours. The murderous intent is incredible…"

"How convenient," I noted, "He is coming to us?"

"Look alive, guys," Naruto said. Naginata in hand, the boy rose to his feet.

"This way," Hinata said, taking off to the south. Naruto and I followed close behind.

"Wait!"

We looked back to the puppet user, who had stood up behind us.

"You're … either incredibly stupid or incredibly powerful, and I have a feeling I know which it is. Just…" He looked away a moment. "Are… Are you going to kill him? If he…"

Though Temari's face said she had her doubts we could, Kankurou's held barely masked emotion.

"We will not," I assured him, nodding. He nodded back.

"I'm going with you. Not to help, just to watch."

"Kankurou, you idiot–!"

"That's fine. Lead the way, Hinata-chan!"

The four of us dashed over the desert sands, Hinata in the lead, Naruto and I flanking, Kankurou not far behind. Nothing was said when, soon enough, Temari-san flickered in to fall into step beside Kankurou.

"The Black Wolf Fang," Kankurou said. "The Purple Fox, the Green Beast. Rumors have found us all the way out here, you know. And Orochimaru wants you listed as S-rank criminals."

"S-rank may be a bit of a stretch," I admitted.

"All the same," he continued, "it's clear enough Orochimaru's starting to fear you. Just how strong could you have gotten … since the last time we met?"

"If we're not lucky, you might find out," Hinata said, halting. "And it looks like we're not lucky."

Winds howled forebodingly through the night, carrying clouds of sand that blurred, obscured the figure slowly approaching some thirty meters to the south. The breeze kicked up, clipping a great deal of sand from the dunes, spraying it across the land. We held our ground as the wind hissed and lashed eerily, pulled at our hair, our clothes.

My mouth fell slightly open as the murmurings reached my ears.

"_Blood… s-so much strong blood… I'll kill them for you, mother. I'm a good boy. But which one do you want first? Hmm…?"_

"He's already cracked," Kankurou breathed.

I could see him now – head low so as to show only a shock of crimson hair, arms swinging limply with each trudging step. Sand was flowing from the gourd on his back, crawling slowly through the air about him.

He raised his head, and I stifled a gasp. A vicious smile was carved on the boy's face, his tongue hanging from an open mouth that salivated heavily. He laughed suddenly, low and grating, as he halted fifteen meters away. His eyes were huge, bloodshot, and insane.

"Gaara … of the desert," I said.

I tensed as his hand drifted upward. Once above shoulder height it fell again to point roughly toward Hinata.

"_Five-tails!" _he growled violently. _"You have the _blood_ of the F-Five tails…!"_

"I do," Hinata said simply, showing no fear.

A bestial laugh of excitement shook the desert world. "That darkness … that _power_…! Never before have I spilt such glorious blood… Killing you – _that_ will verify my existence! All of your blood – _I'll take it ALL!_"

Naruto stepped forward angrily, but I swiftly passed him and held out my arm.

"I will go."

"Lee…"

"Lee-kun…?"

I grinned back at them. "After all, I still have a score to settle here." I looked forward, raising my voice. "Have you forgotten me already, Sabaku no Gaara?!"

He snickered lowly, recognition glinting brightly in his eyes. _"You… Okay, then…" _He glared past me a moment, and his tongue slithered across his lips. _"We'll save the best for last…."_

"I would concentrate, if I were you," I said. Arm weights in hand, I knelt to remove my leg weights as well. "I am your opponent for now."

"_Then come on already… Get over here and die, appetizer…"_

"Heh." Smiling, I held out my arms, two weight sets in each hand. "Normally I would not do this right off the bat … but if you do not mind, I will go ahead and pick up about the place we left off the last time."

My hands opened. Naruto put an arm in front of his face.

**BOOM!**

"E-even in … _sand_…?!" Temari gasped.

"Here we go…"

The desert floor stirred, and a blast of sand shot toward me. The others behind me bolted aside.

My fist crashed into Gaara's stomach. "Not even close…"

"_Wh-what…?!_" he choked out, breathless.

My hand clutched the leather sash draped over his shoulder, which secured the gourd to his back. "Let me teach you … the _definition_ of the word 'speed'."

My fist now met his face. I raced after him – and still further behind his absolute defense raced in pursuit.

* * *

**Hanabi ****ハナビ**

Man, did I feel weird! It hadn't worn off yet! It wasn't a bad feeling – just _weird_. I felt like I could sprint ten miles. Granted, I _knew_ I couldn't – just felt like I could. If that made any sense. Did it? I wondered if this was what being high felt like. Nah – a drunk would probably feel invincible and believe it, too. Besides – I felt really alert. Jumpy – but just because I was so super-alert. Okay, then, this was probably what a sugar rush felt like. Not that I would know. I don't like sweets. Most Hyuuga don't. Nee-chan does. But I don't. And I had a stomachache. Well – not exactly like that – I just had an ache in my stomach area. Probably because my chakra network was a little overloaded. Yep.

I _could _just activate my Raiton and run out the excess, yes – but I didn't. Something was telling me not to. Something was wrong, by the way – I'd been feeling that for the last twenty freaking minutes or something. Sasuke had done this for a reason. He'd tried to tell me something. But what?

"Hyuuga-san!"

Everyone from Hiyuki up looked at Raido-sensei when he called out. "Which one?" Hikujaku deadpanned.

"Ah – Hiryuu-san. You're needed at the watchtower, immediately!"

"What is it?" Hiryuu asked.

"Iruka is unconscious – he was in critical condition, but the medics were able to stabilize him. He was ambushed on the watch, and his wounds seem to have been inflicted by a user of Juuken…"

I flinched. I knew it. Something was up, something was going on…

"What are you saying?" Hiryuu asked.

"Not like that – we're not accusing anyone!" Raido clarified. "If it's a Hyuuga you know, your Byakugan should be able to identify trace remnants of the attacker's chakra in Iruka's system, right?"

"I understand," Oji-san said, nodding. "Harumi, Hikujaku, Hiyuki, Hitaka – escort Lady Hanabi to her room."

"No, Hiryuu," Harumi said. "I can go. You should stay with Hanabi-sama."

"We're not outsiders here, Harumi; this is our village now. They need our strongest Byakugan, and you know it."

"But, sir–,"

"I doubt this is related to Lady Hanabi, but in case it is you're to escort her to our room."

"Hai!" four voices chorused. Hiryuu and Raido flickered away, and Hitaka took my hand. Together the five of us jogged down the path in the opposite direction, to the nearest trapdoor some hundred meters away.

Something was wrong. I was sure now. I looked to the others; all Byakugan were active, so I went ahead and activated my own. There didn't seem to be anyone around, at least, and any enemy within a fairly large radius from Harumi would be detected.

But if you really think about it … if the invaders were Hyuuga, wouldn't they know that? Maybe I was thinking too much into it. Oji-san was probably right – this was probably another random Sound strike. After all, a nice chunk of New Oto was comprised of Hyuuga. But then, if Sasuke _had_ been trying to warn me…

_Stop and think. If a Hyuuga was trying to get at me at this moment, how would he do it?_

I turned my head and swore. "Get down, now!"

Never before had I found myself so grateful that following orders was reflex to them. We all hit the ground, and an arrow zipped over me and over Hikujaku, who was directly in front of me.

"Kuso!" he cried. "The blind spot…!"

All running in the same direction, without looking back. At a certain distance behind us our blind spots overlapped.

The four surrounded me in a protective formation. "We're under attack," Harumi grunted. "Show yourselves!"

_Wait… S-someone… just tried to kill me…?_

"Hanabi-sama," Hitaka said in his gentle voice, his back to me as he readied an arrow of his own.

"H-huh?" I said, flinching.

"Stay close to me, m'lady. We won't let anyone hurt you."

"Hitaka-kun…" I gulped hard and nodded. "…Yes."

"Well, well, well, if it isn't the notorious defectors who went and crawled all the way out here to find someone to serve."

"Harumaru," Hikujaku growled as the other Hyuuga strode up, sneering viciously. The man pointedly put himself between us and the trapdoor.

"Heh… Big words, _Ko_taka-_chan_," a younger male taunted as he skulked into view from behind a stone building. "Especially considering your lady would have died by my arrow if she herself hadn't noticed it. Some protector you are."

"Haritsu-nii-san…!" Hitaka gasped.

"Not anymore, he's not," Harumi whispered. "He's your enemy, Hitaka-kun–,"

The kunoichi whipped out a kunai, deflecting a knife thrown toward her from the shadows.

"Come on out here, Hireiki."

"Shame… Honestly, Harumi, what are you doing clinging to that _thing_ over there?"

"This '_thing_' is the rightful successor to our clan, you old crone."

"Call me what you will… I still need to repay your 'successor' for the last time…"

I flinched under Hireiki's glare.

"Don't be afraid, Hanabi-sama," Hikujaku said, "This is what we're here for."

"Exactly – your little pets are ready and willing to throw away their lives for you," Harumaru cut back snidely.

"Don't listen to that," Hikujaku muttered.

"It's true. Are you fools really so pathetic as to seek out a master to serve even after you've been freed?"

"What do you think of our honored grandfather's words, then?"

"That old antique knows nothing. He's paraded as divine to help keep the blind like you in line." Harumaru raised his nose smugly. "You're nothing but a few broken birds that would rather cower in the opened cage than try to learn to fly."

"So that's what they call flying these days, huh? You know, thanks for the offer, but I think I'd rather be right here where I am than join the depraved dogs leaping to Neji's beck and call. You went out one cage and into a prettier one without even noticing it, same as he did. You _do_ know your powerful leader's wrapped snug around Orochimaru's little finger, right?"

"Lady Hanabi," Harumi whispered as they spoke. "Do you have enough control over the curse mark jutsu that you might activate theirs and not ours…?"

"N-no," I admitted. "I've never really used it before; I would probably hit all of you. And … I don't know if I could control whether I incapacitate or k-k…"

"…Do it anyways."

"No!" I gasped.

"It's okay," she consoled, "Worst case scenario, and you'll still have Hiryuu around to protect you…"

"That's not the point!" I whispered back. "I won't risk–!"

"Enough of this stalling!" Hireiki snapped. "Though your numbers are greater, you know you're no match for us. This is your last chance to surrender the girl. If you do, Neji-sama will graciously accept you back."

"And if we don't?" Harumi asked.

"These are the words of Lord Neji: Those who defend the Main House shall not be forgiven. So – What's your answer?"

I held my breath as I stared into Harumi's motionless back.

"Protect the heiress!" she barked, flinging three smoke grenades to the ground.

"I've got you," Hikujaku's voice assured me as a hand caught my forearm, and instantly he, Hitaka, Hiyuki, and I were some thirty yards from the smoke cloud.

"Harumi's fighting Hireiki. This way!" Hikujaku said, running down another road. The three fell into formation around me.

"You guys – do you have any flares?! Paper bombs, even?"

"I don't…"

"Sorry, Onii-san…"

He swore under his breath as we came to an intersection.

"What is it?" Hiyuki asked. "Wh-why are we stopping?"

"Do we look for help underground, or try to make it to the watchtower?!"

I opened my mouth. "I think–!"

Hitaka lunged at me, threw his arms around me, spun one-eighty degrees with me.

Then a jolt shook his body, and his mouth burst open with a sound of pain, and his eyes grew, and I realized that suddenly an arrow was sticking out of his back.

"L-Lady… Ha-n-_na_…" Crimson spilled from his mouth, and his hands slipped limply from my arms as he dropped to the ground.

"_Hitaka!_" I screeched.

"Tch. Too bad … baby hawk." The mockery was spoken from a rooftop twenty meters off, where the sharpshooter was knelt in position, eyes cruel, his bow just fired.

_His own brother…! _"Haritsu! You–!"

"_BASTARD!_" Hikujaku screamed, and in a single deft motion had snatched up Hitaka's own dropped bow and an arrow, whirled to face the sniper, and drawn back and fired.

Haritsu withheld a yell as his shoulder was pierced.

"Kill you – _I'll kill ya'!_" Hikujaku roared, launching himself toward the rooftop with a palm drawn back.

"Not quite, cousin!" Seemingly from nowhere came Harumaru, soaring in an equally grand leap to intercept Hikujaku, before the light of the moon, with a graceful and terrible spinning heel strike across the face.

He shot like a bullet into some crates stacked against a building across the street.

"We have to run, m'lady!" Hiyuki urged, tugging my hand.

"B-but…" My eyes dared edge toward Hitaka's still, still form.

"There's nothing we can do! Hurry!"

We ran, and Harumaru landed and darted toward us from behind. Hiyuki, quivering violently, released my arm, pushed me away, and turned to face him.

"Where do you think you're going–?"

"_Korraaaa!_"

Hikujaku burst from the rubble already striking, Byakugan blazing fiercely. Harumaru barely blocked in time.

"Get a move on!" Hikujaku growled, deflecting a deadly palm and striking again.

"Right!" Hiyuki squeaked, taking my hand and leading me at a sprint. She scanned furiously with her Byakugan as we ran down a road lined with stone buildings with walls, almost like fences between them. "There! The trapdoor on the other side of that wall!"

We ran between two buildings and were twelve meters from the wall, nine, five…

Hiyuki tried to slow down.

A figure blurred into existence in front of us.

Hiyuki started to draw back a hand.

The heel of Hireiki's palm drove into Hiyuki's jaw.

The teen bounced and rolled more than once, coming to a halt sprawled out on her back. A groan met my ears as she turned weakly onto her side and curled up a little, trembling very badly.

Hireiki chuckled as she looked down at me. "It's been a while, you little snot…"

I whimpered, eyebrows pulling together. For a second I started to take my stance – then broke and made a mad dash for the wall.

Four steps up I was caught by the back of my shirt. I tried to pull away; the woman scoffed and threw me cruelly to the ground. I lost my breath in a sharp wheeze as my back hit solid earth, and my arms crept across my middle as I squeezed an eye shut.

"You got lucky last time," she hissed. Her foot sort of roughly nudged my face. "But now that I know what to look out for … what do you think you can do to a jounin?"

She drew back her foot, and I was prepared for pain or worse when I spotted Hiyuki lunging at her.

_She got up…_

The woman shifted a bit, captured her wrist and wrapped the girl's arm behind her – and struck her hand sharply between her shoulder blades. Hiyuki grunted, and Hireiki wasted no time in grabbing at the back of her neck and shoving the sixteen-year-old's face forcefully against the wall.

"H-Hiyuki-nee-san…" Hiyuki, who was even weaker than me…

"You want to fight me, child? An embarrassment like you … dares stand against her own mother?"

"I'll p-protect m'lady…!" she whimpered.

"So unlike your brother … you never were a quick learner. Didn't I tell you … we wouldn't forgive those who protect the Main House?"

She pulled her from the wall by the back of her shirt and flung her away. Hiyuki stumbled but kept on her feet; then she charged at Hireiki again. I was still on my back and sort of dazed, but I could see them. Even in my groggy, upside-down view, it was painful to watch.

Hireiki dodged her daughter's palm, and her fisted hand snapped into Hiyuki's face. The girl reeled and struck out again, only to have her palms blocked and deflected with humiliating ease before she was caught by a forceful backfist. She ended up catching herself on her hands and knees instead of hitting the ground, and rose with a yell to strike again. Her mother dodged under a palm and sprang a violent uppercut squarely into her daughter's stomach; the girl gagged, her white eyes huge, and was starting to double up when a knee whacked her in the jaw, drawing from her a pained cry. She slumped to her knees, but grasped at her mother's shirt to keep from falling down. She was crying by now. I think she tried but failed to stand, and her mother took a firm hold of her shoulders, raised her up a little higher, and hit her knee once, twice, very hard against her gut. Before the girl could fall the woman laid her palm against her cheek, fingers digging in her hair – and shoved her knee horribly against her daughter's mouth.

I winced. At this point I had gotten on my hands and knees, but at the sight of the red gushing from my cousin's mouth as she cried out in pain…

I grimaced. _Hiyuki…!_

"Now, where were we…?" Hireiki said tonelessly, looking my way.

Hiyuki rose up behind her.

_Oh kami, don't–!_

Hireiki, without facing her, shifted and secured her striking right wrist in her own right hand, folded across her body. Hireiki's left arm rested above her right, the fisted hand almost touching the opposite shoulder.

"You idiot."

With the force of her whole body behind it, she turned, lashed an explosive elbow straight back into her daughter's nose. A horrid CRACK broke into the air, and Hiyuki was thrown off her feet to crash heavily to the ground, awkwardly splayed on her back.

I vomited.

_S-so much … blood…_

"What a weak stomach," Hireiki remarked of me.

"Y-you're cruel," I sniffled.

"She should have stayed down. I told her she would not be forgiven for her treachery … and anyone who stands in the way of Lord Neji's goals shall suffer. Unfortunately for you, Hanabi, Lord Neji wants you dead and therefore you shall die… huh?"

My jaw fell. _Why…?_

Hyuuga Hiyuki, who was even weaker than me. Hiyuki, who was awkwardly tall. Hiyuki, who was soft spoken and shy. Hiyuki, who couldn't really handle pain. Hiyuki, who wasn't breathing right. Hiyuki, whose nose was badly broken, whose lip was busted and purple, whose cheeks were bruised, whose teeth were messed up. Hiyuki, whose face was a mess of blood and tears but mostly blood.

Hiyuki, who had crawled to her enemy, firmly gripped her ankle, preventing her from approaching me.

Hiyuki, who was sobbing, bawling, even as she glowered.

"What are you doing…?" Hireiki's scornful voice was dangerously cold.

"Yamette, Hiyuki! Stop already! You've done enough!" I cried, unblinking, my heart hammering in rising terror.

"You heard her. Let go of me, daughter."

"M-mom…" Hiyuki's knuckles were white. "You w-will not harm… Lady H-Hanabi…!"

A malevolently false smile snaked across Hireiki's face. "Hiyuki-chan… you never learn a thing."

The woman's free foot moved forward.

I was frozen, as if in a trance.

Her heel lurched back.

I couldn't look away, couldn't even close my eyes.

The instant before contact, Hiyuki's mouth fell open, her eyes blanking up as they stared into those of the woman who'd borne her.

To this day, I can only wonder what was going through her mind then.

**WHAM!**

"_UNGH…!_"

I was on my feet.

"_Iie!_" I shrieked madly, charging.

Under different circumstances, I might have at least dodged; so ravaged was I by the influence of so much stress and confusion and despair, I failed to avoid or even anticipate a tremendous blow to my stomach.

My back hit the stone wall, and I sank feebly to one knee, sort of hunched over, sickened as the metallic taste of nightmare bubbled up into my mouth. I wanted to yell at her, but my voice was powerless as I was, gasping and weak.

"You're a soulless b-brute … you're cruel, and crude, and twisted, a-and vile, you – you bイ$&#...!"

She laughed. "Who taught you that word, girl?"

"You're h-horrible!" I cried. "Y-y-you miserable, dirty, stinking old $&!#-faced–!"

"Call names like a four-year-old if you'd like," she scoffed, sneering as she drew a kunai knife. The blade glinted in the moonlight. "Owari da."

I saw her move toward me. Shoving to my feet, I shut my eyes, ground my teeth, and smacked my hands together.

"_Hibana!_" I screeched, and a flickering sparkle of energy cracked across the air before me.

Hireiki jumped back just as crackling electricity sizzled and buzzed to life all around me, sparking wildly, whipping up my hair.

"'Hibana,' huh? How cute – rearrange the characters of your name and you get 'Sparking.' Not a bad trick, but all the same _futile_!"

Excitement was in bright in her eyes as she hurled the knife for my heart.

I grunted, and a sharp bolt of energy lanced out ten yards along the projectile's path – into the tip, along the blade, straight out from the handle – in the instant before the knife was deflected and fell from the air. The woman barely jerked from the fleeting bolt's path in time; her eyes widened as the underside of her forearm was lightly singed, the sleeve's cloth torn.

"Keep it up!" I wasn't trying to shout, but I did anyways. "Toss a lightningrod, and it'll be simple for me to trace its path and target you!"

She scowled.

"So – I thought you said it was over?! Get over here, and I'll gladly zap you right over to Hell!"

"Fool – your jutsu's strong, but all I have to do is wait for it to run out!"

"You think so?! You're in enemy territory; someone's bound to come across here soon! Every minute you sit here, the chance goes up!"

"Oh yeah? As Neji-sama predicted, in response to the watchtower strike your noncombatants are underground and shinobi are all checking the fields and such, a mile and a half from where we are now! If you screamed they wouldn't hear you!"

"Our numbers may be stretched thin, but someone'll have to check around here eventually, and when they do–!"

"But how long can you keep that up? You're forcing a heavy flow of Lightning energy from a large number of chakra points across your body. You're trembling, and your breath shakes. You're hardly blinking for concentration, and you can't even move. I don't need to be a Raiton user to tell that there's no way a child has the stamina to maintain _that_ level of chakra output for long."

I glared determinedly, teeth clenched. "I've got plenty of juice left!"

"You bluff; you're stuck, young lady, and you know it."

"Ch…!"

* * *

**Hinata ****ヒナタ**

_Kuso! Kuso-kuso-kuso! What's happening to you, Imouto-chan?!_

I wanted to sprint there. I could make it, if I didn't stop, in … one and a half days, at the least…

"_Kuso…!_"

"Hinata?"

"It's nothing…"

"Stay alert, Hinata-chan – you never know when Bushy Brow might need us to jump in."

"Yes…"

* * *

**Hanabi ****ハナビ**

"_Ha… ha… haa…!_"

_Hibana Houden – Spark Discharge._

_Two full minutes … is definitely longer than I ever could have sustained it … on my own strength…_

–"_Looks like __**your Lightning Release is even stronger **__than I thought. __**Use it well**__."–_

_An energy boost and a subtle hint … probably the most he could give without risking his own neck… but it looks like it wasn't enough…!_

_I'm getting dizzy… My whole body's tingling–_

"Ow–!" I yelped as a stray spark of energy bit painfully at my shin.

"Come on, now, you're hurting yourself," Hireiki taunted, smirking wickedly in anticipation. "_Poor _Hanabi. You're starting to lose control over your chakra now, aren't you?"

Panting slowly and heavily, taking effort just to breathe, I ignored her as she began to laugh. My eyelids fluttered, blinking away sweat.

"What are you, trying to kill yourself?"

"_Oh–!_" I shut my eye as a spark snapped against my cheek, and with the lapse in focus the spark discharge dropped dangerously, leaving me nearly defenseless. I ducked my head and clamped my eyes shut, screaming as I tore at the last of my reserves to send the spark field flaring out once more.

"You struggled up to the bitter end … but…"

My eyes burst open, twitching wildly as a shudder hit my body. My vision was whiting out. _At this rate, I'll…!_

"It looks like your time is up."

"_Uhn!_" A white-hot jolt hit my stomach area. A few drops of blood sprayed forcefully from my mouth as the jutsu snapped to an end.

My eyes drooped shut, and I collapsed, flopping into a limp heap on the ground, gasping shakily for breath.

"And so ends the resistance of the mighty Lightning Hyuuga," Hireiki sang.

A whimper found its way up my thick throat as I opened my eyes. I tried to push myself from the ground; at a bad moment my arm muscles spasmed weirdly, dropping me flat on my face.

"Look at you – groveling like any of the vermin in the dirt. To think that even a fraction of our brethren thought you some form of savior, a child of prophecy sent to restore balance to the _clan!_"

I grunted as her foot roughly struck at my head. My body didn't move much; my head just turned sharply to the side, so that I was looking at the wall of one of the stone buildings on either side of us. Not like there was anyone on the other side of that black window, or in any of the buildings around here – everyone was either underground or a mile away…

I heard her pull out a kunai. "But you know what's really funny, Hanabi-_sama_? You're not much of anything anymore. Not an heiress, not a prodigy, nothing. Because if Hikaru-sama's prediction was true and you _were_ the chosen one destined to overthrow Lord Neji, I guess some sort of _miracle_, some _divine_ intervention, would have to stop me from killing you–!"

My eyes widened silently. _Holy kismets–_

"_HYAAAAAAHH!_"

Hiryuu's powerful form vaulted from the open window, flowing elegantly onto the scene, briefly touching ground on one foot, and whirling low as he surged toward Hireiki to plow a palm into the center of her chest.

I wasn't facing _that_ way, but my ears easily told me she'd broken at least one of the opposite building's (stone) walls.

I blinked. Divine intervention? Close enough. You wouldn't catch me complaining.

"Lady Hanabi – Lady Hanabi, are you hurt?! What?" he said as he carefully turned me onto my back. His Byakugan scanned me over for wounds.

"H'yuki!" I sputtered out. "'M fine, p-please check Hiyuki…"

He nodded. "Harumi! Over here!"

"I see you!" the medic-nin called back, promptly flickering into view. I cringed at sight of the trails of crimson leaking from her mouth, but it was one of those rare cases when blood could be overlooked; in this case I was too happy to see her to care. An arm folded across herself, she walked with an effort-laden awkwardness I realized was a slight limp.

"Help Hiyuki first, hurry!" I called weakly. "Hireiki beat her!"

"Oh kami – Hiyuki!" she cried, limping to the girl's weakly stirring form.

"What of Hikujaku?" I asked Hiryuu, my heart throbbing. Albeit slowly, with enough effort I managed to sit up.

"I'm sorry, I don't know. Backup from the village is on the way; I'll see if Hireiki needs to be finished off."

"Y–you mean you'll…?"

"Hai."

I looked away, and slowly I nodded.

"_Ruthless as ever – though I guess that's to be expected, of the Blazing Dragon of the Hyuuga Clan!"_

A chill brushed over the back of my neck. Hiryuu swore quietly, his Byakugan locking onto the figure crouched on a rooftop across the street. The lithe form rose to his feet in a silky motion, long hair splayed in the breeze, a ghost silhouetted by the moon at his back. Only black-and-white eyes were distinguishable with the distance, malevolent and penetrating in the night, splitting the space between us to knife through the depths of my soul.

"Don't be afraid."

At Hiryuu's voice I managed to break my eyes away. The man rose smoothly to his feet before me, a protective arm outstretched.

"A warrior fights with twice the ferocity when his charge is endangered," he remarked boldly, his voice strong. "Do you think you can take me on, Hyuuga Neji?"

"_Heeh?_" his laugh was rough like a growl. "_I could ask the same. Do what you will with her; in the end, Hireiki wasn't very useful after all. Lauded prodigies like you and your dear elder sister are yesterday's news… If you haven't noticed, Uncle, the next generation is swiftly doing away with the ways of the old."_

Both Neji and Hiryuu vanished. I saw random blurs of motion briefly color the air, heard sounds of fighting, bursts of chakra, felt the air stir and kick around me as the two Hyuuga jounin brawled. I caught a fleeting sight of Hiryuu staggering, some fifteen yards away from me; then he vanished, and there was an enormous CRASH! of force, a wind briefly whisking back my hair, as for a split-second he was crouched at my side, his arms crossed strongly right in front of me, holding off an aerial axe kick from a snarling Neji, whose heel was sitting an inch above my head. Then both were gone again.

My heart was beating very loudly. Inferiority constricted around my chest. My eyes didn't shut as I lowered slowly to my knees, mouth hanging agape in wonder. I let out a tiny, nervous laugh.

_This is insane. This is insanity._

I was embracing myself, breathing hard, too hard, but I didn't feel like I was getting any air.

_I'll __**never**__ be that strong…_

"_Ah–!_"

I turned my head a little to see Hiryuu slammed against a wall by a ferocious palm. The man hacked blood and crumpled to the dirt.

I looked up at the smaller man who was the victor, and he turned his head, and this time…

In my cousin's eyes, I saw my own death.

"_Freeze!_"

_New… Konoha's here…_

In a flash he was behind me, and my toes were barely touching the ground. His hand was clamped firmly under my jaw, pinning my head disagreeably far back on the shoulder pad of his vest. I gagged and croaked in pain, and the stars blurred in and out of focus above me.

I squeaked as five cold, hard points pricked the front of my neck.

"_In case you were wondering, Hanabi…" _he whispered darkly in my ear, _"I can kill you at any moment I please."_

He released me, and by the time I hit the ground I knew he was gone.

"_Hiyuki!_" I heard Harumi shriek. "He took Hiyuki!"

"Team 18 – after him!"

"Hai!"

"Medics, where are you?!"

"Secure the perimeter!"

"L-Lady Hanabi…!" Hiryuu sputtered.

"You need medical attention!"

"I'm f-fine! M'lady…!"

"Hanabi, are you alright?!"

"Little Hyuuga!"

"Hanabi-chan!"

"What's wrong with her?"

_He beat … Hiryuu-oji-san…_

I was curled up on my side, clutching at my chest, my pounding heart. I couldn't breathe fast enough. My hands, my feet were going numb. There wasn't enough air.

_I-I'm … gonna die…_

I couldn't breathe fast enough. I couldn't breathe.

_I'm gonna die… He's gonna _kill_ me…_

"She's hyperventilating!"

"Hanabi, calm down!"

"You're safe now!"

_S-safe… Am I ever … 'safe'…? _I thought, as the voices stretched and swirled into the distance. My ears were ringing. I could barely hear a thing over a roaring heartbeat.

"_Hanabi!"_

"_Hanabi!"_

It all blackened to oblivion.

* * *

**Sixteen, Part Two: Sand**

**Lee ****リー**

"What … happened…?"

Half of his body had fused with the gourd and been overtaken by some form of transformation, sandy in color and patterned with blue; half of his face was that of a beast, and one of his arms a monstrous claw.

"Not good," I heard Kankurou mutter. "He's heading toward the first phase of possession…"

The look in the Jinchuuriki's eye was beyond words as he raised his head and loosed an agonized scream. _"I gotta kill you! Sit still so I can kill you!"_

I was suddenly up to my shins in the desert floor. Gaara yelled madly, sending a bolt of sand my way.

I planted both katana in the earth, wrenched one foot free, and put it down to drive the other into the missile, bursting it with brute force. The sand scattered, and several tendrils sprang toward me from the ground. I crouched, running chakra through crossed swords.

"_Infinity's Shield!_"

The katana flashed weightless about me, disintegrating the attacking sand in an instant. With a gasp I lunged to the side, and many spikes of sand exploded upward in the place I had been. More sand snapped up around my ankle, and I was dragged upward at an astonishing rate; I was pinned to the side of the rising column, but pushed my upper body away in the nick of time to avoid a spear of sand that stabbed out from it around the place my heart would have been, my katana crossed over the spear to hold me away from it. I raised a hand and hacked strongly at the pillar, bursting it at the point of contact; my foot was freed, and the pillar, a dragon of sand, charged toward me as I plummeted. I blocked a blow with the blades, and it reared back to spit a blast of sand; for two seconds the Shield of Infinity dissipated the spray as I fell backwards, and then I barrel rolled to my right. A spear of sand shot past me and lanced through the dragon's head.

_I can anticipate the attacks, but even so…!_

A sand … _hand_ burst from the collapsing spear, locking onto my arm and tightening only a moment before it was cleanly severed by the Blade of Acceleration. I kicked savagely as a mass of sand surged on the attack, spraying it in all directions.

_Every inch of this landscape … hundreds of thousands of liters in every direction, for miles away – has the potential to become his weapon!_

"Lee-kun, behind you!"

My feet touched ground, and I turned and slammed my right-hand sword through a shooting sphere of sand. I sharply continued to turn, striking down a second sand bullet with a backhand slash from the other blade; then I whirled again and lowered my stance, blades held parallel and striking together to dispel a third projectile.

Then through the dust cloud created came the sand master himself – swinging his demonic arm forward, gouging the desert floor, and slamming me with the abruptly extending arm and a mass of sand.

_Such strength… _I noted as the wind was crushed out of me. I was sent shooting backwards.

I was halted and caught by something gently sturdy; Hinata grunted, hooking her arms underneath my own to help me stay on my feet.

"Are you alright?"

"Hai. Thank you."

Behind us, Kankurou yelled.

"_Heads up–_!"

"Headzup!" Naruto chirped, his staff crashing over Gaara's head as Naruto appeared before us to intercept him. Spinning with the opposite force of the staff strike, he now lashed his foot across Gaara's face.

As he was doing this, Hinata darted from behind me, facing sideways while hopping toward our foe, her left shoulder forward. As she drew back, Naruto backflipped over her and out of the way; then she turned and lunged, bringing her right shoulder around with a grunt to drive into the redhead's chest.

He flew quite nearly so far as I had.

"Thought you could use a hand or two," Naruto said next to me, brandishing his naginata with a grin.

"You thought right," I admitted sheepishly, rubbing my head.

"So – time to show him what the team can do?" Hinata said calmly, her Byakugan trained ahead.

I clenched my fist. "YOSH! Then first we must pose!"

"What?" Hinata complained.

"Oh, you're right, Bushy Brow! We almost forgot!"

"G-guys, this is so not the time–!"

"_Yyyatta!_" Naruto spun the naginata rapidly in his hands. "Brace yourself for the onslaught of the cunning and mysterious–," He spread his arms and fingers, bending his knees and resting the naginata over one hand and his back. "Purple Fox!"

I kicked one foot three quick times at the air, spun to kick once with the other, and drew my twin katana as the circle was completed, holding one horizontally before me and the other vertically behind. "The fierce and dashing – Green Beast!"

"A-a-and!" Hinata jabbed her fist and then her palm at the air, and backflipped almost in place before thrusting out a powerful fist. "The gentle and f-ferocious B-B-Black Wolf Fang!" she cried, her face beet red.

Temari and Kankurou were silent in awe behind us.

"Heh heh…!" Naruto snickered. "Good work, team! Now we're ready! Hinata-chan, your part was just a bit lacking in the pizzazz department."

"I am not lacking p-pizzazz!"

"Actually, I am afraid I must concur!" I admitted.

"This whole thing is moronic–!"

"Come on, it's a crucial intimidation factor–!"

"They usually laugh at us–!"

"They wouldn't if _someone_ would get on and bring her share of pizzazz–!"

"_ARE YOU MOCKING ME?!_"

* * *

**Hinata ****ヒナタ**

Honestly, while these two goofballs were criticizing '_pizzazz'_–!

CRASH!

Naruto had Shadow Swapped to safety; Lee leaped away with blurring speed, and Temari, Kankurou, and I body flickered.

"Naruto-kun! Hinata-san!" Lee yelled, "It is too dangerous to stay on the ground!"

"I can handle myself," Naruto called, "but you two…?"

_Well, in that case… _"Leave it to me, Lee-kun!"

"_What's this…?" _Gaara growled, breathing heavily. _"You all wanna die, huh?!"_

_Mi! Hitsuji! Saru! I! Uma! Tora! Ookami!_

"Demonic Ninja Art: Spirit Summoning Jutsu!"

I spat an enormous ball of flame, and until my breath ran out continued breathing into it a powerful stream of fire. The fireball rolled in place and soon darkened to black. Then, with a roaring shockwave, Kurogiba snapped into form before me – one front paw raised, his tail extended, and his head held high, some nine feet at the ear.

"He grew?!" Naruto gasped.

"Spirits don't age, fox-boy," the wolf snorted. "The pup here's merely grown strong enough to summon me closer to my true size." He looked to the staring Gaara, who was hunched over and growling slightly. "The heck've you gotten yourself into now…?"

I jumped on his back. "Give me a lift, will you?" _'This guy's the Jinchuuriki of the One-tail; don't underestimate him. He controls sand and we want to be on the ground as little as possible.'_

'_Just a one-tailed mongrel? This should be cinch.'_

'_Underestimating already… Don't get lax, Ani-ue. We're in his ideal element here.'_

"_What a magnificent jutsu…" _Gaara chuckled darkly. "_Befitting of one who possesses such demonic blood…_"

I flinched. _Does he know…?_

"_It'll be no fun killing that thing, that's already dead, but _you_… You will make me feel ALIVE!"_

'_He doesn't like you very much,' _Kurogiba noted as sand sprang from the ground to twine rapidly about his body.

'_I think he's crazy about me – in a serial killer's sadistic sort of way…' _I leaped off his back just before the sand reached me. We broke our connection as the sand constricted, slicing the wolf to pieces.

I flipped once in the air – and landed on Kurogiba's back as he reformed under me. The wolf swept down toward Lee.

"Lee-kun! Hop on!"

"Oh yeah, just invite anyone onto my back…"

"Thank you for this, Kurogiba-san!" Lee said as he was seated behind me.

"Yeah, yeah."

"_GRAAAAAA! SOMEONE, DIE! SOMEONE NEEDS TO DIE ALREADY!"_

'_Look out.'_

'_I see it!'_

The wolf lunged to the side as dozens of spikes of sand were launched toward us. He conjured a fireball in his mouth and hurled it toward our foe; the boy's demonic arm swatted it away. Not for one moment did he stop glaring at me.

'_I don't like the look in his eye…' _Hungry. Intent. Malicious.

'_Don't tell me you're getting nervous…?'_

'_Hm…'_

An invisible blow crashed apparently into the back of Gaara's head. He turned furiously, dashing his transformed arm over the sand to send spikes shooting toward Naruto.

"Woah!" he yelped, Shadow Stepping a few quick times as the barrage followed him. Suddenly his foothold gave, and he began to sink – and appeared six feet above the ground.

He looked at us, pointing a finger at the sky. "I'm going up!" he called, appearing twenty yards higher as the ground attempted to spear him. "Shadow Ladder: Climb!"

"_No, you don't!" _Gaara roared, scooping sand as water into the Shukaku arm and preparing to hurl it skyward.

I drew the arrow in a flash. _No, you don't!_

_TNNG!_

_Splikt!_

It clipped his cheek and thumped into the sand before him. Naruto forgotten, he brought his human hand to his face, wetting it with crimson. He turned his head, and I flinched.

"_SUPERB! Blood – you _spilled _my _blood_!" _he laughed madly, ramming his monstrous arm into the ground.

'_Below!' _

Kurogiba leapt aside, and the beast hand exploded from the earth. It swatted sharply at us, nailing Kurogiba's side. The wolf and I grunted, and Lee's hold around my waist tightened almost painfully as Kurogiba flipped in the air to land on his feet.

"Lee!"

"Sorry! I can ride a horse, but this–!"

"Seriously? A twenty foot drop is nothing for you! And can't you outrun a horse?!"

"Attention, morons!" Kurogiba barked.

A wave of sand blasted toward us.

'_I'm gonna jump.'_

'_Say it out loud for Lee-kun!'_

'_Oops.'_

A tremendous leap hurled us well above the Jinchuuriki; Kurogiba backflipped elegantly as we soared through the air.

'_Shoot him!'_

'_I'm on it!' _I thought, firing for his shoulder while we were upside down.

Without a movement on his own part, sand arced over him and snapped the arrow in two. For half a second our eyes locked.

I gasped. _That look…_

The same look that had been in Neji's eyes that day. The same look I knew I had more than once held in mine.

Kurogiba completed his flip, and in another second reached the ground, his paws skidding through the sand.

My teeth clenched, I focused my energy with the sign of the Wolf.

Gaara's eyes widened as he smiled hugely, melting in euphoria. _"That's it! That p-power…!"_

_Mi, Inu, Saru, Tora, Tatsu, Tora!_

"_Onibi! _Demon Fire – Art of the Will-o'-Wisp!"

I drew back my left arm, wrist turned so that the hand pointed back. A droplet of flame spun to life between but not touching my thumb, fore, and middle fingers.

'_Let's go, Brother!'_

'_Right!'_

Kurogiba blazed forward, and I swung my arm around, flicking my wrist and casting the fire spark toward our foe. The flickering droplet of ghostly light curved in the night air, swinging to the right but arcing back toward the boy as it cleared the distance between us, appearing and vanishing irregularly in its flight. Very near Gaara, the elusive projectile faded.

I swept my arm back again, snapping my fingers sharply.

A compact but powerful fiery explosion went off in Gaara's face, sending him reeling.

"_AAAH!"_

'_Now!'_

I stood and lunged forward, crouching briefly on Kurogiba's lowered head. He raised it sharply as I sprang, throwing me forward.

Gaara launched a few spears of sand. I sent chakra to my tenketsu and spun my body twice in the air, parallel to the ground, without fully unleashing the Kaiten; shifting a bit, I dodged and diverted all the projectiles.

I slammed into Gaara, left palm hitting his chest, bare feet balanced at the front of his shoulders releasing Juuken from the bottom of the heels, and right arm whipping around to smash a fist across his face.

From the brief crouch I sprang over him, nimbly landing on all fours and facing his back.

"_You're DEAD!" _he yelled, whirling and sending out a blast of sand. I cut blindingly to the side and launched myself at him again, a fist drawn back.

His demonic arm was drawn back. And bitten savagely by Kurogiba.

_THAM!_

My fist slammed cleanly into the boy's face. My left darted in, sealing a number of tenketsu on his torso; he punched with his normal hand, and my right slapped it aside as I spun and delivered a heavy kick to his gut. Kurogiba released him, and Gaara was sent sailing.

I darted back and drew my bow. "Lean back, Lee-kun!" I called as Kurogiba reared back on his hind legs. The boy did so, and I slung an arrow above him and through Kurogiba's head.

A blazing arrow shot toward Gaara, as if from Kurogiba's mouth. Sand spiked up, snipped it from the air.

'_Ani-ue! Tell Lee-kun to…'_

The enormous wolf barreled toward Gaara, and I raced on all fours behind, avoiding sand bullets that were thrown our way. When they were five yards from him, Kurogiba halted and Lee blurred from his back, slashing for Gaara's transformed arm.

"ACCELERATION!"

_SLSH!_

"_Gwaaah!"_

_And now…!_

I leapt toward Gaara. He raised his other hand, as if in defense.

* * *

**Lee ****リー**

Hinata … How much chakra did she _have_? To think summoning Kurogiba in his smaller form had once nearly knocked her out … and now…

Despite conjuring him in so monstrous a form, casting the Onibi and utilizing Juuken, no decline in her vigor had yet become evident.

I glanced up. _We need to move soon._

Her affinity to Fire was amazing; she was capable of using some Katon with a single handseal. Once, two weeks ago, I had caught her inexplicably unleashing the Grand Fireball with Uma and Tora alone. A six-seal ninjutsu, and unless my eyes had deceived me (they rarely did) she had skipped the first four. Was that not supposed to be on the brink of impossibility?

_Either way, I suppose now is not the time to ponder._

"ACCELERATION!" I cried, cleaving off the arm of the Shukaku. Gaara's own arm was untouched; he simply would not be able to use the demon hand when Hinata–

_SHLURGKK!_

My jaw dropped.

His other hand had burst to transformed state. It had transformed, and a huge demonic finger extended … and blasted well through Hinata's heart, throwing into the air a shower of blood.

"_YEEEESSS!"_

"Katon Kage Bunshin…"

The dead 'Hinata' burst into flames. My eyebrow twitching, I turned my head to the mutterer behind me. "You will give me a heart attack someday."

She chuckled. "You're too healthy to have a heart attack." Then: "We need to move now," she said, flicking a will-o'-the-wisp Gaara's way.

…How many signs had she used, I wondered, since I had not been looking? Or rather, how many had been skipped _because_ I was not looking?

I nodded, stowing away my unease. "Hai."

I dashed twenty yards, Hinata body flickered, and Kurogiba spun into a fireball and promptly exploded, rematerializing in a blaze at Hinata's side.

"_Kage Ninpou: Shadow Megaton Kick!"_

Teeth clenched, the blond was high in the air, falling at an angle toward Gaara with one leg extended for a flying kick.

"The battle's over," Hinata said.

"What the heck's he plan to _do_?" Kankurou asked, walking up until he was not far behind us. "He announced his presence; Gaara's got plenty of time to dodge or counterattack. Even if he didn't, he's still gonna kill himself when he lands…!"

"This technique … is not easily avoided," I stated carefully, watching.

"And why's that–?"

A few dozen Narutos flowed into existence. The real one 'reset,' warping to where he had been two seconds prior. The remainder plowed into the earth and into a very surprised Gaara.

"_Second wave! Third wave! Fourth wave! Fifth wave!"_

_BOOM-BOOM-BO-BO-BOOM-B-BOOM–!_

"What the _hell_…?" Temari whispered.

"Naruto-kun's style is a most unorthodox one," I said with a smirk, shaking my head. _He feels the copies' pain, but what is pain, in truth? A signal from the body that tells you you are injured? Since the pain is not of his own body but rather a trick of the mind, so to speak – he has managed, to a degree, to train his mind to trick itself again and make the fake pain endurable by dismissing it, tuning it out… And when he is done, a cushion of Shadow Clones will break his real body's fall… _"_Naruto!_ You were gone more than a minute – how high did you go?!"

"_Bet I set a record!" _he shouted quickly before he Shadow Swapped back again.

"How reckless," Temari muttered.

"Hm…" A column of dust was pouring into the air where Gaara had been, obscuring him from view. However, it was now fading…

To reveal a protective dome of sand.

"It appears the first few waves actually hit … but…"

"I doubt your daredevil friend can keep that up much longer."

"You're right," Hinata said to Temari. "Chakra powerhouse or not, that move is too physically and mentally demanding to be sustained."

_It does take much time to prepare, and an enormous degree of focus for him to mostly bypass the Kageken's pain weakness … but even that cannot be sustained long. _"Still…" I noted, "Its value is unquestionable. There are not many things capable of _withstanding_ projectiles of such velocity for long."

_That is probably why … an enemy has yet to successfully combat this technique…_

Naruto reset back once more. "_To finish it! Multiple Shadow Clones–!" _He popped backwards again. "_Combo Transform: Megaton Meteor Toss!_"

Suddenly a dozen Shadow Clones were replaced by one massive boulder.

When it hit, it burst into smoke and the sand shield shattered and crumbled.

"_Continuous!" _Naruto yelled, spinning his body and now generating Shadow Clones at a set point in _front_ of him, between he and Gaara, firing off five waves of bunshin in one interval of his own repeating descent.

He reset his position.

"_The final barrage–!"_

"_GWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!_"

A mass of sand bullets went rocketing into the air. Twelve Shadow Clones were dispelled, and a shocked Naruto was draped bodily over a hard ball of sand at his stomach. Crimson was thrown from his mouth.

"_Naruto!_" Hinata screamed.

_Impossible…!_

"_THERE!" _a demonic voice boomed, and from the dust cloud a spinning ball of sand was hurled skyward. I blanched as it barreled into Naruto's halted form, knocking him back.

"He is too stunned to break his fall…!"

Several armlike projections of sand sprang from the ground around the point he was bound to land.

Hinata was already rushing toward him.

"Will you hold these?" I asked, handing my katana to Kankurou. I think he fell down. Hold, watch – it mattered not.

I blazed past Hinata, sprang between the arms of sand, and kicked off of one to catapult myself toward Naruto's descending form. I grabbed his hand as I met him, and our opposing forces caused us to begin to spin.

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah, th-thanks…"

I released his hand, and we were thrown in opposite directions – both away from the sand prison that had reached to claim him. I landed on my feet and looked back to see Naruto hit ground on his own feet – and crash to the sand.

The sand.

_He needs to move! _I realized. _We are well within Gaara's sand manipulating range!_

Surprisingly, the terrain neglected to attack his weakened form; even the arms of sand did not take pursuit, but tumbled lifeless to the earth.

I soon learned why.

"_Aiieee!_"

* * *

**Hinata ****ヒナタ**

"Koinu!"

_Th-this sand … was much faster than the rest!_

"_Hehehehehee… My _special_ sand … I saved it just for you…"_

I grunted as the sand around my arm tightened very slightly, menacingly, and crept upward to partially encase my shoulder.

_He changed again, _I thought as the dust cleared, revealing the demonic cloak had spread to his entire body save for his ankles and feet. The lost arm had reformed, and from its palm stretched the band of sand that had firmly ensnared my left arm. The face of a monster gave me a vicious, fanged grin, chuckling darkly with excitement.

I growled and kicked full force at the sand. It was like kicking stone. Kurogiba blasted it with a jet of flame, incredibly doing nothing. _It won't budge…!_

"_There's a murderer inside you…"_

"Wh-what?" I asked.

"_Wrapped up deep, deep inside… You're hiding it, but _I_ know it's there…"_

I scowled. _You're wrong…_

"Hinata!" Naruto cried, racing toward me, eyes wide.

"_You think I'm wrong, don't you? But I can see it in your eyes…"_

"Shut your _mouth_!" Naruto yelled, leaping with his naginata held high. He appeared a few yards before me, swinging for the band of sand; a tentacle shot to snag the weapon, wrenching it from the boy's grip to toss it away.

"_The piece of you that craves the rush of battle … the thrill of the kill…"_

"Kage Ninpou!" Naruto held up a hand, and a shadow clone appeared with its ankle in his grasp. "Shadow Matter!"

"…_Lusts for blood … just as I do…"_

The clone transformed into a massive broadsword as Naruto swung at the sand. The desert floor sprang to intercept and dispel it.

Gaara stomped, and a block of sand brutally knocked Naruto aside. _"In that, you're just like me…"_

I stifled a gasp, wincing as the sand slowly constricted further.

"KUSO!" Lee bellowed, leaping for Gaara himself. Drawing his wakizashi, he landed a few yards from the Jinchuuriki – and vanished with a yelp, sunken wholly and instantly into the sand.

My eyes widened to their limits. I planted my right palm on the imprisoning sand.

"_Teetering on a razor's edge…"_

_Fourth barrier… _I ground my teeth, tilting my head away with a barely withheld cry. _Hurry – gotta hurry!_

"_What would it take, I wonder…"_

_Chakra Concussion Blast!_

**BOOM!**

"_How far would you need to be pushed…"_

_What?! I-it… had no affect…?!_

"…_to unleash yourself, and show me the TRUE power you hide?!"_

The pressure was unbearable. My teeth were getting sharper, my nails clawlike. "_Yeah?_" I snarled out. "L-_level_ is the path of long ago… Now the razor's edge is all I know…" My voice tightened with the sand encasing my arm. "You think you can provoke me, you're in for some disappointment…!"

He held my steely gaze a very long moment.

The corner of his mouth ticked up in a sneer. _"Heh."_

_SKK-K–KRASH!_

"_AAAAAAAAAHHH!_" I howled, my head thrown back, my eyes huge and unblinking as the world flashed and bubbled and flashed again, as with the crushing force I heard the familiar sound of tearing flesh and snapping bone, which never sounded quite so terrible as when it was your own. The scent of my blood hugged the air thickly. The pain was incredible.

I staggered numbly away as I was released, as the sand withdrew and was retracted into the demonic claw.

"DIVINE!" Gaara screamed. _"No human has ever been so satisfying! Your blood is divine! I need more! I need it ALL–!"_

"_First Gate: Kaimon! Second: Kyuumon!"_

I saw the ground explode near Gaara's feet, and a green blur launched a furious assault. My knees plopped to the sand, and I clutched at my shoulder and struggled to breathe.

* * *

**Naruto ****ナルト**

My face paled as her arm was crushed, as crimson spurted violently from the sand. She looked away, and when she screamed, more or less, she was looking straight at me. I don't think she saw me, though.

The cry of purest agony ended only when her breath ran out. Gaara yelled something, and Lee attacked; Hinata, eyes moist and unblinking, staggered feebly, dropped to her knees, hacked out a few drops of blood.

"Hinata!" I rose to my feet, stumbled, caught myself and ran to her side. Her white face was stuck in an open-mouthed scowl, her brow slightly furrowed to almost put a troubled look in her cloudy eyes. "Hinata, are you–?" The words lodged in my throat as I knelt at her left side.

It was there. I mean – it was _attached_. But … from her shoulder down…

"_N… Naruto…?"_

"Don't look," I said, placing a palm over her eyes as she started to turn her head.

"_Whah…?"_

"Just take my word for it, Hinata-chan… 'kay?"

"…Mm-kay…"

_You're … very, very badly hurt…_

I could see bone in some places. Bone … stripped, raw flesh … and a dripping mess of blood.

I gulped. _Calm down. Think. Crushing type wound. Severe. _I lightly prodded an intact-looking spot on her hand.

"Hinata, do you feel anything?"

"Wh-where…?"

"On your hand?"

"…Should I…?"

I didn't answer. _Nerve damage._

Forming two seals, I held out shivering hands to her arm for inspection.

A gasp escaped me. _No…_

_There's… _My hands moved down from the shoulder, hovering away from the arm, down and slowly up again. But I had known it in the first moment. _There's … nothing I can do…_

_This arm … is gone…_

"I-I'm fine…!" Hinata grunted, having regained full consciousness. "I'm lucky it wasn't the right arm … that one refuses to be healed quickly…"

"Hinata…?" I was amazed she could speak almost normally.

Her breaths were choked gasps; her body shook. She lowered her head. "Go help Lee-kun… I need a few minutes… Please, cover for me for a bit…"

I nodded, getting up. Could she really…? "You got it."

Kurogiba lay down, curled protectively around her.

"Th-thank you…" she breathed. "When I do this, he'll probably get a lot more interested in me…"

"When you–?"

Cold energy hit the air, and Hinata's hair blackened and lost its neatness. The nails of her right hand became claws; the left did not respond.

"Trust me…!"

"A few minutes?"

"Y-yes…"

"I'm holding you to that," I said, and turned and Shadow Stepped toward Gaara and Lee.

* * *

**Hinata ****ヒナタ**

My breath caught on a minor obstruction in my throat. I ducked my head, spitting a thick glob of red into the sand. _Shoot…!_

'_Think you can fix it?'_

'_Should… Kuso, it hurts!' _I thought. A drop of sweat fell from my nose. I was getting a little feeling back in my hand – but the only thing I could feel was slicing pain.

The mark stirred, offered itself, and was summarily ignored.

_'A-Ani-ue… How bad is it?'_

'_It's not pretty, but I don't think it'd kill you to look.'_

I slowly opened my eyes and turned them on the mangled limb. I grimaced a little, and for a moment I might have felt queasy, but I didn't need to throw up or anything. _'He really went all out…'_

'_You're lucky he didn't tear it off.'_

'_What, now you're the optimist?' _I thought, grunting as I worked my energy carefully. Kurogiba's presence steadied me as I faltered.

'_Hm? And are you playing the pessimist?'_

'_Oh–!' _My nails bit harshly into my palm, teeth digging at my lip as pain flared in the arm. A growl was rising in my throat as a darkened ring began to form on my pale right wrist. _'No,' _I told myself sternly, and the ring fled existence. _'And just what, might I ask, is there to be cheery about?'_

'_Hey, if you really think about it – there are three people fighting him. Six arms he could have chosen to mutilate, and which did he pick? The only person with your unique capabilities, and the only arm you can apply them to.'_

The pain was immense, but not so immense as it might have been were I shouldering it alone. We were one as I urged a contained but radiant intensity of energy all the way to my fingertips. Periodically it fluctuated outward, in tune with my heartbeat, a gentle touch stroking life into every last cell, every remaining scrap of flesh.

With the focus of energy connecting it to the rest of my body I was able to move the strengthless, grisly limb, extending it at my side. _'Come on, Ani-ue; you know as well as I do that it's no chance he happened to target me. That means our good fortune wasn't a one in six chance, but a considerably less miraculous one in two.'_

'_Guess you're right,' _he answered as I touched two clawed fingers lightly to my left shoulder. _'It's only natural that the greater demon within him would be drawn to you…'_

'_My blood … and my youki.'_

'_Precisely.'_

I slashed cleanly down my arm.

Kurogiba shuddered, and I screamed, and the beam of energy surged outward as it was released. In less than a second my claws had sliced from shoulder to palm, and the brutalized arm was bloody yet whole but for a single streak of red.

I pressed my lips to my shoulder, licking furiously, sucking away excess blood, and slathering the length of the gouge with a film of saliva as I twined my chakra through much less severe a wound.

'_Regeneration, successful.'_

'_A fine job,' _Kurogiba agreed approvingly.

I held out the newly repaired arm, smirking as I flexed and tightly clenched a fist. _'Here we go!' _It was pretty weak for now, but it was my arm and it was healthy again.

Sensing eyes on my back, I turned my head to look toward the two silently staring Suna siblings.

'_I think you've frightened some big, bad Sand ninja,' _the wolf noted.

I blushed and offered an inevitably sharp-toothed grin.

* * *

**Naruto ****ナルト**

_No matter how hard we may pound him, this guy… Will he ever run out of strength? How do you defeat this type of opponent…?_

The fighting had come to a momentary pause; all three of us were catching a breather.

Gaara flinched suddenly, his demonic eyes huge. _"What…?!"_

Lee followed his gaze. "Hinata-san did it…"

I glanced back as well. "Hinata-chan… sugoi!" I said quietly. "That's incredible!"

"_Why… why won't you unleash your power?!" _Gaara cried, outraged.

Still on her knees, the girl popped her knuckles while lightly massaging her shoulder. "I already told you, didn't I?" she said coolly. "Even walking the sharpest razor's edge, I won't be knocked off balance easily. I'm an _expert_ at this."

An expert … at walking a razor's edge? Well, I guess that made sense. She'd been working to control that curse seal for a while now.

"_You…" _Gaara growled angrily._ "It would mean so much more to destroy another _monster_…"_

"Take my word for it," Hinata said. She pressed two fingers to her shoulder, cleanly wiping away the streak of red that ran down her arm to reveal the now unmarred and unbroken skin beneath it. "My full power is something you do _not_ want the misfortune to see."

_Because at full strength, there's still the chance you might get carried away and kill him … right, Hinata?_

"_You think you can afford to take it easy – hunh?! My existence is greater than yours! I'll _tear_ your true power out of you! Defeating the inner beast you've locked away – through that and _only_ that can I experience the full meaning of my life!"_

He crossed his arms and swept them out again, flinging a hail of sand shuriken toward Hinata.

"Shield!" Lee shouted, blades churning with furious precision as he planted himself in the projectiles' path. With two strides forward I spun my naginata once at my left side, once again at my right – and Shadow Swapped to bash the staff across the tanuki-boy's face. He grunted and swung a massive arm, and I blocked with the staff before swapping easily away.

"Oi," Lee advised our foe, "You would not do well to keep getting distracted."

"Naruto-kun! Lee-kun!" Hinata called, reaching into her tool pouch. "Could you cover me for a minute longer?"

_So you've got some kind of plan? _"No problem!" I said vigorously, holding my naginata at the ready. "Try not to take too long, or the battle might end before you can jump in!"

She smirked. "I'll have to see if I can hurry, then."

Her hand swept from the kunai pouch, casting to the ground before her five blank slips of paper.

"Either way, this battle ends soon…"

* * *

**Hinata ****ヒナタ**

"Phew," I whistled, my paintbrush-wielding right hand slashing and darting rapidly over the third slip of paper. "Feel that energy? It just keeps getting stronger…"

"Don't tell me you're impressed by _that_," Kurogiba snorted. "No… excited by the challenge?"

"This demon is certainly a great one. Granted, not so great as Okaa-sama, but way up there all the same." A burst of inspiration, and I scrawled in a few deft strokes of brilliant deviation to the design first mentally conjured, tweaking the formula slightly for the better.

"Huh. Aren't you having a good time. _Seals_," he spat the word abruptly, "This is why they still laugh at us."

"_And_ it's how I defeated you."

"Once!"

"Are you really going to start hounding me on this again? This is a rich and complex _language_, complete with its nouns–," The flying brush etched in, among other kanji, 'demon,' 'energy,' 'chakra,' "–verbs–," 'connect,' 'seal,' 'soothe,' a pair of 'suppress,' "–adjectives–," My mind raced as a few crucial, balanced numbers were put down, "–and its very own prepositions." An assortment of lines and runes of various purposes, gibberish to many, were written in furiously, pasting everything together. "This is a veritable ninja art, brimming, _overflowing_ with possibility! I don't see what your complaint is."

"It's _embarrassing_," he drew out the word, but I could tell he wasn't really that serious. "Using spell tags against our own kind…"

"_Han_," I corrected. "Remember, I'm only _half_ – and the less dominant half, at that." I injected a burst of my chakra into a certain marking on each of the completed tags, infusing them once more to respond to my chakra.

–"_What? You mean…?"_

"_What'd you _think_ she was?" _

"_She said she preferred 'tailed beast'!"_

"_AKA, one of the nine greater demons. She's eccentric! Hey… Pup, what's the matter?"_

"_My name is Hyuuga Hinata. I signed my name to a pact with the world's fifth-most powerful demon. I specialize in the summoning of dead demonspawn spirits who fight alongside me in battle…"_

"_You got a problem with 'demonspawn'?"_

"_N-no!"–_

"I'm telling you, it's embarrassing…"

"Hey, they worked well enough on the fiends in the Domain of Demons. And as with any native to Youkai no Kokudo, these should prove pretty effective." I drew five arrows; a talisman was folded around each shaft. Two arrows were notched, and two were clasped in the firing hand. "Could I ask for a ride, Honored Brother?" I asked, smiling sweetly as I secured the fifth arrow in sharp teeth.

He sighed, half-heartedly fighting off a smile. "Sure, sis – Why not."

* * *

**Lee ****リー**

_Gaara's sinister power… Even I can feel it. And it is only growing stronger. Hinata-san, what are you up to?_

As it turned out, she was standing on Kurogiba's back. Knees bent, as a surfer might stand, but standing all the same, two arrows drawn back as her lupine companion charged.

"You two, get back!" she shouted. All at once Naruto and I jumped away, Hinata fired, and a demonic arm exploded not toward the wolf but his rider as Gaara shouted in murderous excitement.

Hinata jumped. The wolf ducked. Two arrows slipped into the sand some ten meters apart, aligned some five from the Jinchuuriki boy.

"_Fool, you MISSED–!"_

The wolf rammed a brutal headbutt into Gaara's jaw as the boy was preoccupied with preparing to counter the young Hyuuga. Snarling, he raised blazing paws to knock and pin him to the ground.

Spinning gracefully in the air above them, Hinata shot an arrow ten meters from one of the first, so that they dotted an 'L' shape into the sand.

_I see – the seals!_

She Fire Flickered to the ground a couple dozen meters away rather than wait to descend, facing away as she landed and whirling as a fourth arrow was notched.

Gaara's monstrous fist rammed up into the giant wolf's belly, throwing him off.

"_Oof!_" Hinata broke abruptly to one knee as she turned, her back hunched slightly, but she fired even so. "Keep him centered!" she cried as Gaara lunged for Kurogiba, who was lying on his back.

"Yeah, I _know!_" the wolf snapped, springing into a sudden roll as Gaara's claw crashed crushingly into the ground. In almost the same move as his evasion Kurogiba gathered his feet under him and surged forward, seizing the other arm in powerful jaws and swinging the boy cleanly off the ground before slamming his back into the sand – directly in the center of a ten meter square of rigged arrows.

The enormous wolf crouched and shot straight upward with startling speed, passing and arcing in the air above an aiming Hinata.

With a yell, Gaara raised his hand – and the fifth arrow was buried in it, several inches deep.

Kurogiba snagged the back of Hinata's shirt and Fire Flickered. Girl and wolf were instantly on their feet ten meters from our foe, and the girl flicked out two fingers in a half-Tora.

"_Hah!_"

A square of seals formed in the sand, spreading lines of silver in the night illuminating the paths between each arrow.

Then energy sparkled and solidified between the arrows, lighting a pyramid of transparent light around Gaara. He screamed.

"Barrier: Pyramid Seal," Hinata said.

"What did you do?" I asked, watching apprehensively as Gaara thrashed and kicked in the prison, the hand that held the 'pyramid' apex extended upward as if frozen there.

"Some of his chakra's being lightly sapped, and I'm balancing my chakra against it in a mechanism that sustains the barrier," she said, still holding the handseal. "But more majorly, the Shukaku's spirit and power is being forcibly suppressed."

"Woah," Naruto gasped, walking up to us with his eyes on Gaara as the tanuki cloak began to melt from his body, disintegrate and crumble.

"It shouldn't be hurting him so badly, though… Not just the beast, but Gaara himself must be fighting it, hard–,"

Hinata flinched, and I read a single word bolded and all capitalized in her white eyes:

**DANGER.**

"_HOW DARE YOU ATTACK MOTHEEEEEEEERRRRR?!"_

The barrier's steady, pale glow intensified violently. Hinata held out her handseal, yelling in effort – but it was in vain. His chakra vastly overpowered her own, and an explosion of sand, light, and murderous intent was blinding in the night and shaking to the soul.

"I-impossible!" Hinata gasped, a hand clutching at her hair as she toppled to her knees. "Such power…!"

"Hinata-san!" I shouted as we were battered with deafening gusts of wind, blasts of sand. I attempted to root my feet with chakra, but the sand was merely swept away in the roaring wind; I dropped to my hands and knees for fear of being plucked off of the world. I threw my arms around her shoulders as the desert rumbled and quailed. "_Hinata-san!_" I yelled again, unsure of whether or not I was heard, "Pull yourself together!"

"_Guys!_" Naruto called two feet away, crouched low with his naginata planted firmly in the dissolving ground, his voice diced and chopped in the wind. "_Look!_"

I look up, or left, or somewhere, all sense of balance or direction shot with the howling, thrashing wind. It beat in my streaming eyes, but I cracked them open wide enough to wonder just what direction I was looking in, to see before us only a ridiculous stretch of churning desert floor. I blinked hard and found 'up,' and realized with a painful gasp that most of it had not been the ground at all.

Above was a vast but shrinking disc of starry sky, flecked with constant sprays of sand. And all around was a rising, rotating wall of sand, climbing as an enormous column into the sky.

_Kami… _my dulling mind gasped.

"_Breathe, stupid koinu – breathe!_" Kurogiba yowled from where he was trying to flatten himself to the ground.

_I … cannot breathe, either, _I realized. The vortex of churning, gnashing wind had sucked away all my breath.

"_N-Naa…ru-u…!_"

The boy vanished before my eyes.

_Naruto! _I thought, for screaming aloud would be worthless if not impossible.

He reappeared, holding both Temari and Kankurou by the arm, and for an instant it was calm. I devoured a deep breath.

Then Temari's fan was wrenched shut, and another gust kicked it across Kankurou's head before whisking it away, and we were plunged once more into Hell's swimming pool.

"_Dammit!_" Naruto spent whatever breath he had recovered, pulling the two with him to the ground.

"_What is happening?!_" I cried.

"_We're all gonna die!_" Temari wailed.

Chest heaving and struggling but drawing no yield of air, eyes burning and streaming, limbs already aching under the desert's punishment, I gazed upward as the column of sand began to crumble inward and had to agree.

"_H-Hi-nata-s-san… Hinata…!_"

It was useless, I realized in despair. My own words were stolen from me, yet again trapped to be heard only within the confines of my head.

I looked up; the six of us were huddled in a rough circle. The wind was at this point a steady, maddening roar, tearing you in every direction at once, that could just as easily be overlooked so that one somehow heard nothing at all. I looked to Temari, who clung desperately to her brother, and even to Naruto, and could tell not if she were crying freely or the tears gouged free by the slicing claws of wind. I looked to Kankurou, who sported a thick purple bruise and gash on his cheek, but with confusion in his eyes clung groggily to his older sister all the same. I looked to Hinata, whose forehead rested in the sand, and could not tell if she was conscious or collapsed with weakness, already fading. I looked to Kurogiba, whose blazing coat was flaring and flapping and shedding wildly as he pulled himself over and tried to shelter his unmoving partner. I looked to Naruto, whose hands shifted with much effort from Saru to Hitsuji, and I read his lips.

'Kuchiyose no Jutsu!'

BOOM!

I could breathe.

"Breathe, dammit!"

The wolf had rolled her onto her back.

"Hinata," I murmured.

The wolf grunted; Hinata inhaled deeply, her feet kicked in an odd spasm, and her eyes snapped open as she hacked and coughed before gratefully resuming respiration on her own.

_Thank goodness, _I thought, lowering my head and shaking away a last few sizzling stars, as well as sand in my hair. My hand clenched and unclenched against the ground – not the ground. What was this? Something red, and bumpy, and damp, and rough. A summoning jutsu… Ah, so this was–!

"_Why are there so many people on my back, gaki?!_" a rough voice boomed.

"Aw, come on, Bunta! How much could we weigh to _you_?"

"_Don't get chummy with me, underling! And WHY do you always summon me into these situations?!_" At this the toad king's head shook angrily beneath us; Naruto somehow stayed on his feet with hardly a stumble as the rest of us held on for dear life.

"Easy, Chief! _Whoa_, there–!"

A giant tongue snapped up, whacking Naruto away.

The boy stumbled in the direction he had been thrown as he reappeared where he had been. "Not funny!"

"_You think I'm going for _FUNNY–?!"

"_Wind Style: AIR BULLET!_"

Needless to say, that was certainly _not_ Naruto's voice.

"Incoming, Bunta!"

"_I see it, fool!_"

The toad sprang to the side. Amid hanging on for my life, I finally glimpsed it.

"He transformed again!" I gasped. The tremendous Air Bullet flashed past, exploding behind us to fling an eruption of desert sand billowing into the sky.

"That's it," Kankurou whispered hopelessly. "The perfect p-possession…"

"He's unleashed the spirit of the Shukaku…" Temari said, "by employing Tanuki Neiri no Jutsu, the Art of Playing Possum. While _you_ were arguing with your summon."

"Who's arguing? He started it, and I was just trying to save everyone!" Naruto defended, arms crossed.

"_Honestly_," Kurogiba sighed prudently, "These stubborn old toads are _always _so unreasonable and unruly…"

"Mm-hm," Hinata agreed pointedly.

"Hinata-san and Kurogiba-san _do_ make quite the more impressive combination!" I remarked innocently.

"Come on, Chief, see? You're making us look bad!

"I'm _making us look bad–?!_"

A cry of wild excitement was hurled into the sky by the monstrous raccoon dog; its massive tail lashed thunderously at the air. Barely could I make out Gaara's slouched form, his upper half protruding from the crown of the demon's head and arms swinging limply with the biju's motion. The One-tail's glaring yellow eyes were trained on us as it pointed with an arm the size of forty tree trunks. _"I see a stupid amphibian over there, and boy would I just love to see him die!" _the Shukaku shouted almost merrily.

"'Stupid amphibian'?! 'Stupid amphibian'?!" Naruto slapped his hand on Gamabunta's head a few times. "Yo, Boss, you just gonna take that mess? This fool just straight up dissed your culture!"

And _that_ was a language that the Toad King could understand.

"We-ell_, I _guess_ I could make a little effort_," the toad rumbled, head low and stance spread for battle. He tapped ash from his pipe and tucked it away, blowing a smooth, rolling curtain of smoke. I swear, if he had knuckles he would be cracking them.

"Yatta!" Naruto said, "Now let's show this dumb raccoon what a toad can do!"

"_Hold on tight! Chaaarge!_"

* * *

**Sixteen, Part Three: Ichi, Go, Kyuu**

**Naruto ****ナルト**

"_Wind Release: Air Bullet!"_

"_Water Release: Liquid Bullet!_"

_That's quite an air bullet, _I thought, my hair fluttering in a shockwave as the wind and water bombs exploded between Gamabunta and the Ichibi. The Toad Blade was drawn as we crashed down through the steaming mist.

"_Toad Slash!_" Gamabunta bellowed, slamming his blade through a blocking arm.

"Nailed it, Chief!" I chirped.

"Try _this!_" the toad roared, tearing with a shudder of force as he leapt away.

Gamabunta landed and slid, his coat flapping, and the majority of the Ichibi's left arm crashed to the ground.

"How's that?" the toad boasted heartily.

"_Huh?"_ The biju smirked. The hewn arm was linked to the beast by a mass of flowing desert sand, and I frowned as it rose and was securely connected again. _"Sorry, didja' do something? I must've missed it!" _He hooted and hollered like it was the funniest joke in the world.

"Sand spirit. Go figure," I muttered. "Say, Chief – as physical attacks will be rather unproductive – what do you suppose we should try?"

"Heh," he grunted, rocking his weight and preparing his legs to spring as the tanuki's belly swelled round and taut with inhalation. "It's quite simple, really…"

"_Air bullet!_"

"All passengers, get ready!"

He hopped neatly over the missile.

"Hey, that was not so bad–!" Lee started to remark cheerily.

When a second air bullet was thrown, the toad launched himself over it _and_ the tailed beast, surging into the sky. I had to crouch a little, my hand down. The others' screams behind me were muffled in the wind.

"Come on, guys – can't take a little rush?" I called.

"Focus, small fry!" the toad growled, turning in the air to land and leap forward, blasting a pair of Water Bullets from his mouth. The raccoon beast turned, its tail smashing heavily through one, its arm through another.

"Right, focusing! So what's the plan?!" I asked as the toad barreled forward.

"All you have to do–!" In a close range close call, he whisked out his blade to bat at an Air Bullet without breaking hopping stride. It was dispelled, and the blade went tumbling through the air. "–is smack that Jinchuuriki awake!"

Gamabunta's forelegs crashed onto the Shukaku's shoulders, and the titans butted heads. _"Do it!"_

"Right!" I said, drawing back a fist. Ten or fifteen yards – the redhead was in comfortable Kageken range.

Then, abruptly and extremely, with an awkward and illogical suddenness – Gamabunta _slipped_.

Even I yelled in surprise as the giant toad's head, from at least fifty yards up, smacked sharply into the ground.

"_Ow…_"

_The sand under Chief's feet … it shifted! _I realized.

"Hey, look out!" Kankurou yelled.

A shadow fell over us, and I looked up with a start.

"_All of you are dying at once! Sayonara, baby!" _the monster screeched, driving down toward us an open, crushing claw.

_Mazui! _I thought, teeth clenched. _Not good!_

"Strike: Purity Seal!"

An arrow whizzed past me, carrying a seal that almost radiated light. It pierced the center of the beast's hand, and what blackness of ink was visible on the rolled-up tag vanished as the kanji 'pure,' surrounded by symbols and notably two smaller 'light' characters, etched themselves into the surface the arrow had struck.

"Blade of Infinity!" Lee's voice boomed, and the older boy flashed past me and sprang, blades slicing at all the claw's fingers. In a blur he then danced rapidly about the arm, the Blade of Acceleration Technique hacking and gouging a good number of times with sharp ferocity.

"That's enough!" Hinata shouted, and as Lee leapt back to Gamabunta she held a half-Tora. "Ha!"

The seal glowed white on the beast's hand, which had hesitated at Lee's attacks. With a spark of light, the seal burst – crumbling a good deal of the weakened right arm with it. A mass of plain sand tumbled down on our heads.

I happened to notice Hinata slinging two more arrows into the lower and frontal parts of the upper region of the left arm, but no seals were activated.

"_YEEEAAAAGH! WHAT WAS THAT?!" _the crazed tanuki was hollering, waving its shortened stump of right arm.

"Bunta!"

"I'm fine," the toad grunted, recovering himself and springing back.

The Shukaku waved its good arm. Gamabunta slipped on landing.

"Come on, Chief!"

"_I'd like to see you do better, shrimp!_"

"_Air Bullet!"_

"_Uh-oh!_" the toad groaned, trying to collect himself.

My eyes widened at the approaching ball of wind. _A toad … because of the body structure, he's too big and squat to recover quickly from a clumsy fall…! _I formed a seal.

"Ani-ue!"

"_Right!_"

The two leaped forward onto the toad's head beside me, Hinata's head turned low to the right, and the wolf crouched with his rearing low to the left.

They swung forward together, both roaring savagely as they unleashed a single grand missile of flame. It met the wind bullet a short twenty yards away, not overpowering but the collision simply dispelling it in a blazing explosion.

Kurogiba's coat of fire flared, and Hinata's hair whipped back in the wind. "Even with the advantage … it barely stacked up," Hinata murmured, panting lightly. _Her chakra's running low…_

"On that note," Gamabunta said, getting to his feet, "Why don't I bring some oil?"

I glanced back briefly. "That might work," I said, "if we didn't mind killing Gaara. A blast like that could fry him."

I was a little surprised when the Toad King didn't argue. "Then you need to hit him, and _we_ need to hurry. If the boy sleeps too long … the Sand Spirit could fully consume his psyche. If that is allowed to happen, there will be no return: the boy ceases to exist, and only the Shukaku remains…"

_Shoot… _I gritted my teeth.

"No…" Temari whispered, "That can't happen…!"

"Grr… Bunta, what can we do? Last time–,"

The Shukaku swung its arms (arm and stump) up and jumped some relatively small thirty feet off the ground. When the massive creature landed the earth shook, and a towering shockwave of sand rolled out in all directions.

The toad hopped the wave as it passed. "As much as I hate to say it, a mammalian form might be advantageous here…!" He leaped aside as the Ichibi swung its good arm across itself, sending a shower of sand shuriken spiraling out.

It might have been my imagination here, but I thought I glimpsed an arrow speeding off toward the fairly distant beast.

"A mammal? What do you mean?" I asked.

"I _mean_ you're going to use the Transformation jutsu! I'll give the chakra; just change us into something agile, with four legs, and fangs and claws so I can get a better grip!"

I formed the seals Inu, I, and Tora, nodding. "U-uh, fangs and claws, let's see…"

"_Here we go!_"

"Whoa, hold on a second! I'm not ready!" I cried, my sharpened mind flailing idiotically as the toad charged forward. Talk about putting a guy on the spot…!

The toad leaped forward, soaring high in the air.

_I got it–!_

"_AIR BULLET!"_

_Aw, sh–_

BOOM!

Hands and feet securing me to the toad's head, my mind raced as we went flying backwards.

_Bunta – Is Gamabunta okay?_

_Did everyone hang on–?_

"_Hinata-san!_" Lee cried, despairingly.

My heart shuddered.

_We're … really high off the ground, aren't we…?_

My eyes searched the air before us as Gamabunta landed on his hind feet, shuddered to the ground.

_Where is she… Where is she–?!_

That's when something amazing happened.

* * *

**Hinata ****ヒナタ**

"_AIR BULLET!"_

BOOM!

On the leaping toad's back, I didn't see but could guess well enough what had hit us. I was wrenched off my feet at the enormous shift of momentum, my side colliding painfully with Gamabunta's back. The wind was driven from my lungs as I was knocked away, and caught harshly again by the same wall of force, thrown, hit, thrown, hit – I was bouncing, rolling in some direction, and the giant toad was flying backwards.

Gasping, I reached out, directing chakra to my hand to adhere.

My mouth fell open.

_Wrong…_

…_hand…_

I fell off the shoulder, was glanced by a flailing front leg, and tumbled alone into open air.

_Calm down. Focus. Open your eyes. _My eyes opened, and promptly were bulging out of my head. _That's … a long way down…_

_I'm gonna die. If I land on my feet, I'm _still_ gonna die._

_But… I can't die yet…!_

_I didn't want to, but…_

_If I go to _that_ state, I should be able to survive…!_

"HINATA!" he cried out, aloud as well as in my mind.

"_A-Ani-ue!" _I screeched breathlessly, managing to stop turning so that I faced upward. Kurogiba had jumped after me. Now he was above, pelt wildly ablaze, four legs swimming gracefully at the air as he plummeted.

"_No WAY are you dying now!_" he roared, his crimson eyes drilling into me, intensifying the link between our souls.

Suddenly I knew what to do. We both did.

"_Lend me your body!" _he cried, "_Your solid form!_"

"_Lend me your youki!_" I shouted, "_The strength of life past!_"

Together, _"Give me your soul! The heart of existence!"_

My hands struggled, my eyes streaming. _Inu … I … Tora…! _"_Art of Transf–!_"

Kurogiba's coat of flame was stripped away as if by the wind, going orange and fading away as it was left behind.

On the brink of invisible, a wispy, ethereal dark form bolted down into my heart, slamming into me with soul-jarring force.

Sharply I lost my breath, curled, pulled my head down, knees up, arms in, hands grasping in confusion at the incredible and familiar energy in my stricken chest. Then our power exploded out, our body unfolded, limbs flung wide, head thrown back, claws spread, eyes snapping wide to a whitening world as I screamed.

* * *

**Lee ****リー**

A girl's scream became a beast's roar, and white erupted in the night.

A massive, silken band of black cut a swath through the smoke, flicking once across the air. Four sturdy white paws tipped with deadly black claws sprang from the cloud, crashed strongly to the desert floor, shaking the world beneath them. A long, throaty growl rumbled through the air. And as the smoke of transformation faded, left standing before us was a wolf of colossal proportion. Not much shorter than the Shukaku itself, it was clad in wild, silken snow that brilliantly captured and reflected the light of the moon, patterned with jagged stripes of black. Pure darkness clung solidly to the tail and pointed, downy ears, shone blackly from a few glinting teeth at present exposed by a slightly curled lip. The black nose heading a stout muzzle was inclined skyward, but lowered slowly before the demonic ookami gave a shake of its head and slowly opened piercing, crimson eyes rimmed by black and studded with inky round pupils, foreboding even in their groggy sleepiness.

The lupine beast blinked, its downcast gaze focusing on a paw which it then flexed briefly. _"I'm… solid…"_

I gasped. The voice was Kurogiba's layered strangely over Hinata's and cranked up to a hellish intensity, but the body, I realized … if I imagined it enshrouded in black flames, the proportion, the shape, was identical to…

"_This…" _the wolf said with a snigger, flashing a cocky, razor-lined sneer, _"is the __**true**__ appearance of Fifth Grand Ookami Kurogiba…"_

"_Huuuh?" _the Ichibi grumbled in annoyance, _"Who the hell're you?!"_

"_Shape is that of Hi no Ookami Kurogiba… Solidity is attribute to Hyuuga Hinata… but at the core of being, spirit and energy, I am Kurogiba and I am Hinata. Why don't you just call me Kurohi for now…?"_

_Unreal… 'Black Sun,' huh?_

"Most impressive…" the Toad King mused.

Naruto smirked, hands clapping together as he emanated a gentle glow. "Hey – let's not be outdone, Bunta. Lee, I leave the Gaara-punching to you."

"Wh–?"

The boy – and the entire surface on which I stood – went up in smoke. The cold, moist toad skin beneath my hands sprouted an epidemic of soft, thick tufts in profusion; as the haze cleared, I gathered a handful of long fur and eyed it, blinking.

"Why is it PURPLE?!" I cried in bewilderment as I found myself to be sitting on the back of a titanic purple fox.

Its demonic face grinned suddenly at me, a violet eye flashing a familiar twinkle.

_This boy is insane, _I thought, sweatdropping. Then: _Fangs and claws, that is what counts._

The newly dubbed Kurohi growled menacingly, tail lashing at the air as it lowered its head and spread its four paws, squaring up for battle and shifting its weight back and forth before snapping violently at the air. _"You're not nervous, are you, Shukaku…?"_ they taunted.

"_What's that, runt?! I'm still gonna wring every drop o' blood from that puny body of yours!"_

"_Oh, you will? Naruto! Lee! Gamabunta! You ready?"_

"I am!" I declared, and clenched a tight hold on fur as the transformed Naruto and Gamabunta sprang in a swift bound to Kurohi's side, assuming a hostile, animalistic stance as well and sharply growling in the affirmative.

The Shukaku lowered his head, glowering icily. Kurohi shot a chuckle.

"_Say, tanuki – we've got a little something in common, don't we? Wolf dog and raccoon dog are we. Setting aside the common ground, who do _you_ think the top dog is? The raccoon … or the WOLF?!" _A paw stamped the ground threateningly, and the Shukaku, barely but still visibly, actually flinched. _"This is your last chance… Crawl back behind that seal and leave the boy be…"_

"_Kill you," _the Ichibi hissed, _"I'll kill you all…!"_

"_I guess that _settles_ it, then…" _

"Gaara…" Temari whispered.

My eyes narrowed in on the boy's slouched form atop the head of the beast.

They focused then on the Ichibi no Shukaku, a monstrous, obese tanuki of the desert whose eyes glowed insanely with foul intent.

They darted then to the wolf-dog, barely smaller than the others and set with a stocky yet lithe build of muscle, dignified with confident power and grace in equal parts, a being half descended from Gobi no Houkou and half cursed into its family.

They next fell on the fox to whose head I clung, a growling, fiendish form constructed of slender, wiry strength, created for deadly speed and precision – the form curiously selected by the host of the Kyuubi no Youko.

I gulped. Even if the beasts present each had only one tail…

_Tanuki, ookami, kitsune._

One, five, nine.

Behind me, Kankurou voiced my thoughts precisely.

"What kind of battle is this?"

* * *

**ナルト ****/ ****リー ****/ ****ヒナタ ****\ ****ハナビ ****\ ****ネジ**

**End Chapter Sixteen**

**Hanabi: **Neji, Neji!

**Neji:** What is it?

**Naruto:** You've got fanmail, that's what!

**Neji:** Fanmail…?

**Hanabi:** Look at all this! You're getting popular!

**Neji:** '…When they liberate Konoha he should be placed under Ibiki's care for a good long while…' '…Neji want's to rip out Hinata's throat out and I can't wait for his cold slap in the face…' '…Can't wait to have Neji come off his high horse and see what the "three failures" can do…' '…i'm also going to love seeing Neji put in his place by Hinata…' '…and Neji, cant wait to see him get his tail handed to him…'

**Naruto:** Oh, but this one's the best!

**Neji:** '…Also, Neji is a total ** prick and deserves an epic beatdown he'll come away from only as a quadriplegic and unable to use jutsu. Bonus points if you blind him in addition to crippling him, and more bonus points if someone throws his words back in his face…' (whimper) Th-this isn't f-fanmail! Isn't anyone rooting for _me_?

**Hinata:** (smug) Nope!

_(–static–)_

**Hanabi: **It's my fault that all of this happened, and so many people got hurt… It's all my fault…

**Lee: **Next time, the battle at last comes to a conclusion. In the aftermath, friendships are both forged and tested…

**Hanabi: **You all … there's something I have to tell you.

**Hinata: **You two … there's something I've been keeping from you…

**Lee: **Naruto-kun, we need to talk.

**Sasuke: **Hanabi, there's something you should look out for...

**Gaara: **You three…

**Naruto/Hinata/Lee: **Huh?

**Gaara: **There's something … I wanted to ask you…

**Neji: **Next is **Chapter Seventeen**. Read it.

O.O Wow. This chapter turned out REALLY long. It took a long time to type. I'm not even going to say how many pages on Word. It's too ridiculous.

Onibi: Will-o-the-wisp, but I guess it would literally mean 'demon fire'

Well, there were sort of two fights going on… This chapter was more action than plot again, but that's sort of my pattern – plot, then action to show the characters' growth. At least a lot of it was plot-driven action … sort of… Anyways, I can guarantee you that the next chapter is full of a _little_ action, and then family bonding, some angstiness, team bonding, tragedy, heart-to-heart character moments, drama, mushy fluffiness, and some solid plot progress!

So, the big question… I guess I'm really hoping they don't seem too over-powerful. Was it realistic enough? How was the chapter? I don't think it was one of my best, anyway... A lot of mysteries were opened up in this chapter, but a good deal will be explained next chapter. Of course I hinted at Hinata's secret – whatever could it be ;) And the odd behavior of the Hyuuga assassins – I'd love to see guesses on what's going on there. If you don't know what youki is, you don't need to look it up or anything; for now it's another hint, but it'll be explained next time. What did you think of the action this chapter? Hinata's new skills? Naruto's? The funny tidbits? Gaara's character? The Hyuuga drama? Did I make anyone feel bad for an OC? Please tell me what you thought, about anything!

Next chapter is almost done, actually! I might put it up soon.

Please review! All feedback is appreciated! How many fifteen-year-olds do you know who spend their entire Saturday _and_ Sunday typing and proofreading fanfiction? Huh? I just love y'all that much!

XD See ya sooner or later, but hopefully sooner!

:o)Hinata0321:o)


	17. A Study in Contrast

J3F\\\ Journey of the Three Failures

Chapter Seventeen

On time!!1

Hehe… Okay, so maybe my crappy estimating said I was almost done with the chapter and I could have it up in two weeks (when in fact I was roughly halfway done) a month is good time, right? Not to mention this chapter (which I also thought would be short) is huge!

…I woke up Sunday morning, and I felt old. Remember what I said a year ago? I was wrong – fifteen isn't really _that _old, but sixteen… Meh… I feel old. Again. Not _old_, but you know… T-T

Anyways, thanks a million for your awesome reviews **OnGuard, Malix2, ShadowSage99, Shinobiscribe, Omega the darkness, Electrified by Evil, narutos vixen, The Laughing Phoenix, amethystfirechik, Universal Hope, 1WiththeButterfly, Rena-san, Bluesv20, hinata-fan2, Zack-kun, hinafanboy08, SaphireShade, NarutoFanBoy4Life, Chakram Soldier, FullStop, Stygian Styx, Shizuka Taiyou, lil ramen lover, ShadowFaux, Okami Kage Hachi, **and anon who signed _Rusty_! Your support stokes the flames of youth and writing! Yes, you heard me. Flames. Of. Writing. :) Though that brings to mind an image of burnt paper... Okay, flames of writing spirit! Yeah, that's it!

I keep forgetting to say it, but I've added more pictures on my deviantART! The Hanabi pic is pretty crappy (it looked good in my mind T-T), but there's a pretty cool one of Hinata and Neji, and Naruto and Shikamaru pictures now. After I post this, I'll also add a Hinata pic (containing spoilers from this chapter). Links are on my profile!

Phew… How 'bout that Naruto Shippuden on Disney XD?

Naruto: Jiraiya-sensei! (Okay, okay, so we don't want ten-year-olds asking 'Mommy, what does pervy mean?')

Itachi: (flashback) You must _defeat_ your closest friend. You must _destroy_ him! (O.O)

Konohamaru: Cutie Jutsu!

Sasori: I'm gonna stab y– MAYBE I'll just slash instead or something!! (Okay, he doesn't _say_ this, but still)

…Need I say more? It's depressing. I mean, can we get a 'viewer discretion is advised'? I've never watched One Piece, but I get the feeling this is worse than 4Kids One Piece. Apparently ten-year-olds will be scarred for life if they see ANY cartoon blood whatsoever. There's a lot of implied injury. Blood? Bad. (I've been poisoned! How? I'm injured! You can't see it, but I've been seriously injured in some way!) The _words_ kill, die, or blood? Bad. Injection needles? We can't show people getting stabbed with antidote, oh heck no! (Seriously? I would figure most _two_-year-olds have gotten a shot at the doctor's before. And they're probably pretty frickin confused to see someone (imply!) getting a shot with no apparent needle.) Puppet violence? Bad. Kanji? Bad. (Our American children will be confused! No, children, there aren't other writing systems out there!) Punching? Bad, bad, bad! (They cut out Sakura hitting Sasori. Too violent an impact, I guess.) They demolished the masterpiece that was 10 Puppets vs. 100 Puppets, and butchered Impossible Dream. (Seriously, try to catch either of those on Disney. They're hilarious. In a bad way. In viewing the latter, if I hadn't seen the original already, I think I would have been pretty darned confused.)

And if we can't just put a 'viewer discretion is advised', at the very least why not put something in the range of an informative 'this program has been edited from its original version'? That might help to clarify to new watchers that Naruto _isn't_ simply sucky and confusing, it's just been watered down. The way it is, they're desecrating the good anime based on Kishimoto-sensei's excellent manga and letting whoever doesn't know better believe that it was _made_ this way and the show. Just. Sucks.

I guess some anime have probably been screwed up worse…

Let's be thankful they kept the opening theme. Mostly. Kanji replaced with idiotic white flash… (I liked that part of the opening! It looked cool!) Right, thankful! They kept the Japanese audio! That's good!

XD Rant over. It's chapter time! Enjoy!

WARNING: Language, and one scene of strong violence!

**Disclaimer: **I don't own _NARUTO_. No, really, I don't! None of us do, I swear it!

* * *

**Journey of the Three Failures**

**Seventeen: Winding Paths - A Study in Contrasts**

**Part One: Crumble**

**Hanabi ****ハナビ**

_What…? Where … am I…?_

_I wonder if… _

_Am I…?_

_I am…_

_I'm alive…_

My entire body seemed to ache with each beat of my heart. I figured dead people didn't ache, and I _knew_ their hearts didn't beat.

My eyes cracked open, and I fully woke with a start – trying unwisely to sit up, clutching my belly, thudding onto my back again.

"Lady Hanabi… How are you feeling?"

_Awful, _I thought.

"I've felt worse," I said, looking to see Harumi and Hikujaku knelt at my futon-side. The woman's left arm hung in a sling, and in the neck of her shirt I could see a layer of bandages that likely covered her torso. Hikujaku's arms held a few stretches of bandaging – sealed chakra points, probably – and a square of cotton was taped to his cheek.

With the solemn distance in the ninja's eyes as they stood motionless sentry, the remorse and the pain, and their dress as always in the typical black of New Konoha… I realized they could just as easily skulk undetected through a soundless night as they could attend a funeral.

"Please forgive us," Hikujaku said slowly. "We failed to protect you from harm. Our performance was unacceptable."

I shook my head slightly. What had happened to me, really? I'd been hit once by Hireiki, I was a little sore with chakra exhaustion … they were more badly hurt than I was!

I noticed the single crutch lying at Harumi's side. "Oba-san," I said, recent memory coming to mind, "sit however you'd like to. Isn't it painful to kneel with that leg injury?"

She was surprised momentarily, but then gingerly shifted to sit with her legs straightened, revealing the cast plastered on her right foot to upper shin.

I sat up carefully. _They're waiting for a tongue-lashing, _I realized, _when they all got hurt because of me…_

My eyes widened.

"What is it, Lady Hanabi?" the kunoichi asked.

"…H-Hitaka-kun," I breathed.

"P-please – do not cry for me."

I turned my head to see another futon not far from mine. There he was. His upper torso was wrapped up tight, like the bandaging was holding him together. His breath was soft, and his face pale, but he was alive. His eyes were weak as he managed a sad, sheepish smile.

"I'm sorry I couldn't do m-more, m'lady. I had never been hit by an arrow before; I'm ashamed to admit the pain proved enough to quickly knock me out…"

I rubbed my eyes furiously. "St-st-stop apologizing!" I said, fighting a smile of relief. "I'm just glad you're okay…"

"My lady is so selfless…" he said admiratively.

I looked back to the other Hyuuga. "So, where are Hiryuu and Hiyuki?" I said, wincing at a thought. "She was hurt pretty badly … but the medics were able to fix her up, right?" I looked from Hikujaku to Harumi. "……Right?"

My throat was dry; my eyes rounded on Hitaka. "Okay, what happened?! Sh-she wasn't – she didn't…?" I failed to gulp down a knot in my dry throat. "Hiyuki-nee-san … didn't make it?"

"We don't know," Harumi explained finally. "She was abducted by Neji … stolen right out of my hands…"

Something seemed to clench up in me. _Why are you so matter-of-fact about it?_

"Hiryuu-oji-san is at an emergency council meeting now," Hikujaku said monotonously, "because among other things, they'll discuss the possibility of a rescue attempt to recover the hostage."

"What's wrong with you? Aren't you worried, or are you just too busy sulking? Hiyuki could be – Hiyuki is in danger!"

Though I could see the sorrow in her eyes, Harumi smiled softly at me as one would a confused child. The trapped tears she refrained from shedding with practiced ease made me start crying even though she wasn't. For a moment, I hated her for that.

"If Hiyuki dies, she will have died in service of the Main House, and thereby achieved the Branch's highest and most esteemed honor. _You _are more important than any … than _all _of us, Lady Hanabi."

My tongue felt thick. "Wh-…_why?_" I blubbered out, my voice tight. "_Th_-that way of thinking…" I knew it was true, I'd been brought up learning such was true, but now… Why?!

The door slid open. After a moment's silence, the age-old incantation rolled into the air.

"Hyuuga do not cry."

I flinched, eyes snapping shut as I clutched at my heart. _Oh… You…!_

"Hiryuu-san. The meeting has already ended?"

"No. I left."

"Then…?"

"Clan Hyuuga has executed the hostage on charges of treason."

I bawled.

"Hanabi-sama, Hyuuga do not cry."

"What the hell is a Hyuuga?!" I screeched. "What's _wrong_ with u-u-_us_?!!"

For a minute the man left me to my sobbing. Then:

"If you're so upset now, why didn't you _do _anything then?"

I flinched. "H-huh?"

"Why didn't you _do_ anything?" he repeated lowly.

"Hiryuu," Hikujaku warned, but was cut off.

"You didn't even try to fight off Hireiki, did you–?"

"She should not be required to defend herself from foes–!"

"At the very least you could have _ordered my _niece to flee and _fried_ my sister's brain…"

"Oi, Uncle–!" Hikujaku said, rising.

A vicious backhand dropped him back to the ground.

"But these thoughts never crossed your _mind_, did they?" he continued as if uninterrupted, his voice a barely contained growl.

I didn't know whether to answer or not. Numbly I shook my head a little.

"Why didn't you _try_?" Each hissed word was a sentence in itself. His words tore through me, prying out the answer.

"There was … bl-blood…"

His face turned severe. And suddenly there was a knife in his hand.

The others shouted as he strode toward me, but I could hardly hear a thing. Especially not after he sliced his palm open.

"Look at this!" he boomed, holding out the dripping hand. I shrieked in terror, scrambling backwards, but he kept coming closer.

"Stay back – dammit, get away from me–!!"

In one swift lunge he grabbed my arm in a hand gloved in warm crimson. I screeched and kicked to no avail. Soon my arm was dripping, too.

"Look at it! This is blood! It runs through every f&ァク&# body of every goddam person you've ever _seen!!_"

"_Stop it!_" I screamed, choking on tears and snot. "Let go!!" I was looking away, pulling away, body thrashing, feet scrambling and slipping, fighting desperately with all my strength. I couldn't break free. I hardly registered the pain clawing sickeningly into my shoulder, nor did I care. I could feel it on my arm. On my _arm_. My struggles had smeared it around, wet and sticky and warm as fresh spilt life. All I could see was a whole lot of nothing. My shoulder seared some more. Suddenly excruciating. I howled. I kept fighting and screaming and writhing in a wild panic.

Energy sparked down my arm, and I was free. I stumbled, flopping limply onto my side, gasping groggily for air.

I heard a loud thud, and turned my head a bit, blinking. Hikujaku had slammed the man to the wall, and Harumi planted an unforgiving fist firmly in his stomach. He grunted and started to retaliate – and she rammed the heel of her palm on his chin, knocking his head on the wall, before punching him cruelly again. At the well-placed blow he ducked his head, spitting crimson, and the bloody kunai was stolen from his hand and pressed to his throat.

"St-stop!" I cried. "Hitaka, don't shoot! Don't!!"

The boy was threateningly poised to fire, his eyes frighteningly fierce. A slip of the fingers would be Hiryuu's life. And Hitaka's innocence.

There was still blood thick on my arm.

The door burst open. "What the hell's going on in here…?"

"H-Hakage-sama … sir…" Harumi murmured.

Shikamaru glared disapprovingly, his hawk eyes analyzing the scene. At his side were Sasuke and Anko, and nearby and further back Sakura, Kiba, Chouji, Genma-sensei, Suzume-sensei, Raido-sensei… All who could see were peering bewildered into the doorway.

The council hall – this building was right next to the council hall. The meeting must have ended.

Hiryuu hacked out a wet cough, and as Harumi lowered the knife and Hikujaku released him he slid to the ground. Hitaka lied down his bow, breathing softly and fitfully through his mouth, his face tight and even paler from his effort.

The Nara's eyes landed on me, and widened a hare as they caught sight of my arm. Which was still smeared with crimson. My stomach quaked.

"Hanabi…"

I stood up and ran toward and past the leader, past the villagers, on into the night, sobbing like mad.

_Why … why is it like this…?_

* * *

**Seventeen, Part Two: Beasts Collide**

**Lee ****リー**

"_GWOOOOAAAAAAAARRRR…!"_

An unreal sound roared deafeningly from the wolf's throat. The fox pawed belligerently at the desert floor. The tanuki's belly swelled enormously.

It lashed its arm out, flinging a storm of sand bullets toward Kurohi. The wolf darted nimbly aside with stunning grace.

_They are quick!_

The fox lurched suddenly as the ground kicked under us. Then it swiftly regained its feet and sprang skyward, avoiding a trio of powerful wind bullets fired our way. Teeth clenched, I flattened myself to the purple giant's back as we fell; it growled and extended a vicious claw, maw gaping wide.

The Ichibi lifted its arm; fangs and claws latched into it, but the beast's head – on which rested Gaara – was much too far away.

"_Got you!!" _it yelled, head rearing back as it began to inhale deeply.

"_Got who?!" _Kurohi snarled, leaping to plow a crushing shoulder dead into the center of the Shukaku's back. It yowled, spitting the Air Bullet accidentally into the sky. The kitsune ducked aside as the sturdy tanuki actually stumbled a short way forward.

And the ookami, as a battering ram, came driving in with the opposite shoulder, striking its back in the same place. The bijuu gagged, wincing slightly – and its bulky tail crashed angrily into the wolf's side, throwing it off and sending it tumbling hundreds of meters over the dunes.

"_Play dead, ya' mangy runt!!" _Shukaku bellowed.

"Hinata-san! Kurogiba-san!" I cried. "Look out!!"

A massive ball of compressed air went hurtling toward the wolf beast, glowing with chakra. The wolf opened its mouth, and a spinning sphere of glossy crimson light rapidly took form as it rolled agilely onto its feet and sprang forward.

Very near the ookami, fire met air.

And as the lupine beast reeled and yelped, a tremendous beam of fire exploded into the tanuki's monstrous form.

"_YEAAAOOOWW!!!" _it screamed, one arm flailing as it staggered backwards. _"Hot! That's HOT!!!"_

"This is our chance!!" I proclaimed.

The purple fox growled, in two swift motions darting in front of the bijuu and lunging to sink fangs in its neck and claws in the hip and remaining arm.

_Here I go, _I thought, crouching a moment before leaping strongly from the fox's head. I pulled back a tightly clenched fist as the gaping air between the slumbering Gaara and I was rapidly cleared.

"WAKE UP!!!"

BAM!

"_Urg…!_"

I withdrew my hand, knuckles bleeding from striking an abruptly erected, solid shield of sand. _Kuso!_

"_I'm not going back in there, stupid – not after being free the first time in so long! You can't make me!!" _the sand spirit shrieked, beginning to raise its good arm.

A massive shadow cast from above and smokily vanished. An arrow zipped into the top of the beast's shoulder.

I looked up, gasping as I caught sight of Hinata hovering momentarily above before the light of the moon, knees bent, bow in hand, and pupil-less eyes lit a piercing and deadly crimson. She landed near me on the bijuu's head, wincing and forming a shaky handseal. She lurched as if to vomit, but spewed instead a red river of flame; it spun violently in place before her, darkening and shaping into Kurogiba, who briefly shook himself from nose to tail.

"Hinata-san…" I began in concern.

"A-almost out of chakra," she panted. Her eyes opened, and were their natural white.

"_Baka__ – you think your little arrows have an effect on ME, wolf-pup?!" _The beast's hand rose high up into the air.

"No," Hinata admitted simply, straightening. "Not the arrows."

"_Your powerful blood won't help you now! I'LL CRUSH YOU!!!"_

I frowned as the Shukaku's hand lurched toward her from behind, ready to squash her like any unsuspecting fly. "Hinata–,"

"Relax," she said, smirking subtly with a devilish glint in her eye, and I noticed a seated Kurogiba yawning at her side. Eyes closed, she raised a handseal. "You're right again, you know," she called louder, "It's my human blood – and chakra – that'll save me now.

"Four-Pronged Strike! Unite!"

My eyes caught a few glinting sparks of light, on the top of the titan's shoulder and on the front and back of the arm – and the line of runes that suddenly sprang to stretch between them. _The arrows from a few minutes ago…! _Her hands shifted deftly.

"Barrier!"

A halo of soft white light projected outward from the ring of markings. The demon's plummeting hand was a scant few meters from her head.

"Release! _Purification Sever!_"

CRACK!

A snapping-sharp noise cracked resoundingly into the air, and Shukaku's arm froze. Crackling and popping, the enormous appendage's texture turned dark and grainy as it was riddled with spiderwebs racing from where the seals had been all the way to the fingertips. Then in its fragility it collapsed entirely, from the shoulder down; with a light hum of chakra Hinata, eyes still shut, released from her tenketsu a film of energy as a snug umbrella against the cascading deluge of tumbling, lifeless sand.

"Embarrassing?" Hinata asked.

"Yes," Kurogiba muttered snappishly.

"In…Incredible," I whispered.

The Ichibi screamed, tossing its head furiously. _"Dumb mutt! What've ya' done?!!"_

"A beast of darkness can't bear the sting of my human chakra. And against seals infused with this power, one such demon composed of nothing but sand and dark energy doesn't stand a chance…"

_I see… _I thought, looking at the clean cut through where the shoulder had been. _The seals disrupted, barred its chakra flow… It should not even be capable of regenerating for now. _

"_Again, that blood humiliates me…! CURSE YOU, DESCENDANT OF HOUKOU!!!"_

I frowned. Descendant of… How would it make that sort of mistake?

"And what are you going to do, Shukaku?" Kurogiba snorted in sarcasm, "Claw us to death?"

"Oi, I thought you disapproved of fuinjutsu," Hinata said, Byakugan activated as she approached Gaara's pyramidal shell of sand.

"I do," Kurogiba said, looking away. The Shukaku cursed up a storm.

Hinata blurred with speed, methodically jabbing a number of points with her left hand before punching with her right as she danced rapidly about the prism of sand – striking at weak points in the systems of chakra controlling it. Her claws sprang out.

"Lee-kun! Strike here!" she said, scratching a nail across the sand and backing away.

"_YOSH!!_" I exclaimed, whirling and slamming a crushing fist into the solid sand. The weakened shield was blown back, instantly obliterated before the force.

_And now…!_

I heard the sound of a henge dispelled, and Naruto flowed into existence connecting a fist squarely to Gaara's face.

"Can't let you two have all the fun," he muttered smoothly.

"Hmph!" I complained halfheartedly. _He beat me to the punch._

"_Noooo!! I wuz just getting started, kuso…!!"_

Even as the monster's howl faded, the boy's eyes burst open.

"_You … you _broke_ my jutsu…?!_" he growled murderously.

"We did," Naruto said, unafraid. He tapped his naginata on his shoulder. "Give it up, Gaara. You sicked your demon on us, and it failed. You're at your limit, too, aren't you?"

"Shut up!" he spat, eyes dark and furious. "I will not c-cease to exist, I won't…!"

"You don't need to worry about that," Hinata said, "We're not going to kill you."

"That is right – you have our word."

"_Liars!!" _he shrieked, "_You expect me to BELIEVE that?! Everyone wants me dead – EVERYONE is infuriated by my existence!! All of you filthy, insignificant _people_…!"_

"Please," Hinata said gently, "Just try to calm down…"

His teeth were grinding; his face was twisted in a scowl. "You… _SHUT UUUUUP!!!_"

Her hand flashed for her tool pouch, but was too slow. Her feet sank momentarily, and the next instant a band of sand extended twenty feet above us, holding the girl by her ankle.

"Hinata!" Naruto cried.

Gaara swung his arm, savage. "_Just DIE already!!_"

The sand swung and lashed, flinging her off the Shukaku's head, through empty air, into the ground. A cloud of dust blossomed on the desert floor.

"Shimatta!" I swore.

* * *

**Naruto ****ナルト**

"She's alive," Kurogiba muttered quickly, "but stunned."

"Go to her," I said to the wolf.

"You sure about that?"

"Positive. We've got this."

"_You think sooo?!!" _Gaara launched a spear of sand; using the naginata for balance, I curtly side-flipped to avoid it.

"Get going," I grunted, and the wolf nodded and jumped.

Gaara's eyes were bloodshot, glazed and raging. "_You're next. I'll obliterate you from the face of the earth!"_

"Not likely." The ground tried to suck me in, and I substituted to safety. "What, same trick?"

He yelled wordlessly, and I kicked chakra from my feet, leapt swiftly toward him.

Sand sprang to ensnare my arms, stopping me just a yard short of him.

"_Now you die…"_

I gave an inquisitive look. "I do, huh?"

THAM!!!

_Too focused on killing me to even see it coming, _I mused after Lee's fist slammed down upon Gaara's head.

"You forgot about me," the older boy noted coolly. "That is never wise."

_It's over._

As the Shukaku's arm had not minutes ago, the entire massive beast now crackled, crumbled, dissolved into sand.

* * *

"Bunta! Thanks for all the help!"

"Yeah, yeah. You can just _owe_ me one for now," Gamabunta croaked. "Catch ya' later!" he called, and he burst into smoke.

_Gaara landed not far away, and Hinata…_

"Hinata! Where is she?!"

My eyes found Kurogiba pawing at a dune, and I ran to him.

"Wolf–!" I started.

"Ah, that didn't take you very long. Good job," he remarked, digging and in the process showering Lee and I with sand. I blinked as I noticed a foot sticking out of the sand where he was working.

"Hurry it up, you stupid dog!" I barked.

"Yeah, I'm trying," he said, unearthing more of a leg that kicked blindly at him in annoyance. He sniffed, and grabbed her ankle in his teeth to yank her from the sand; as he dropped her Hinata hit the ground and tumbled a bit, hissing in pain.

I blinked.

My eyes grew.

"_Ita_…!" she whimpered, rubbing her backside – or more accurately, the base of a silky, dark blue and white-tipped projection protruding from just above her backside. "I can't believe I let him catch me off-guard like that…!" Two similarly colored triangular ears that sat at the crown of her head fluttered briefly, shaking away some sand.

Kurogiba looked toward mine and Lee's nonplussed faces, dismayed. "Pup, you're showing!" he grunted under his breath.

Hinata turned her head toward us and gasped, standing to conceal the tail behind her back. She formed three swift handseals, and with a pop she was lightly shrouded in thin smoke … which faded to leave her standing before us, unchanged.

"I-I'm out of chakra…!" she gasped, mortified, hands rising to cup her drooping ears as her face flushed in embarrassment. She took a tiny step back, her face downcast as she looked fearfully toward us.

"I _thought_ you had been hiding something…" Lee remarked in wonder.

"I'm sorry," she squeaked, her voice small. She shook her head, repeating, "I'm sorry…!"

"Well," I said, catching everyone's attention. "That's pretty interesting, but while I don't really see why you felt the need to hide it, now isn't really the time."

"Naruto-kun…"

I gave her a smile, and then my face calmed. I turned my head. "Isn't it about time we checked up on Gaara?"

Her hands slowly fell. With a moment's hesitance, she nodded.

_An expert … at walking the razor's edge, huh…?_

* * *

"C-c-curse you… I can still fight… I will n-_never_ be destroyed…!"

He was lying in the sand, eyes distraught, trembling badly. He struggled to his knees over many seconds' time.

"They all w-want me gone, they despise my existence … but I'll show th-them … _all_ of them…!"

My brow furrowed as he smiled at the notion, eyes huge. He looked up toward us.

"_You…_" he croaked out, raising a hand and reaching desperately toward Hinata, but the sand at his feet only stirred feebly. He coughed out a few droplets of blood. His voice grew high. "I h-have to kill you… I _must_…!"

He was shaken by a dry sob. Temari and Kankurou were silent behind us.

"My existence in this world … is supreme…"

I sighed, shutting my eyes. "So you wanna keep fighting, huh…?"

I lifted my hands and formed a seal. _By now, I ought to be safe to…_

"_Murasaki!" _I snapped, and a shockwave hit the air as my body was cloaked in a translucent aura of purple. I felt my teeth and nails point slightly, and knew the splash of purple in my hair would by now have flecked color throughout my blond spikes as my eyes were lit red-violet.

"_Release__!" _Hinata snarled, and a burst of demonic energy blazed from her as her hair, ears, tail, and all turned inky, and jagged stripes of black patterned her body though her skin did not turn sheet white, but remained unchanged. Sinking into a crouch, she flexed black-clawed fingers and slightly bared dark fangs.

"_Gate of Pain!_" Lee bellowed, standing tall as chakra danced wildly around him, denting the sand at his feet and kicking up his hair as his robes flapped and fluttered. Dark irises and pupils faded, skin darkening to red.

"Then you wouldn't mind fighting us like this, would you?" I asked coolly. "To keep holding back … would be an insult to your efforts."

Gaara's face was incredulous. "Wh-_what_?! You – you were withholding s-such reserves of power … the entire time?!"

I nodded. "And none of us are quite at full power even now."

"Impossible…! It can't be true…"

"It is true. I think it's possible … that if push came to shove, any one of us might have defeated you single-handed."

Something new was in Gaara's eyes now: fear. He shivered, and lowered his head.

I shut my eyes, relaxing my power; the intensity of fox chakra faded. Hinata and Lee followed suit, returning to normal as well.

"H-how…? How are y-you people … so _strong_…? What makes your existence so great…?"

"Our existence, huh?" I glanced to the other two, meeting their eyes. "Let's see now… We fight, we exist, largely for the sake of others … and a fine existence it is."

"What… do you mean?"

I looked up at the half-moon in the sky, rubbing my neck and tapping one foot behind the other's heel. "Well… Before my friends came along, I didn't know who I was; I didn't know why I even existed. But now I know. For my goals and dreams, for my village, for all my friends and comrades who believe in me… Fighting to defend all these truly important things that I hold precious, I'll become as strong as I have to be."

The boy's brow furrowed. "Things … _people_ … that are precious…?"

I nodded. "These two are just the same. They found a cause, a reason for living, in people who matter to them. To help these people … to do them proud… We chose our path together, and from it we'll never waver or stray."

His eyes narrowed in confusion. "I don't… Why not… then why not end my inferior existence here…?"

"That'd be a waste," I said, "because you can find your path, too."

He flinched, gasping quietly.

"Look around," I said, nodding to his brother and sister. "There're people who care about you right here."

A single tear arced down his cheek, glistening in moonlight, dripping from his chin.

"Uzumaki Naruto… All of you, I-I……"

His eyelids drifted shut, and with a weary breath he slumped onto his side.

"He's losing consciousness," Hinata said. "Does that mean…?"

"I doubt it," Temari answered. "You three did a number on the Shukaku. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if it didn't bother Gaara for a while…"

Lee nodded. "That is good to hear–,"

In the corner of my eye, Hinata's ears twitched.

We whirled, Lee pushing Temari and Kankurou toward Gaara. Hinata's demonic characteristics returned, I drew out a fair bit of the Kyuubi's power and readied my naginata, and Lee's chakra spiked as he drew his katana.

With a blast of wind, two dozen armed ninja flickered into existence before us, their hitai-ate bearing the mark of the hourglass.

"What do you want?" I asked the Sand ninja.

"What do _we_ want?" a man sneered. "Who are you, and what are you doing so near our village?"

"Temari? Kankurou? Is that you?" another Suna-nin muttered, surprised.

"Yeah, and calm down! These three aren't enemies!"

"Oh my god, look! It's Gaara, and he's…!"

"Who is it that managed to reduce Gaara to this state?" one shinobi asked coldly, striding forward. _That's their sensei … or at least, their squad leader in the chuunin exam…_

"Baki!" Temari gasped. "Tell them to stand down!"

The jounin frowned. "The Shukaku was sighted a few minutes ago. Answer my question…"

"We defeated him," I said. "What of it?"

The man's eyes studied us. "Thank you for your help. Now, stand aside; we of his village will deal with him now…"

"You mean to kill him while he is defenseless?" Lee asked.

"What we mean to do to him is none of your concern. He belongs to our village–,"

"You _banished_ him from your village–!"

"It had to be done – he is a threat to everyone around him! If you brats don't move, we're attacking! We won't ask again!"

"Sorry, but you're not laying a hand on Gaara. We won't let you," I stated calmly.

Temari stepped forward at Lee's side, fully opening her battle fan. Beside Hinata, Kankurou released a pair of puppets and made them to pose with hostility.

"…What's this?" Baki asked, glowering. "You intend to betray your village?"

Kankurou glared back. "You're making a mistake!" he said, urgently. "These three mean us no harm! They just risked life and limb fighting for Gaara – and they saved Temari and me more than once!"

"What are you saying…?"

"These three 'brats,' as you so aptly put it, are the same three nukenin Orochimaru so badly wants dead," Temari went on pointedly. "Do you want to work in that guy's favor? I've not a doubt in my mind they would be glad to share with us what they know, if we gave them the chance. They're friendly, and they won't kill unless forced to … but do you think it would be wise to attack the warriors who took down Ichibi no Shukaku and came out unscathed?"

He clenched his teeth. "I'm not too fond of killing Gaara either, but he's a menace to–,"

"He's not."

"What?"

"He'll be no danger to you now," Hinata reiterated. "His spirit, his chakra… He's a little confused, but far and away more at ease than he was when we first came across him. What if I told you … that when he wakes up, he'll no longer be the indiscriminate murderer you knew?"

"That's a big statement. How sure are you of that?"

The girl nodded. "That's my word. You can hold me to it."

* * *

**Seventeen, Part Two: Under Light of One Moon**

**Hanabi ****ハナビ**

The moon winked down at me, staring, glaring, I decided, like a tremendous, half-lidded, disapproving white eye. But whose eye was it, I wondered? Was it Neji's, snide and superior? Was it Nee-chan's, disappointed? Did it contain the scalding detestation of a clan majority that hated me, or the unease and trepidation of the minority that had to count on me? Was it all of those?

…Was it the regret of a cousin that she had lost her life for me? For my sorry hide?

Huddled against the strong tree as I gazed at the moon, my freshly scrubbed arm cradled close for the shoulder ached throbbingly, I parted my lips.

"What do you want with me?"

He ignored the question as he slowly approached. "Aren't you afraid that you may be in danger here?"

I still didn't look at him. "I'll die no later than the day Neji wants me dead, after all."

He knelt at my side, fingers of a thickly bandaged hand slowly, carefully touching my arm. "I hurt you."

"I hurt _myself_."

"'Twas my fault."

"I zapped you. If I weren't so low on juice, I could've killed you."

"I deserve death. I … should not have done that."

"Damn right you shouldn't've." It was childish, but I was being cruel, letting him hate himself a little.

"Allow me to set it…?"

"Go for it."

I shuddered, but mostly suppressed a cry as he shortly popped the shoulder I'd dislocated back into place.

"Thank you," I said tonelessly.

"M'lady, I am unworthy of your forgiveness…"

I didn't say anything. He was moving somehow, but I still hadn't looked at him yet.

I glanced in the corner of my eye to catch him bowing lowly, humbling himself, curse seal bared to me.

"Please punish me."

I looked at him a long moment, while his eyes were on the ground. I imagined him helpless, thrashing and screaming in pain.

"I won't do it."

"Please, my lady. You must."

"I _won't_," I said firmly. The tempting thought flickered up that if I did now, he would be caught totally off guard. I was disgusted with myself as I shoved the thought away, but Hiryuu's insistence wasn't helping with the urge to inflict cruelty.

"I have used my power to bring harm to you, whom I've sworn to protect, in a fit of emotional rage. This is a transgression fit for death, but I request you attempt to leave me alive so that I may continue to serve you."

I frowned. That way of thinking again…

He ducked his head lower. "Please! We are regressing, Lady Hanabi, do you not see?! We are falling from the order of the clan! The Branch exists to serve the Main, and the Main family must exert unwavering control over its subjects! We must be conditioned into subservience by a leader's firm hand! I beg of you! You, and the four of us – we are all that remains to retain and preserve the way of the Clan. As the heir to the Main Family, it is your right and duty, here and now, to discipline me for my error!"

He was dead serious.

My face expressionless, I rose to my feet. He wanted it. I could make him eat those words. I could make him writhe in pain, as he had made me. I formed the seal.

"You are doing the right thing," he said, a proud smile in his voice. "Do not allow us to crumble. Uphold our ways, my leader and master."

I gritted my teeth.

My foot lashed hard across his face.

The man toppled onto his side, and his white eyes met mine with confusion. Breathing hard through clenched teeth for a furious moment, fitfully I shook my head and threw down my shuddering hand, dropping the sign.

"Why…?" he whispered. "Why won't you…?"

* * *

"_Why do I have to do this?! It was an accident! She didn't mean to, and she's already a-a-apologized!"_

_Father, angered by Nee-chan's words, grabbing her by the arm. The elder who called him here, who explained the situation, has a harsh, harsh look in his eye._

_Amid this a five-year-old, not completely sure what is happening._

"_You will do as I tell you, Hinata, or suffer the consequences!"_

"_B-but it was just a clumsy mistake!" the ten-year-old pleads._

"_No, Hinata-sama, he is right." An older girl, knelt submissively, gives her friend a sad smile. "I have erred, and must be punished."_

"_Hiyuki-nee-chan…"_

_The father, impatient. "If _you_ will not obey me, Hanabi will…"_

"_No! I'll… I'll do it…"_

_The cold-eyed man nods. "Be thorough, or you will discipline her again."_

"_Nee-chan…?"_

_The older sister, forming a handseal, mouthing two words._

_I'm sorry._

"_AAIIIIIIEEEEEEEEE!!!"_

_The younger sister, staring in horror. Seizurous thrashing, whitening eyes, a drooling mouth._

_The elder sister pulls the younger in, a one-armed embrace, hand cupping the back of her head. The younger readily tucks her face against her sister's body, blinding herself._

"_WAAAAHAAAAAA!! STOP I-I-IT!! PLEASE! PLEASE!! I'M SORRYYYYY!!!"_

_Over this the child can hear only her sister's heartbeat and the whisper she repeats._

"_I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry…"_

* * *

"Hanabi-sama… Why…?"

I looked up, meeting his eyes blankly, silencing the argument on his lips.

"What the Hell … are we 'upholding' here…?"

* * *

"Oji-san…?"

"Yes, m'lady."

"What … what was Hiyuki to you?"

"…She was my precious niece. And after I learned that my daughter was killed by – that my daughter had died in the Land of Waves … she was…"

"…I see… Gomennasai…"

"You feel responsible for what's happened now?"

"I _am_ responsible; there's no pretending I'm not."

"Hiyuki fought for you to the end… She gave her life to see you live to fight another day. At that moment, she placed all her hope for the future in you, Hanabi-sama; I truly believe that, from the bottom of my heart."

I looked down from the scoop of moon in the sky. "Hiyuki…"

"I don't think she left with any regrets in her heart. Hiyuki died protecting you … _you_, not as a leader or a master to serve, but as _family_ … as an innocent child … and as Hyuuga Hinata's younger sister."

I flinched. "So that's why…" I looked down miserably, biting my lip. "Hiryuu-oji-san … there's something I have to tell you."

"What is it?"

"I … I don't think I'm the one – the one of pure spirit and rightful blood."

"If not, then who is? What are you saying?"

"It's not me. It's probably my sister… Hinata-nee-chan."

Surprisingly, he merely shook his head. "In all respect, Hinata-sama is talentless, m'lady. If Fate intended her to be the one to fight for us, I would honestly have to feel Fate had screwed us over."

I chuckled a little at that. "Y-yeah … you're probably right…" _It's no use … if he and the clan _did_ believe me, they'd only be disheartened… I _have_ to do this, _I realized silently. _If she's to have any sort of clan to return to, I need to hold our supporters … to keep hope alive…_

"Where would you pick up such a notion?" he asked.

"I've just been thinking … that maybe I'm not that special after all. Rare or not, this 'power' of mine … all it is is an affinity to Raiton."

Hiryuu sighed out deeply, his eyes in the stars. "You're too emotional, milady," he remarked out of nowhere. "Your true power has a tendency not to shine through until you're frustrated, angry, afraid… Do you remember what happened the night that the Brach swore its allegiance to Orochimaru?"

"That?" I blinked in confusion. "Neji sent four of them after me for spying on you all, and…" The powerful memory was a blurred mixture of roiling fear and distress. I furrowed my brow in concentration. "I ran, but they caught up before long… They were b-beating me … but I guess they eventually left me alone, and I went to Kiba."

"How many people have you killed, Lady Hanabi?"

I started. Where had this come from all of a sudden? I began to say 'none' and froze, eyes widening.

_The blood … that wasn't mine…_

"Four," Hiryuu corrected quietly.

"That's impossible…" But I knew it was true.

"You were slowly being killed, and you fought for survival. Adrenaline may have provided a little help … but from what Neji and his Hyuuga were able to gather the next morning, you were cornered, beaten … and then snapped, leaving one genin and three chuunin splayed in death within ten feet of each other on the village streets. Little struggle was evident; you _destroyed_ them."

I shuddered. _I blotted the memory out… _Eyes wet, I shook my head with a nervous little smile. _Bad habit of doing that…_

"Do not feel guilty; those were the four who leapt to Neji's call to harm a seven-year-old girl, and they were punished well. The sight of your victims, laced with chakra burns, smitten by cardiac arrest… this ominous testament to the power of the Main House, a reminder of the consequence for crossing it, planted the first seeds of dissent in the new Hyuuga Clan. While Raiton is extremely valuable, your talent itself is unquestionable. This is what it has always meant to be the Hyuuga of Lightning."

I massaged my forehead with a hand.

His Byakugan activated and deactivated; I followed his gaze to the nonchalant figure hanging upside-down from a branch above us, gazing off at the moon.

"Sasuke-san?" _How long has he…?_

"Yo." He fell from the branch, turning to land lightly on his feet and sink into a sitting position next to me. "I wanted to show you something, little Hyuuga."

"Paper?" I said as he held up the two blank tags.

"Affinity indication," Hiryuu clarified knowledgeably, "but we already know her chakra type."

"I know that," the Uchiha shot back lightly. "Just look for a second. I'm aligned to the elements Fire and Lightning, but if I focus hard enough on only my Lightning nature and channel it into this thing…"

The single paper slip crinkled up in his hand, as if it had invisibly been crumpled up a little and spread again.

"That signifies Lightning nature," Hiryuu agreed, not seeing where this was going any more than I was.

Sasuke nodded. "My old sensei told me I was an upper-mid level Raiton type. Hanabi, I want you to channel your chakra into this one." He held out the second tag, and I reached to take it.

The moment I started to tap my chakra, I dropped the tag with a surprised yelp as it crinkled violently and instantly. The entire slip had been drawn jaggedly inward, left with not one flat section more than a centimeter across. It took up half the flat space Sasuke's paper did.

"Just as I thought. I got a hunch earlier – or, yesterday – when I shocked myself trying to shock you."

"Superb," Hiryuu breathed reverently.

"Kakashi has a remarkably strong Lightning affinity, but even the paper he demonstrated it on to me didn't suffer this drastic an effect." His palm smacked onto my shoulder. "Congrats – you're a freak of nature."

I blushed. "Sasuke-san…"

"You still convinced you're nothing special?" he asked.

Hiryuu spoke. "You're brimming with raw power and skill. If you were to truly unlock your potential, and hone your skill as a sharpened blade … in ten years, you might be unstoppable. But time is something we do not have a surfeit of at our disposal, and that is why I've been training you so hard. In addition to ability, however, you needed to be confident but had already been handed an abundance of unearned confidence. So you were thoroughly humbled, and made to build up a substantial confidence over again. With the amount of strength you've accumulated, I can't see why you're beginning to doubt yourself now."

"But… Neji defeated even _you_, Hiryuu-oji-san. Do you really think there's a chance I…?"

He looked up. "It's true; that boy is a rare genius. And as he continues to flourish under Orochimaru's tutelage, a spent old man like me can never hope to compare… If I trained for the next ten years, I might be easily as strong as Neji is _now_ … but catching up to him is beyond possibility for me. It would seem Fate is telling us that your generation, so rife with potential, must settle this dispute on its own."

I frowned. "So you think … I can surpass you?"

"Seriously," Sasuke groaned, "Did you hear a word he just said?"

"I _know_ you can surpass me, m'lady; the question is, can you do it in time. You are a prodigy … the likes of which can compare to Neji's genius. If I don't think you can defeat him, I won't send you to your death. Listen to me, Hanabi-sama. I can train you into a true fighter. It will be neither fun nor easy. It will be trying and painful. I can guarantee you that you will frequently feel you hate me, and perhaps as often wish you were dead. But if you can tell me now that you want me to do whatever I must to make you stronger, I will do everything in my power to transform you into a ninja capable of combating Neji."

I gulped quietly. _This is serious. He's asking for my permission ahead of time. I don't know how much tougher his training could get, but … if I'm reduced to begging him to go easy on me, or trying to order him to let me stop and rest, he'll be able to bypass my authority…_

"Who knows?" Hiryuu said. "Though I don't find it likely, your sister – the supposed 'Kurouga' we've been hearing so much about lately – may be the one meant to face Neji after all … but should anything happen to her, it would be preferable that you possessed the ability to fill her place. Still, as we've seen today, in this day and age a member of the Main House has no place being weak.

"Please, take your time to think carefully on this. Only you know if you are ready to commit yourself–,"

"I don't need any more time to see if I'll try to change my mind, sensei," I said. "Make me a ninja."

He took up a rare, fond smile, and when he met my eyes his expression was one of pride. "You are brave, m'lady."

"But I'm not," I said. "I'm a determined coward."

"It makes no difference to me. Rest well; your training begins tomorrow."

"You mean 'continues,' right?"

"I'm afraid you don't yet know the meaning of the word _'training.'_"

My eyebrow twitched. _I knew it… _

"Little Hyuuga," Sasuke said with a smirk, "I get the feeling you just made a dire mistake."

"No; I don't think I did, actually…"

I looked up at the moon, and decided it didn't look so angry anymore.

"Hiyuki … your sacrifice won't have been in vain."

* * *

**Neji ****ネジ**

Though usually scrubbed clean shortly after a session, interrogation cells in the village nowadays seemed to reek perpetually of blood. Although when fresh or even relatively fresh my sensitive nose found its scent quite delectable, the cracked staleness that hung in here was the mind-dulling dreariness of old death, not attractive in the least. One debated, then, with a messy task as this one, whether to use the room already rank with acrid stench so that the effects would balance out, or the room less horrible an offender so that the prisoner's slowly spilling life could be fully appreciated, at the cost of tainting that cell indefinitely and having less appealing a selection the next time one found oneself here. Typically only the first one or two, but on occasion as many as the first four cells on the hallway were put into use, and all of those were thoroughly rancid. The remainder, then, were used primarily only by myself, as I had come to prove quite skillful an interrogator and was the only one of the lot who cared about – or much noticed – the odor of blood. I knew it was a self-trumping cycle; whichever cell was the cleanest was saved for a relatively unimportant prisoner, briefly prodded for information and then allowed to bleed out just slowly enough, in just controlled enough a manner, that they could be convinced that if they decided to cough up anything useful the bleeding would be staunched and they would be spared, but if they fell beyond saving and realized it or fell unconscious could be granted a swift execution – and in that the quality of room selections continued to decline. For this particular prisoner, therefore, I had reluctantly picked a cell that reeked and thus would negate the stimulating scent of the dripping blood, ensuring me solidity of focus.

"You know, no one's coming for you. We told them you're dead."

"G-g-go to Hell," she whimpered out, sounding by no stretch of the imagination any bit formidable or threatening. I smiled cheerfully.

"Come on, now, cousin Hiyuki," I said, a few times smacking the back of my hand lightly, almost playfully, at the sobbing girl's tear-streaked cheek. "Your mother was quite unhappy with your behavior, and she hurt you very badly. Just answer the question for me, cous, please? Why make this so difficult? You look a bloody mess. Why ya' being so hard on yourself? There are medics ready to help you right upstairs, but if you don't hurry up and cooperate you'll surely get an infection and die."

"I _hate_ you!" she cried, sobbing and shaking in the embrace of the chair to which she was shackled. "I hate you, I hate you, I–!"

The CRACK of impact resonated in the small room as the back of my fist was bloodied on her face. She wailed helplessly as I jammed the sole of my boot in her defenseless abdomen, and my hand snapped firmly to the underside of her jaw, forcing her to look into my eyes as I held a feeble hand in mine. I lifted the hand to hold it beside her face, so she could see it; her arms were no longer bound, for they were broken. "You don't want the rest of your fingers to break, do you?" I asked as a rivulet of blood dribbled anew from her still broken nose.

As of yet, only one finger had broken.

"Y-you're a monster," she blubbered, her voice breathless and stupid with the obstruction of her nose. "You're insane–,"

SNAP.

"Focus, Hiyuki," I said calmly as she screeched. "We're not _talking_ about me, are we? Do you know who we're talking about?"

"I'm telling you n-nothing about L-Lady Hanabi–!"

SNAP.

"You're really bringing the conversation down, cousin; I simply wanted to check the accuracy of something a _friend_ of mine reported. Fine, then – why don't we talk about where New Konoha gets its food supply from? I'm quite curious, you see, because they clearly don't produce a yield in those fields great enough to sustain their entire population. Come on, cous, big sis, tell me, will you?"

"How about you t-take a guess, otouto-chan…?"

"How about you tell me in five seconds, or I break two fingers at once? Sound like more fun? Five… four–,"

SN-SNAP!

"Oh dear, my hand slipped." I released the mangled hand carelessly and took a firm grip of her recently wounded shoulders. She tried to resist, but ultimately failed to stifle a groaning cry as I massaged and worked the damaged joints, none too gently pressing on tender, stretched muscle and inflamed sinew.

"_U-uuunh…! _Stop it! S-_stop…_!"

"Huh? Why should I?" I asked, my voice innocent, my hands harsh. "You didn't want to talk about Hanabi-chan, so we're talking about New Konoha. What's wrong with that? Why don't you want to talk to me, Hiyuki-chan?"

"I won't b-be-tray my l-leader!" she shrieked pathetically, her face contorted and sweating in pain, voice piercingly high. "Hanabi-sama belongs to New K-Konoha – if Leaf is endangered, m'lady is as w-well…!"

"Huuh?" I prodded a tenketsu dangerously near her heart, and another at a lung. She shuddered stiffly, not daring to writhe in pain for fear of irritating an array of other wounds, and spewed blood once, and then again, further dirtying her ensanguined robes. Eyes wide, she gasped shallowly, tumultuously for air. "My, you don't look so good! You must be running low on blood. If only I was so inclined as to have those medics see you; they could clean you up, and put you back together in one piece, and make all the pain go away…"

She fought not to cry as I rubbed her shoulder, slapped a hand on it. "I have no words for traitors!! A ninja does not betray her village!!"

I rested my shoe atop her knee, pressing down lightly. "A ninja, huh…?"

I stomped.

CRAK!

"_AAAAAHAAHAAHHH!!!_" she bawled, pitifully.

"Did that hurt? Aw, Hiyuki, why're you hurting yourself? You're making yourself so miserable here…"

Her chest heaved shudderingly, her eyes closed. I pushed up a bruised eyelid with a thumb – and my hand jerked away as she tried to snap at me.

"Do you hate me now, Hiyuki?"

She ignored my question. "I w-wish that… the clan could see their great, noble s-savior here and now… Their elite H-Hyuuga Neji-_sama_…! Beating up someone t-tied to a chair…"

"It's not like I'm scared to fight you or anything. You're tied down for convenience."

"What's become of you, c-cousin? Wh-what's become of … the noble cause you claimed you were fighting for…?"

"Do you detect a flaw in my cause? I am preserving the peace of the village Orochimaru-sama is trying to create. The only way we can hope to bring perfection to New Oto… is through the eradication of dangerous renegades like you."

"You're out of your mind, my brother… What of Lady Hanabi? What is her crime?"

"Hanabi supports your rebel faction. By taking part in the resistance, she encourages dissent and tension throughout our family, dividing what could be by now a new and peaceful clan of equals living equally."

She laughed feebly; it clearly pained her, but she did so regardless. "Promote equality through the elimination of those of higher rank… So that is y-your warrant to kill her… Let me tell you something about L-Lady Hanabi… You will never in your life see a display of such raw and horrifying power. That girl … can defeat you … and she w-will…"

I raised an unamused brow.

A clawed nail flashed across her wrist. "Oops."

There was a dull shrug in her eyes. "Was about t'… bite my tongue…"

"Were you, now?" I said, watching what life she had left bleeding out of her wrist. Bummer. If she had panicked, I could have tried 'I'll stop the bleeding if you answer me.'

"Dying f-for … my Lady H-_Hanabi_ … I have no … regrets…"

"Like a true, old-fashioned Hyuuga," I said as her eyes began to dim. "What a disgustingly honorable way to go…"

_But… then, again…_

I walked slowly behind the chair, brushed my cousin's hair to one side.

_It would be such a waste…_

"Wh… whaddrya' doing…?" she slurred weakly as I pushed the neck of her robe a few inches aside. My fingers brushed over bared flesh.

"After all … you share my blood, Hiyuki."

"What…?"

"If I told you this isn't going to hurt, I'd be lying."

Hiyuki's jaw dropped as I bit savagely into the base of her neck, seized her from the encroaching grip of death.

A groan escaped her. She cried weakly, and then almost yelled.

I stepped out into the hallway and closed the door behind me, waiting to the sound of the first screams.

* * *

**Hanabi ****ハナビ**

"Hey… Sasuke-san?"

The two of us were walking behind Hiryuu, heading back to the tunnels. "What's up?"

"…Thank you … for what you did, I mean. It helped save my life earlier."

"I'm not sure what you're talking about."

I smiled. "Oh, I see. Sumimasen."

"Hanabi… There's something I'd like to tell you."

"Like what?"

"Lately, I've started to notice a few Hyuuga that have been acting strange. Like … not like your average Hyuuga. Instead of their typical arrogant, pretentious selves – no offense – there are some who're aggressively short-tempered, quick to violence, like they can't control themselves. And they're weirdly reverent toward Neji…"

"A lot of his followers are."

"Not like this; take my word for it. Just watch out, will ya'?"

"Yeah…"

* * *

**Naruto ****ナルト**

_Almost like our Hokage stone faces… Man, those statues are impressive…_

"So what you're saying," Baki, the interim village leader, said from across the round councilroom table, "is that a true Konoha still survives and opposes the conqueror's rule?"

"That is correct," Lee said. "Orochimaru has had concealed the fact that any part of Konoha was capable of defying him."

Hinata nodded. "He's cut off the resistance force's contact with the outside, and tried to convince the world that the village is his completely – an intimidation factor, perhaps, in claiming that one of the greatest villages of the Godaikoku crumbled swiftly and entirely before his might."

"In fact," I picked up, my eyes shifting from the statues, "what used to be Konoha has become two villages in one wall, locked in civil war. New Oto, comprised of the usurper's Sound ninja and the Leaf ninja who gave in to him, is the dominant of the two; New Konoha is made up of the remains of the village once allied to you, the loyal shinobi who wouldn't so easily be broken plus some civilians who've joined or supported them, and it's long declared independence from the Sound."

"He's fighting a war within his own walls…" a councilor remarked. "That would explain the shifting in the mission market; New Oto must be turning down a fair number of requests…"

Baki's fist thudded down onto the table. "Damn that Orochimaru… He had the nerve to extend a hand to us in alliance just months after he _used_ us to conquer Konohagakure…"

An elderly councilman noted, "Quite possibly with the intent to use us to help quash this opposition…"

"It would seem we have no quarrel," Lee observed. "What with the loss of our Sandaime Hokage and your Yondaime Kazekage… Konoha and Suna _both_ are victims of the same snake's conniving and deceptions…"

"And just where do _you_ fit into all of this?" a councilman asked. "Three children only barely into their teens…?"

"What, us?" I said. "We may be children, admittedly, but we are shinobi – and we know where our loyalty belongs. The better part of a year ago, we were simply three genin escaping the first, subtle signs of the havoc erupting in the village, with the full intention to live as nukenin for a time; soon enough, though, it became evident we were just lucky enough to get away from the village before this pandemonium broke out. As among the only loyal Leaf ninja walking freely in the outside world, we've taken it upon ourselves to work toward freeing our comrades and taking back our village."

"So in a way, you are New Konoha's strongest voice … its channel to the outside world. You have become the rebellion's advocates, and its diplomats," an ancient-looking fellow mused. "A dangerous path, and one to which you've adapted well. Clear cause for the tyrant to throw a price over your heads…"

I smirked sharply. The most recent we'd seen of the posters, my head was worth the most. That might have been as much for feats as attribute to a certain nine-tailed kitsune, but had still been fun to start a round of jeering over.

Hinata piped up. "You said Orochimaru proposed to reforge an alliance with Suna. What was your response to his offer?"

"We did not respond," Baki said. "Not directly, at least. All this time we've been almost completely silent with New Otogakure no Sato, ignoring most of Orochimaru's attempts to strike up communication. I think the silent message is clear enough."

"A considerable slight, indeed," Lee said, "but likely the wisest course of action. As we have all seen, dealing with Orochimaru is always a dangerous affair. It tends to bring about calamity…"

"Aye," a councilor seated near him said, "That man is merciless and decisive…"

"Exactly," I agreed, "and thirsty for power. I'm sure you've heard of his strike on Kirigakure half a year ago…?" Though I treaded deftly around our involvement in said incident, at this several pairs of eyes were lit with realization. "That was a fortunately avoided disaster. Orochimaru's goal seems to be, in essence, _power_; he'll do anything to attain it, even tamper with the balance, risk upsetting the peace and prosperity, of the Five Great Nations."

Baki rubbed his temple, on the side of his tattooed face that was not obscured by his mask. "This confirms we made the right decision in turning him down; that man must be stopped. Allying ourselves to New Oto is clearly out of the question, but the New Hidden Leaf Village, on the other hand…" His visible eye glared intently at the table before him over a loose bridge of his fingers. He sighed. "We have learned much this night. Council – let us deliberate." He looked up at us. "You three must be tired; you are free to go. Temari, Kankurou, you may leave as well; show our guests to their rooms."

About as clear a dismissal as they came without the common 'You're dismissed,' which contained a risk of interpretation as disrespect. I nodded, and the three of us stood. Together we bowed generously at the waist.

"Doumo arigatou gozaimasu. We thank you for lending us your council's ear, Lord Baki of Sand," I said, smooth but sincere.

"Thank _you_, our friends of New Konohagakure no Sato."

'Friends.' Never a bad sign.

* * *

**Lee ****リー**

"I have to say, I'm impressed with Suna's hospitality."

"You shouldn't be surprised," Temari snorted at Hinata's remark, "You did a good thing for us, and you did have me and Kankurou to vouch for you."

"Still," Hinata said as we walked down the hall, "Some hidden villages want nothing to do with outsiders."

"So you do a lot of traveling, then?" Kankurou asked the girl curiously.

Naruto rolled his eyes. Well, all three of us did do a lot of traveling.

"Yes," Hinata answered, "Just two months ago I went to the Hidden Grass. Or, I was stopped a few miles from the village. 'What do you want?' 'There's a band of twenty-three nukenin approaching your village.' 'Are you one of 'em?' 'No… Why would I–?' 'Get out. We'll look into the matter.' So after Kusa confirms this and intercepts them, and I pitch in and help out: 'So, I was actually coming this way to ask if you've seen this person recently–,' 'What if we have?' 'Look, will you just take a look at her picture?' 'We haven't seen her. You can leave now.' Honestly…"

Kankurou laughed heartily. "Those paranoid Kusa-nin, huh?"

"But then, I guess a larger village like Suna has enough strength that it doesn't need to be overly strict of visitors," the girl noted.

The puppeteer chuckled again. "True, true!"

On the other side of Hinata, Naruto flapped his hand like a yapping mouth. I fought not to giggle.

"But here we were allowed a trip to the bath and left clean clothes, then provided a hot meal before we met with the council, and now we're receiving generous accommodations – and though policy understandably doesn't allow us to carry bladed weapons, there are only three black ops tailing us…"

Temari started. "How…?"

Hinata's mouth cut to a puppyish grin, showing off unusual canines. "The same two adult human male scents and one female scent have been tiptoeing around us since we entered the village, never coming into sight. If I can pin a scent to each of the people I see, and it's the ones I don't see that are constantly hanging around – well, that would be our hidden ANBU escorts. The female scent even followed Temari-san and I into the bath, whereas the males gained distance for a while whilst I presume they were watching Naruto-kun and Lee-kun, and all three were outside the window when we ate and hidden behind the second Kazekage's statue, on the ceiling, and under the table during the council meeting."

"Haha! Brilliant, Hinata-san!" I exclaimed.

"Oh, dear," Temari said, blushing as she smacked her forehead. "Well, that's embarrassing."

"Of course, the tails are a necessary precaution. Their scent was the only giveaway – other than that – great job, guys!" she called.

I smiled. It was refreshing to see her in such a rare cheerful mood.

Kankurou's laughter roared down the hall. "You're pretty sharp, lovely lady, and you seem like a nice girl. I like that!"

Naruto's gaze snapped to the puppetmaster.

_Oh, brother…_

Hinata giggled. "Why, thank you!" she said politely, brushing off the flirtation.

"Say, how'd you like me to show you around town tomorrow? Just me, you, and your shadow!"

Hinata laughed pleasantly. "I don't see why not…"

"Great!" Kankurou chirped. "Let's call it a date–!"

"_AHEM-HERM-HA-HER-HERM–!_" Naruto cleared his throat loudly and repeatedly, and just as every eye landed on him 'cleared' it once more and substituted with Hinata so that she half began to stumble in surprise and _he_ was now standing between she and Kankurou as we walked. "Oops," he deadpanned.

I sweatdropped. He could be quite suave when he wanted to, but when he did not feel like it…

"Uh…?" Kankurou muttered.

Still gazing ahead, Naruto presented a debonair smile. "Please excuse me, good chap. Though I realize that any man can agree that Hinata-chan is 'lovely'…"

"_Oh,_" the older boy realized, deflating. "Taken. Naturally..."

Eyes shut, Naruto nodded happily, his smile urbane, his step pert. Hinata socked him lightly on the shoulder with an affectionate "You!"

"That's cool, then. Maybe someday, huh?" the Suna-nin said with a friendly grin toward the young Hyuuga.

"I'm sorry to tell you that it's just not all that likely," she said apologetically, taking Naruto's hand. The boy nodded pertly again, practically glowing under the beaming rays of her affection. He could have been doing a victory dance. Therefore, Kankurou's jab was rather understandable.

"Hey, little man, you're pretty good with the ladies, ne?" he teased, ruffling the (much) shorter boy's hair and inflaming him with annoyance, knocking the urbane smugness from his face. "I guess you're pretty cute with her." Fingers drumming Naruto's blond tufts, he leaned down to direct a perfectly audible whisper toward his ear. "Should we have set you and Hinata-chan up with a room for _two_?"

Naruto jumped, flabbergasted. "Wh-wha-what are you insinuating, you perv?!!" he cried, pointing a trembling finger at the puppetmaster.

"Easy, buddy, I just thought you and your g-f might want to have a little fun–!"

"'Fun?!' 'FUN?!' What the heck's that supposed to mean?!" Naruto barked, one fist raised at Kankurou and the other arm extended as if to shield Hinata's innocence from uncouth innuendo.

I laughed awkwardly, patting the beet-red kunoichi on the shoulder and clutching at it as she seemed to begin to tip over. "You somewhat had that coming, Naruto-kun – just because you have one of the most wonderful girls in the world at your side does not mean you must flaunt your good fortune! But do you not in fact need a room together? After all, every night you two sleep with each–,"

"_Next_ to each other!!" he shot back in protest, rounding on me and waving his arms. "Not '_with_,' NEXT TO each other! There's a DIFFERENCE! C'mon, Lee, work with me here! You already know we wouldn't _do_ s-something!!"

THUD.

"Is she okay?" Temari whispered.

"It happens with startling regularity," I remarked.

"Sleeping 'next to' each other? Oh yeah, that's not suspicious!" Kankurou jeered.

"It's not! I cure her nightmares–!"

"Aw, ain't that sweet!"

"I mean, we snuggle a little, but–!"

"_Snuggling?!!_"

"Like puppies, or–!"

"You snuggle like dogs?"

"No, PUPPIES! Cute, innocent little cuddly puppies that lie _next to _each other and SLEEP, y'know?!!"

"Chill, spaz!"

"I will NOT chill, ero-neko-freak!"

Temari sighed in exasperation. "Boys…"

I shook my head. "Our invisible escorts must be getting a kick out of this."

* * *

**Naruto ****ナルト**

Dressed in my nightclothes, I opened the door of my room and stepped out into the hallway. I glanced at Lee's door, the next down the hallway from mine; the light was off, so he was asleep. I looked then at the door across the hall from mine; the light was on, so Hinata was awake.

Pillow in hand, I crossed the hall and knocked a light pattern on the door.

"Come in."

"Waiting up for me, Hinata-chan?" I asked with a smile, stepping into the room and shutting the door behind me.

"Of course," she said, sitting up on the edge of the bed. "It seems like it's been forever since we had a bit of private time…"

I chuckled. "There aren't any ANBU hidden in the room, right?"

"Outside the window," she said, "but I think I can put up with that."

I sat down beside her, and we shared a crisp, chaste kiss.

"Hinata-chan…" I cupped her cheek gently in my hand; my finger began to play at her bangs. "Why did you think you needed to hide who you are?"

She blushed guiltily. "I'm a freak … hanjin, han'you, half human, half demon. I… I went to Okaa-sama – to the Gobi, in the Domain of Demons … and of my own volition, I completed the Ookami's trials and underwent the Ceremony of the Full Moon to be changed into this. I'm an honorary sister of the wolves, now and forever. This change wasn't forced on me, and it's no power sealed inside me or into the mark on my neck. _I, _myself … made the choice to forfeit half of my humanity, and become a true monst– a true han'you."

"And how do you feel about your choice?" I asked, two fingers lightly brushing a seemingly real and solid, rounded human ear as I gazed into her pastel eyes.

"…I feel … happy," she said, as if she were admitting to sin. "I'm closer than ever to Kurogiba and the other ookami. I'm proud to have survived their trials as a human, and been deemed worthy of joining them. I'm proud of the strong wildness inside of me, of the youki, the demonic energy, I've learned to control… and of the struggle that's made my mastery over the curse surer than ever."

–"_I love that I can be confident I won't hurt you now. We can be close like this, and I can fully enjoy the strong rhythm of your heart without fearing the sound might drive me feral…"–_

"So you're not 'completely' human. So what? You're still Hyuuga Hinata, and your friends love you for who you are."

"Naruto-kun…"

"So maybe in public you don't want to draw ignorant folks' weird looks, and maybe in battle you don't want your weakness exposed, but you never had to keep secrets from Lee and me. You're unique, Hinata; there's nothing wrong with that, and your friends will always accept you."

"Naruto…" she said, meeting me in an embrace and resting her head on my shoulder. "But I don't see you as a friend."

"Huh?"

"You're more."

Wispy smoke rolled over her body, and when it cleared I caught sight of a midnight blue tail, tipped in white, flicking out along the bedspread. We separated, and with hands on her shoulders my eyes drank in her face, her soft smile, her scarred cheek, her pale lavender orbs, her delicate nose, her pointed canine teeth, her dark blue wolfish ears, lined inside with cottony white, that poked from her hair at the crown of her head – perfect, perfect as ever.

"You're beautiful…" I murmured.

With a tiny whimper of joy she threw her arms around me again, nuzzling her nose fondly at my neck. "Thank you, Naruto-kun…!"

Breathing in the freshness of her hair, I cupped her head in my hand, feeling her soft, short locks, and planted a kiss on her jawline. I kissed her again, my hand testing a downy ear, thumbing gently, rubbing its base, and she purred contently, her tail wagging in lazy peace. My other hand brushed over her shoulder, clenching briefly before sliding on down her strong back, fingers prodding searchingly.

"Hinata-chan," I chided softly, "You really need to stretch more often. Your shoulders are stiff, and your back muscles tense…"

"What would you recommend, doc?" she murmured, warm breath a caress to my neck.

"I think I'll have to administer a therapeutic massage, stat," I said, moving back and slipping behind her on the bed. On my knees, I ran through a few seals that converted the chakra in my hands to a soothing form. I ran my palms slowly over her lithe, toned back, prodding, analyzing.

"I think I ought to stretch _less_ often…" she whispered blissfully.

"Nuh-uh," I teased, "Human, han'you, demon – you better take care of yourself." Proving the point, I suddenly squeezed the muscle above her shoulder blades with expert hands; she flinched with a quick intake of breath.

"O-oh, I'll take better care of myself…" she surrendered, transitioning from a yelp to a sigh, grunting as I softened up and prodded again, circling my fingers on a pair of tense spots. I rubbed with my palms, lowered my hands, rubbed again; she hissed quietly and melted under my touch as I pressed the heels of soothing palms in two firm, rhythmic circles, slowly, methodically working the tightness out of her back.

She turned, climbing onto the bed, pushing my arms aside, capturing my lips in a loving kiss. A hand found my shoulder and grasped in mimicry, while another arm wrapped across my back, hand tenderly brushing my side. I pressed my fingers, my palm to her back, and she gasped as the kiss broke.

"I love you," I murmured as she kissed my cheek, my chin, my nose, and I tried then to kiss her more than she did me, but this was forgotten as our lips found each other's again and yearnings were quenched. Our tongues brushed and explored each other in the security of our mouths, eager but neither harsh nor forceful as we gave our affection, tasting, tenderly searching, each appreciating the other's sweet reciprocating feelings, the living vibrancy, the smooth, joyous warmth, as it flowed endlessly between us. It could have gone on forever. If it did, I felt, that would be just fine.

My hand searched her shoulder learnedly and squeezed, and muffled sound rose up in her throat. Encouraged, I continued, working and caressing, my other hand rubbing a slow circle on her back. The sound rolled out again, a small, gentle sound, a murmur sometimes poking out when our lips routinely parted at the corners before meshing together again. Her arms were under mine, one hand still massaging my shoulder, the other petting, stroking my arm. My hand lowered.

Finding something soft and silky.

I stroked her tail, and a new, throaty sound was elicited from her. She kissed harder, her body shivering slightly as I stroked it again, and again…

"_O-a-a-aah…! _Not there!!" she yelped suddenly, breaking away as our lips parted. Claws bit harshly into the shoulder she held as a hand sharply smacked mine away from her tail.

Her eyes were wide, surprised, embarrassed. I blinked, and gasped in realization. "H-Hinata, I'm sorry–!"

The door slammed open.

Lee had never looked so mad.

* * *

**Lee ****リー**

"_A-aah…! _Not there!!"

At this moan and cry I slammed the door open. I took one look at the younger ninja, both panting lightly for breath; at Hinata, blushing red, her claws buried in Naruto's shoulder as she held the boy's body against her own, apparently unable to control her tail's spasmodic wagging at intervals; at Naruto's guilty, shocked face, the hand that still clutched the girl's shoulder, the other hand that had just been slapped away, as he gaped at me like a deer.

"_Get out,_" I said quietly.

"L-Lee-kun," Hinata said, about to stand up for him.

"I come back from the bathroom to see you two doing _this?_" I hissed.

Naruto pulled away from her. "Lee, it's not how it looks–!"

"_You!_" I snarled. "_Out. Of this. Room. NOW!_"

"Just let us explain–,"

"_You have three seconds before I kick your a–_,"

"Leaving!" he cried, scrambling to his feet and substituting past me to duck into his own room.

"L-Lee-kun, we were–,"

The girl shrank under my disappointed glare. Tearing my eyes away, I shut the door.

* * *

**Naruto ****ナルト**

_I messed up…_

_He totally overreacted…_

_But I still messed up…_

_God…! _The timing couldn't have been worse. I needed to talk to her, to apologize…!

Coming back from the bathroom. My dumb luck. Lee would have to be passing by right then, to stop and hear… well, _that_. I could see why he'd freaked out, but still… times like this really made you want to kill someone–

I blinked. _'FOX! Out of my head!'_

'_You caught me…'_

'_That was the lamest attempt ever. How could I _not_ catch that?'_

'_I thought with your emotions in such disarray, it shouldn't be too hard… and you know I can't waste an opportunity to try … not at times like these, when you've wearied down your mind … your defenses … with those marvelous shadow tricks of yours…'_

'_So you thought to sidle on up while I'm sleepy and suggestible? You could try harder than that; honestly, I'm insulted … My mental fortification isn't _that_ weak. Attacks this pathetic, and I won't even stay sharp…'_

'_Ah, perhaps … but it just infuriates me… The nerve of that boy, forcing you away from your Hinata-chan, and even threatening us… Come on, my gaki, couldn't you just give me a minute or so…? He'll learn not to come between you two … I can break a few of his bones for you, hmm…? Maybe? I won't even kill him. I can give you my word–,'_

'_Nice – _better_ try, anyways, but no.' _

'_A demon cannot break its word–,'_

'_So you can't kill him, but you can kill anyone else. Oh yeah, that sounds like a great idea. Super.'_

'_But you _know_ you're tempted… Deep down … aren't you angry–?'_

'_Dang it, fox! Shove off already!' _I snapped, banishing its presence again. _I'm not in the mood…_

I took a deep breath. Without noticing it, I'd mulled over and stirred up enough negative energy to draw the dumb kitsune up to surface. It didn't need darkness or anything to talk to me – it was simply attracted to it, and also saw in it an opportunity to try its claw at persuasion. …And apparently I was so sad I'd actually chatted with the demon for a few minutes. Talk about lonely…

Again I breathed in, breathed out, very deeply. My mind was sharp; many a long hour had been spent working to ensure this. It was because of that that I'd been able to increase the Kageken's efficiency, smooth out and improve it; it was also how I had taught myself to stay in control of my mind, and keep a certain vulpine visitor at bay. To an extent…

Sleep. The Shadow Megaton Kick in particular _had_ taken a minor toll, and I hadn't slept since. My defense could almost be classified as slack. Right now I needed to clear my head and sleep.

* * *

**Hinata ****ヒナタ**

_Where am I?_

_Black, in all directions. Above. Below. Black._

"_Who's there?!" I whirl, eyes wide._

"_Hinata-ssssama…" Distant figure, walking closer, step by swaying step._

"_H-Hi…Hizashi-oji-san…? How…?"_

_They're coming from the water, the bottom of the sea. Black ground ripples, figures rising._

"_H-Hina…ta…"_

"_Hiken-kun?" I squeak. They're everywhere, rising from the water, everywhere._

"_Why won't you die?!"_

"_Damn you!!"_

"_You know where little demons go, don't you?"_

_My hands, covering my ears. Too many voices, relentless, deafening, the voices of the dead. "Leave me alone…!" My ears bleeding, my tears bleeding. I can't shut my eyes. Can't block out the sound. I'm all alone. "Leave me alone!"_

_Risen from a murky grave. The woman who tried to run. The man whose chest was crushed. The woman whose skull was bashed in. Her little sister, whose throat was torn out, maybe spat out, maybe swallowed, I honestly can't remember. The two men who used the swords. The man whose jaw was crushed. The one whose throat was scooped out. The woman sucked dry of blood. So many swirling voices. Screams of pain. Air thick and coppery as the slaughtered converge on the slaughterer._

"_Stop! Stay away!"_

_A distant face, glimpsed in the crowd. That one didn't make sense. __Hiyuki-nee…?_

_Second of distraction. Watery hand grasping my ankle. The woman rises, hand roughly grabbing the neck of my shirt. Bloodshot eyes, cracked and deranged. _

"_Why did you kill Aka-nee-chan?"_

_I didn't kill her._

_My lips move, but for me there is no sound._

_Midori's head rams tremendously against mine, my bleeding body is blown back spectacularly, moving in slow motion, suspended._

_The corpses are grabbing me, tearing, kicking, stabbing, stamping, beating out of me all the lives they lost. I'm sorry. I'm sorry._

_Now they are wolves, hundreds of hungry wolves, biting my ankles, wrists, neck, pulling me apart, stripping away my flesh._

"_Why do you betray me?! Stop! Okaa-sama, help me!"_

"_You two have failed me…" The Gobi's voice, cold and disgusted._

_Long-dead Kurogiba, above me, floating impossibly._

"_Ani-ue, help! Please!"_

"_I should never have put faith in someone…"_

_Huge black paw crashing down, bludgeoning force twisting and pushing back, cleanly snapping my neck._

_I land on my feet, surrounded by black, looking frantically right, left–_

"_Nee-chan."_

_I stumble back in surprise. Ten feet from my right._

"_Imouto__-chan!" Stepping toward her. "Why are you here? You're not…!"_

_But her eyes are the milky eyes of that first stupid blood-soaked hare. Her mouth drops open._

_Hanabi's scream is long and unreal, piercing my soul. She hits the nonexistent black ground, vivid crimson pooling from invisible wounds._

_Behind her, the figure of the one responsible. _

"_Do you still love me, Imouto-__chan__?" he intones, grinning hugely._

_I run to him in tears, crying out in rage. He charges toward me._

"_Nejiiii!!"_

_I punch, and he punches, our fists halted by an invisible wall between us. I pound the barrier, lean against it, beat a furious fist desperately at it, and he does the same, all exactly the same._

_I stop, and he stops. Looking into icy eyes, then past them to see my sister's corpse._

_Turning around. The same is behind me, but more. Imouto-chan, Naruto-kun, Lee-kun, Hiashi-sama, Kiba-kun, Shino-kun, Shikamaru-kun, Sakura-chan, Chouji-kun, Sister Inoriko, thirteen orphans, dead. My arms absolutely soaked, hands dripping with blood._

_I look back to the mirror, and there is me, smiling wildly back in full demonic form, skin white with fur, hair black, body streaked with crimson._

_I yell, striking. My hand slips through the mirror, rather than strike simply latching onto the neck of her shirt as the demonic side's hand does, latches onto mine._

_We pull, and my forehead slams concussively into the glass, exploding with pain, gushing thick gouts of blood._

_I open my eyes, and it is Neji standing there again, a demon smiling back at me, bleeding in the mirror. "Hina-chan…"_

_His other clawed hand shoots out, shattering through the glass with a great crash, smashing straight through my heart. I'm hacking out blood, stunned._

"_Elite … Failure."_

_I hit the ground as he releases me, a feeble, twitching heap of flesh coughing and gasping and dying. I look helplessly up at him as my lifeblood pours out, the young man standing in the shattered crimson glass, and I blink, and his laughing eyes are golden and evil. _

"_This will __**never**__ change………………………………" _

* * *

Waking came in a rush of emotion, a hard gasp as I jolted upright, arms jerking out, legs kicking in the darkness. I fought my way from a clinging sheet, inefficient and tangling with franticness, and had smacked and kicked it only to my knees when I fell from the bed, toppling clumsily to the floor. Gasping, I kicked the blanket off amid scrambling to a waste bin, drawing myself up and hunching over it and vomiting convulsively.

For a moment I took a few shallow, rapid breaths, abruptly wiped away with the back of my hand a trail of spilt tears. I shut my eyes and yelled, in anger, despair, or frustration, I couldn't be sure.

Eventually I shakily stood, dug a bottle from the bottom of my bag, and left the room.

* * *

If I had expected to run into anyone at four AM, I might have disguised my lupine features; luckily this person had already seen them, though, so he didn't freak out.

On second thought, entertaining the notion of this boy freaking out over such a thing would be a bit of a trial to anyone's imagination.

_So they've deemed him safe enough to let walk around, but … he's got a considerable ANBU tail of his own… _

I offered a kindly smile. "Hello. It's good to see you're already back on your feet."

His eyes were wide – awed, even timid – as he opened his mouth, perhaps beginning with intent to speak but losing resolve before any sound was uttered.

Instead he raised his hand and, with an almost infantile curiosity and innocence, he reached to touch my left ear.

_It's like he's a whole different person, _I thought in amazement as the ring-eyed redhead who'd not ten hours ago crushed my arm in sadistic brutality felt gently about my ookami ear as if in a daze of fascination.

I began to blush self-consciously. "So, Gaara-san, how are you feeling?"

He flinched away startlingly, stepping back to place several yards' safety between us; his glare and body language projected confused hostility, which then cautiously melted off into confusion. He seemed to try again to speak, but ultimately wavered with wariness and glared half-heartedly at the wall beside us.

It was understandable; he was, literally, socially retarded. He didn't know how to interact peacefully with someone. But he cared enough to try to.

I smiled sadly. "It's alright; I just wanted to know if you feel better. I'm …concerned for you."

His bitter eyes met mine, guarded. "Why do you feel … 'concern' for me…?"

I sighed softly, not quite exasperated. The opaque bottle in my hand was shaken anxiously, giving the sloshing promise of the liquid inside. Here I was, still shivering nervously, reduced to my broken self and balancing humoring this even more broken fellow with trying not to cry. I would have liked to be with Naruto-kun, embraced in the safety of his warmth and gentle strength and serene, solid presence. If not then I would have liked to at least be near Lee-kun, who wouldn't mind being woken this late if I was in dire need of someone to talk to – but while I didn't quite blame him for my present state a confrontation now would simply prove awkward in too many ways. Kurogiba was tired, and I didn't feel up to summoning him either way. I needed company, and I was clinging to it.

"Do I need a reason to feel concern for someone? We're humans, aren't we? We're certainly not enemies, if that's what you're asking. I'm hoping you're in good shape. That's all."

He blinked strangely. "…I'm … fine."

* * *

The moonlight was nice, and the fresh air consoling. Gazing out at the sleeping village, I sucked relative blandness from the minor vein I'd split in my wrist. Lifting the bottle, I chased the rich blood down with a sharp, heavy swig. I sighed.

"This isn't normal, by the way," I informed my companion, tipping the bottle lightly. "Don't … learn from it or something."

Seated beside me on the rooftop, Gaara eyed me oddly, the slightest furrow in his brow. "How _old_ are you?"

I smiled. Sarcasm, almost. "Not old enough. It's pretty strong, but it still doesn't affect me like it would a regular human. I'd have to drink a lot more than this, anyways."

"Maybe it, alone," he observed, "but you're taking blood with it…"

"Sharp," I conceded, swirling the bottle's contents with a lazy flick of my wrist. I drew into my mouth another warm splash of blood, lacking in flavor in that it was my own, and accentuated it with a nice, cool draught from the bottle. "Not like I'm flat-out stoned or anything; just a bit of a buzz. Steadies my nerves."

And it was true. A shot of, say, Naruto's strong, full-human blood would invigorate my spirit in a heartbeat. A shot of my blood held dramatically milder effect. A shot of alcohol was a shot of water. Unless taken with blood, in which case the blood's energy rush was capped and the alcohol's intoxication was brought out. But I wasn't drunk.

Not _drunk_ drunk.

"I think I might… I feel concern for … you."

I laughed a little. "What – you mean becuzza' this?"

He shook his head. "You had been crying … before. I could tell. Why do you _need_ that liquor?"

"Oh…" I rubbed my neck. "Actually … I have trouble with some pretty colorful nightmares."

The boy blinked incredulously at me. "You… even someone so strong is afraid of something?"

Finishing a swig, I chuckled. "Everyone has fears, no matter how strong they are. I walk a dangerous path and so I worry about myself, yes; but even more so, I can't help worrying about the people who matter ta' me."

"People who matter…?"

"I have a little sister, back in the Leaf Village, who I think about every single day. I worry for my village, and all my friends 'n' comrades, and I worry that I might fail to protect the people that're precious to me…"

"That sounds like a lot of worrying…" he said sadly.

I shook my head again. "I worry because I _care_. You expressed concern for me, but it wasn't altogether a _bad_ feeling, wuzzit?"

"I guess not…"

I nodded. "See, when people're precious to you, you care about 'em. You might hafta worry sometimes, but the love that you feel for them – that connects ya' to them – is what really matters most."

"Love…"

"Love's what connects you to all the people you hold dear, and when you're connected this way … the suffering, and the pain in life can somehow become bearable again; the joy can be shared, and spread. Learning, understanding, growing … _living_ alongside my precious people, is not an experience I'd readily forfeit."

"And so you fight for _them_… That's why…"

"Yup. It's because of them – all of them – that I'm able ta keep fighting. Even if we're not physically together we're still tied, by love…" I chuckled. "But since Naruto-kun 'nd Lee-kun and I got t'gether again, I haven't had to count on this particular remedy in a while. But even just talking to you like this has made me feel better, actually; I might not have needed to drain this bottle after all."

I heard a small, subtle laugh. "I'm … glad."

I smiled, looking out at the village nestled under the watchful eye of the moon.

"Thank you."

* * *

**Seventeen, Part Three: Sand and Leaves**

**Lee ****リー**

I had _hoped_ I would not run into him this morning, but as fate would have it he woke only minutes after I.

I neglected to look his way as he shuffled in sleepily. His footsteps hesitated, and then continued as he passed me, passed the second of three sinks, and planted himself at the third. I spoke no word of greeting as he rested an elbow on the counter and began brushing his teeth.

I kept silently about my chore. The patterned scratching of the toothbrush at work was the only sound in the restroom. Eventually he spat and rinsed.

"Hey… Lee?"

"What is it?" I caught him with a sidelong look, but the expression on his face was to say the least a surprising one. He held up an air of cautious distance, yes, and with head tilted slightly downward he averted his gaze momentarily in second thought before meeting my own gaze once more, mouth mildly stubborn in a way that inevitably procured the trace suggestion of a pout; still foremost in his bright eyes, however, was the boyish curiosity he was trying so fruitlessly to hide.

"What're you … _doing_?" he asked tentatively, and at his genuine befuddlement I began to regret the glare I was shooting.

_This boy… I overreacted last night, did I not…?_

"Shaving," I answered. "I have not in a few days."

"Hm… Why?" he asked, blinking.

I kind of hated myself as I looked back to the mirror. "Different fellows' facial hair will begin to become noticeable at different times; mine happened to arrive relatively early. But Master Washi taught me that the swordsman must always be dignified and well-kempt, and until I can grow out a decent mustache or beard I must be clean-shaven. Even at that point, however, I believe I will continue to shave; I find facial hair on the unyouthful side and most undesirable."

"I see…"

_I … may have been just a bit too harsh…_

His purple eyes were practically sparkling as he watched me finish up, locked on with earnestly innocent fascination.

Under the scrutiny of a reverent younger brother, I rubbed my smooth chin and sighed.

"Naruto-kun… We need to talk."

He shrank guiltily, his eyes wandering to the floor. "Lee, I swear it wasn't…"

I covered the distance between us, laying a hand on the shorter boy's head. Bending down a bit and peering closely at his face, I spotted a few delicate blond hairs on his upper lip.

"You are beginning to sprout a bit of peach-fuzz as well. Tell you what – let us see if we can find a razor to buy. I will teach you."

* * *

**Hinata ****ヒナタ**

_It's morning…_

I sat up slowly, surprisingly refreshed. My gaze drifted to the window, and I found myself briefly surprised to see it empty.

–"_What, are you planning to watch over me all night?"_

"_It's interesting … to see people sleep … if you don't mind…"–_

_He left…_

Yawning contentedly, I stepped out of my room. I looked down.

"_Meeeeoow!! Mrrrr-rrr-rr…!_"

No more than a violent growl sent the tawny feline scrambling frantically from my sight.

I sighed; my mood couldn't be spoiled. _It's a new day…_

"Morning, sweet thing!"

I looked up as I saw Kankurou and Temari approaching, smiling amiably. The puppeteer had left off his cat-eared hood, and I almost didn't recognize him with his makeup having yet to be applied.

"Ohayou gozaimasu, Temari-san, Kankurou-san," I said, bowing slightly.

"Oh, please – what's up with the formality, Hinata-chan?" Temari laughed good-naturedly, patting my shoulder.

I blinked in surprise. "-Chan?"

"We never quite got to know each other properly," Kankurou pointed out. "How about taking me up on that offer – Just you, me, _Temari_, and your shadow! We can give you a guided tour of the Hidden Sand, show you the business district, and the park…"

"You broke your bow in that fall yesterday," Temari mentioned, "Our craftsmen are among the most skillful you can find."

"Oh!" I remembered, blushing. "That's right, it snapped in two…" I'd yet to keep any one bow for longer than three weeks; in fact the one broken yesterday was not the one gambled off of the Kusa-nukenin nor its immediate replacement. Upon my telling them of this astounding string of bad luck, Naruto and Lee had teased me to no end. "Wait… What about…?"

"You just missed your buddies; they went out for a walk on their own a couple of minutes ago," Kankurou supplied.

"Hurry and wash up," Temari said with a smirk. "We can show you the best place to get breakfast."

In truth, as I had hunted yesterday and one good hunt could easily last me three or four days, a meal now was like snacking ten minutes after dinner. It would be rude to turn down their offer, however, and I had burned a large deal of energy the day before. I smiled.

"Sure!"

* * *

**Sand and Leaves - A Man to Man Conversation**

**Lee ****リー**

"Lee–,"

"Naruto-kun–,"

We remained silent for five or so seconds as we continued down the street, each waiting for the other to speak. He cleared his throat. "Go ahead."

I sighed."Having feelings for each other is fine, but … you _do_ know where to draw the line…?"

He rounded on me, indignant. "I've never touched her – not in that way. And I don't intend to anytime soon."

I met his eyes seriously, my voice stern. "Naruto-kun … do not lie to me. I understand that kissing may become rather intense, but when passion degenerates into lust…"

"Lee, whatever you head last night – it was an accident, a one-time mistake. So maybe in the heat of the moment I wasn't thinking about how … _sensitive_ her tail is. I only petted it a few times, but I think she started getting a little turned on… I didn't notice right away that she was liking it too much, but before it went any further _she_ realized the effect it was having on her and stopped me." At this I saw two unspoken thoughts on the boy's face. He was as intent on defending Hinata's moral character as he was his own; and he was glad she had stopped him, and more than regretful to have started it in the first place.

"Ah… I see," I said, nodding. "Forgive me; it was harsh not to allow you to explain then…"

"It's fine; you were right to flip out, for what you thought was going on…" He looked up into the cloudless blue sky above. "You know … a notable cultural aspect of the Village Hidden in the Sky, and the entire Land of Mountains in general … is the strong belief in a certain unwritten code of morality and conduct that defines the appropriate relationship between people. The women teach the girls, the men teach the boys… I know how to treat a lady, Lee. Not long after I became his apprentice, Matsuzuki-sempai drilled it into me."

I blinked, curiosity piqued. "Such as…?"

"Let's see here… For instance, 'A man is respectful and polite toward women.' 'A man does not flaunt or boast his natural strength over a woman.' 'A man does not strike or harm a woman in any way' – well, they say that, but of course there're exceptions for, say, a trained enemy or a friend who's agreed to spar with you, y'know? 'A man listens attentively when a woman speaks to him…' 'A man uses no profanity in a woman's presence.' Then there's the more relationship oriented stuff; 'A man and woman do not overtly display their affections in public, for such implies that the man does not respect his companion and that the woman has no self-respect.' 'A man is dignified and strong to the world, but to his companion may be tender and loving.' 'A man respects his companion's personal space…'

"And," he continued with a straight face, eyes now on the sandy street, "I learned how I am to treat a woman's body. I essentially can't touch a girl I don't know – well, unless it's to help her in some way – and an acquaintance can be touched on the hand, arm, perhaps the shoulder, for example. For a 'couple' there are certain guidelines as to how far displays of affection should go, depending on whether in public or private, certain benchmarks in age, closeness, marriage… There are a certain few regions of a woman's body that are sacred and inviolable. I know that I can't touch Hinata in these places, Lee; and now I know that the tail is off-limits as well."

Even as accustomed as I had grown to his changes over the five months we had been apart, the simple, calm maturity in his voice quite nearly frightened me. _He has changed so much … from the goofy kid he was…_ Even as I further came to terms with this, what he said next all but blew me away.

"A relationship should be fostered and cherished over time on a spiritual level, through expression of tenderness and affection – not bodily lust. I would never violate Hinata's decency. If this or that happens, it happens at the appropriate time … in the future, after and only after we've saved the village, settled down … and been joined in marriage."

A thirteen-year-old boy had just said 'marriage.' And implied strict abstinence from sex until after said marriage. And he was dead serious.

I spent a moment taking this in as we continued to walk. "That is good to hear," I said honestly, halting. It was _great_ to hear. He stopped, and I rested a hand on his shoulder, smiled, and spoke to the younger boy very quietly and very clearly. "_You are the last person I would expect to, but all the same … if you hurt Hinata-san, I will hurt you._"

He knew I was speaking of two very different 'hurts.' He nodded, holding my gaze squarely. "I got it; you won't have to worry. 'Protective older brother' much?" he added lightly.

My eyes softened. "Were it any other way, you know you would do the same."

"I guess so… I'm holding you to that, by the way."

"Huh?" I said, looking back to him as we continued on. He tipped his head back, enjoying a soft, warm breeze as it rolled by.

"Kami forbid I should handle her inappropriately … if I ever violate her space or make her uncomfortable … if I ever say to her anything dirty … if I touch her without her consent, if I ever pressure her into _anything_ – you'd better beat the crap out of me, y'know?"

"Understood. I am glad we could have this conversation."

* * *

**Sand and Leaves - Coming Together**

**Hinata ****ヒナタ**

"Itadakimasu."

I _felt _two pairs of eyes on me as I reached first for the dried pork on my plate. My hand swerved, picking up my spoon.

_I knew it! _I thought, scooping a spoonful of grain cereal and innately scowling as I heard Kankurou's breath catch. _Naruto-kun, Lee-kun, what did you tell them while I was hunting?_

Not looking at the two watching me from across the small table, I brought the spoon to my mouth. Slowly I chewed, and swallowed.

"Ooishi," I remarked, smiling brightly at the two Suna-nin. They gawked.

"B-but…" Kankurou began. "I mean, I thought you…"

He was silenced by a sharp elbow from his sister. I took another bite.

"I _can _eat and digest regular, human food, you know. My body just doesn't derive quite as much nourishment from grains and vegetables and such. In case you're wondering," I added, testing a chip of the dried meat and smiling. "But even cooked, meat just tastes better to me."

"Cooked as opposed to…?"

"Don't you ever get sick?" Temari asked, taking a spoonful of a pasty soup.

The siblings weren't being particularly rude – just letting out some curiosity. I blushed sheepishly, ducking my head a bit. "Once – I think it had drunk water from a river contaminated by humans, ironically."

"You don't say?" Kankurou said interestedly, biting into a roll.

"Oh," I remembered.

"What is it?"

"When we finish breakfast – there's something I wanted to do. Would it be okay if I sniffed around town a bit?"

* * *

I sniffed intently.

"Tsunade-sama was here. And the younger female that usually accompanies her … and a pig. Four days ago." _Apparently they arrived four days ago and left the day before yesterday…_

"Uh… Hey, Hinata-chan?" Temari asked.

"Hm?"

"Not to say that isn't impressive and all, but people are staring."

I looked up at the people passing in the market district around us. Noticing I was drawing a fair deal of weird looks, I blushed hotly. In this village it wasn't common to see an off-duty kunoichi wearing pants rather than a long skirt or robe; it was even rarer, I would suppose, to spot a white-eyed foreigner wearing the headband of a village thought to be long fallen, crouched down and practically rubbing her nose in the street. Not to mention in the company of the eldest children of the late Yondaime Kazekage, two who were known to have run away and had not been seen since more than a week ago.

I fought down my blush, forming three seals. In a burst of smoke I was left an average-sized, dark blue wolf. "Better?" I asked.

The older kunoichi was a bit disgruntled. "I mean, if you're alright with that…"

"Just act like I'm a ninja dog. We'll draw less attention that way. It's fine," I said. "This is no more an Advanced Transformation than my 'human' form is, and a comfortable one at that." I had taken this form often in the past; it let me stretch my tail, and freed up my real ears.

"It is?" Kankurou retorted. "Whether it's comfortable or not – why hide in the first place?"

My white-tipped tail dipped down. "My…"

"Ears? Tail?" He waved his arm. "Who cares if people wanna judge? They'll just have to put up with it. Instead of trying to be 'normal' – a normal human, a normal mutt – just be yourself, will ya?"

I hesitated, and then dispelled my henge. A man who'd stopped to haggle at a nearby market stall and the trader he was dealing with seemed to look my way.

Temari stepped up at my side, a hand on her hip as she cast a chilly look back at them. The gawkers got hurriedly back to business.

"A-arigatou," I muttered, ducking my head and proceeding to sort out the sannin's scent yet again.

"Don't mention it," she said, grinning widely.

_I need to trace her path in this village – hers and the other's if they split up, _I thought. This I had done a few times before. _Every shop, inn, establishment they visited… I need to see who they talked to, what they said, what sort of supplies they bought … and based on that, I should be able to determine where she's headed._

* * *

**Lee ****リー**

We had not asked for directions before we left, and so had whittled away much time checking around different shops and stores before finding what we were looking for. I placed on the checkout counter the razor Naruto had selected. Where had he gotten off to, anyways? He had just been next to me…

"Wait," he said, and I turned to see him approaching at a hurried walk. Cradled delicately in his hands, as if he thought it was alive, was a small, fluffy, black plush wolf. I blinked in surprise.

"For Hinata-san?" I asked, and behind the counter the shopkeeper sniggered good-naturedly.

Naruto nodded, blushing lightly as he deposited the doll on the counter.

"Your girlfriend likes dogs, huh?" the shopkeeper asked as he wrote up a short receipt and bagged the items.

"Yeah – she's a real dog person!" Naruto answered with a grin – and it was true in more ways than one.

We paid and left with our purchase of a razor and a plush doll. Naruto was smiling cheerily, perhaps looking forward to learning to shave (though in all honesty, for a while he would probably need to do so at most once a month), perhaps already looking forward to presenting Hinata the gift. I wondered briefly how affectionate a display would likely ensue. I shook my head.

"Still – a stuffed animal?" I said as we started down the road.

He lowered his head slightly, a fond look in his eye. "I know we don't have a lot of time for presents and stuff like that, but I haven't seen her since … last night. I hope she can forgive me."

I was not sure how to feel about the depth of the remorse in his eyes. I found I was shocked, but should not be; he had cared for and respected Hinata, since well before we had ever split up. But the degree to which he had matured remained astounding…

I ruffled his hair a bit. "You are sorry, right? If you are, Hinata-san will know. I would not be surprised if she has already forgiven you."

He brightened, and it brought a smile to my face. These two were truly fortunate to have each other. I chuckled. "And you have bought her a plushie. All you need now are some chocolates."

"I thought about that actually – but I think she'd prefer jerky, if I could find some anyway."

I blinked. I had not thought of that, but he was probably right.

"Hm?"

"What is it?" I asked as he halted, concentration on his face.

Naruto grinned, turning to look back the way we had come. "You can come out, y'know."

For several seconds nothing happened. Then a shock of fiery hair and a wide, black-ringed teal eye hesitantly edged past the corner of a shop ten meters away.

_Such stealth… I did not even detect him…_

The boy shuffled silently into full view, eyes troubled and downcast in guilt.

"How long were you following us?" Naruto asked. I noticed that the world around us – the busy street – was petrified in terror. No one moved, no one so much as whispered. No one could take their eyes from the Sand's Jinchuuriki.

"About fifteen minutes…" Gaara muttered with an abashed scowl, scuffing a sandal inexpressively at the street. Perhaps it was in trepidation, but the moderate wideness of his eyes as he glared at the ground seemed to project that he was in constant awe of something.

Naruto and I hid our surprise well. "Fifteen minutes? You don't say…?" Naruto remarked, walking toward him.

As the redhead's brow furrowed alertly, the people of Suna seemed to think the blonde was moments away from an early death.

"That's impressive, alright," Naruto said, his hand clapping over Gaara's shoulder.

When Gaara flinched, the entire street flinched.

He started suddenly at the contact, arms flailing once to smack the hand away. "Wh-what're you…?!"

Naruto waved a hand, assuaging. "It's just a sort of friendly gesture, y'know? Gomen – didn't mean to scare you."

Gaara's mouth opened and closed silently; his expression was glum as ever as he turned his gaze back to the earth. Sensing awkward regret, Naruto reached again to rest his hand on the other boy's shoulder. Gaara winced, shying away only very slightly before he calmed. Slowly his gaze lifted from the hand to meet Naruto's eyes.

"It's pretty impressive you were able to follow us so closely without being noticed."

"I… It's… It interests me, to observe people…"

"I see… Well, if that's the case, you didn't have to sneak around behind us. Why don't you walk _with_ us – try to interact with people yourself, y'know? Lee doesn't bite!" he joked, taking up his brightest grin.

Gaara was able to relax a bit. Then, as he looked at the beaming blond, on his own face surfaced the smallest smile.

* * *

**Hinata ****ヒナタ**

_Forty-seven…_

_Forty-eight…_

_F…Forty-nine…!_

A few drops of sweat were flicked from my nose, contributing to the darkened splotch of sand under my face, as I shivered slightly. I willed my arm to straighten under me.

"Fifty!" I grunted, pushing off the hand to spring onto my feet.

Temari snorted. "What, do you and your friends really exercise constantly?" A few hours had passed; she and Kankurou were snacking at a teahouse for lunch, seated at an outdoor table situated under a shaded area. I had ordered a small cup of tea, but nothing to eat, and so had finished before them.

"Sort of," I answered her, seating myself in the third chair at the table, "but not as much when we're on 'business.'"

"You're not gonna do the other arm?" Kankurou asked, and I shook my head.

"That's the thing. You saw what happened to this arm, right?"

Kankurou gasped lightly. "Gaara…"

"Destroyed it," Temari finished flatly.

I nodded. "The regeneration technique is and advanced Ookami Art that involves projecting energy to a wound in a form that can synchronize with what remains. In other words, I directed a beam of energy down my arm, centered on the medium of the bones and the closest undamaged tissues around them… The energy is synchronized to the genetic information, the memory of the living cells, and pulsates outward to map out what's left … and eventually refine a framework of what's missing. Then, once the living flesh is fully infused with the charged energy and harmonized with the energy frame…" I brushed two fingers down my arm. "'Substance and ether are split together, and in turn united.' I think that's how the saying went, at least," I said with a blush.

"So that's how you restored it," Temari muttered. "I've never heard of such a medical ninjutsu…"

"You keep saying 'energy' instead of chakra," the puppet user noted. "Why is that?"

I thought a moment, and motioned to their teacups. "Are you done?" I asked. They nodded, and I took both from their saucers. "Of course we all know chakra is composed of physical energy–," I set down a cup at the center of the small table, "and spiritual energy." I set down the other next to it, its handle pointed in the opposite direction. "These energies balance each other and are intertwined, producing chakra. However…" Speaking more quietly now, I slid a saucer over the table to place it between the cups. "Within a lesser demon is a distinct, new wellspring of power – one both spiritual and physical in and of itself."

I placed my cup on the saucer. "This is the proud power carried in one's blood – that of one's race, one's ancestors, one's innate connection to every last trace of kin. The combination of the spiritual, the physical, and the ancestral would be more accurately termed 'youki' – demonic energy – rather than chakra.

"My youki is derived from the name Ookami, a family even more proficient than many youkai in healing and regeneration. By focusing and manipulating my youki I was able to fix my arm. It's not perfect; a true demon would have been able to do the same in seconds. Still, done poorly enough, I guess I might have wound up regenerating the lost tissue fresh and new, as if it had never before been exercised; that would have caused a debilitating incongruity in the old and new cells, and taken weeks or longer to fully rehabilitate from. But I'm not too bad at manipulating my youki flow, and with Kurogiba's support I pulled off the regeneration fairly well, so it'll only take a little extra exercise for a few days for this arm to fully synchronize its cells again. Fifty inverted pushups is really somewhat pathetic for me!" I finished with a small smile, a blush lighting my cheeks.

"You're kidding…?" Temari said.

My ears perked up, and I looked across the street. Excusing myself, I stood up.

The little boy was staring forlornly up into the tree, almost in tears for the paper airplane caught in its spindly branches.

I stopped at his side, eyeing the catastrophe. "It took your plane?"

He nodded, eyes watery. "Mm-hm…"

I crouched down. "Hey – don't cry, okay?"

"H-huh?"

I took one stride on all fours and sprang toward the tree, touching hands then feet briefly to the trunk. A nimble hop later, I snatched the crashed plane carefully from where it had been caught. I landed in a crouch, and turned as the tot hurried toward me.

"Here you go!" I said, offering his treasure with a soft smile. He took the plane and looked at me, eyes bright.

"…Kitty?"

My eyebrow twitched; I didn't lose my smile, though. I ruffled his short, sandy hair lightly. "Uh, yeah, something like that!"

He reached out, chubby fingers patting my ear. "Thanks, kitty!" he said, and scampered off.

A short way down the road, he ran into a woman with similar sandy blonde hair. "_There_ you are," she sighed, taking his hand.

"Mommy, mommy! The kitty saved my glider from the tree!" He waved happily at me, and I returned the gesture. His mother was startled upon sighting me, but in a second managed a slight smile in acknowledgement before they walked away. I beamed.

"Your tail's wagging," Kankurou noted as he and Temari approached. I looked to see that my tail was, indeed, lightly flicking back and forth.

I shrugged. "I like to help people…"

* * *

**Neji ****ネジ**

When she sat down next to me, she didn't say a word. So neither did I.

I didn't look at her, but continued to peer down at my village. At one point in time, those streets would have been teeming with life, the market abuzz and bustling with this time of day. From here atop the Fifth Hokage's stone face, I saw an occasional antlike speck or two flit hurriedly down a street, take the most direct route from one building to another, scurrying to perhaps pick up the week's rations, and slip from sight once more. This was not without some degree of personal risk. Skirmishes were known to break out anywhere, at potentially any time. All the more reasons that New Konoha needed to be disposed of as swiftly as possible.

"You couldn't even come and see us face-to-face. That's why you sent someone else to let us out, right?" Her voice held no tone of any kind.

I ignored her. "Hanabi is alive."

She looked to me. "What?"

"It seems Destiny doesn't wish her to die yet."

Even from the corner of my eye, I didn't miss her subtle shiver. She didn't seem to like the word 'Destiny' very much. Then again, she never had.

"I presume you still think I was wrong to attempt it?"

Her gaze met mine fully. "Neji…"

My arm slipped behind her back. Though her eyes remained firm, stubbornly distant, her face was flushed pink as I slowly stroked her back.

I unfastened her kunai pouch, placing it on my other side.

"What did you come here to do, Tenten?" I asked. She was stunned silent as, still holding her eyes, I withdrew from the confiscated pouch a syringe. "Knock me out?" I broke the needle against stone, and shortly crushed the remainder in my fingers before flicking it aside.

She slouched, defeated. "I…"

"You're too naïve," I said simply, draping a fond arm around her shoulders. I took her prematurely weathered right hand in my left, massaging her palm with a thumb. Unaccustomed to such attention, she was helpless to fight down her blush as I lifted her hand and lowered my head, touching my lips lightly to her palm and inhaling deeply, letting my nose drink her in. Her heartbeat hastened. Once more I met her eyes.

"I know your scent, Tenten. If you abandon our village, I will hunt you down and swiftly kill you."

She stiffened under the arm that enfolded her.

"I like you, Tenten." I pressed my lips now to her temple. She didn't move. "So I would sooner kill you than turn you over to Orochimaru's torture, and a traitor's death."

I kissed her lips.

In a few seconds she stiffly began to respond, her desire strong, her action still forced. She had wanted me for too long. She soon shut her eyes, and she returned the embrace I wrapped around her, shivering, digging one hand's fingers into my hair, seizing it almost painfully. Her kiss was hard and passionate, bursting violently with unrestrained anger, roiling with turmoil. It was an attack. It was shocking. She loved me, she hated me. She slammed it all through her tongue and lips.

Tenten broke away with a thick sob, and pounded her fist hard against my chest. One arm still wrapped around me, she yelled and struck again. I shushed and crooned soothingly, cradling the girl in my arms. I gently rocked her trembling frame as the hits weakened, as she melted against me and succumbed, as my shirt was made moist and moister with tears.

* * *

**Naruto ****ナルト**

_He's not looking too good…_

I stole a glance at the Jinchuuriki seated between Lee and I on the park bench. The redhead's face was blank again, his eyes glum and unreadable, his mouth a thin frown as he glared at the ground before us.

I sighed, leaning back and looking up at the park. A good distance away, parents looked on as small children milled about a playground situated in a lowered area of sand; a similar playplace closer by was curiously devoid of occupants. A half-finished sand castle and shovel and pail stood very near us, deserted and lonesome. Civilians got their exercise on the walking trail, but upon nearing the portion that passed in front of our bench, with various shows of freaking out (I think one man who got too close before noticing just about had a heart attack), unfailingly spun around to head briskly away, in fear for their lives.

_Kuso! _I thought, glaring at yet another fleer's retreating back. _This isn't helping; he's getting worse. All they'll do is turn him back to the way he was. _Even if someone were to inform them, how long would it take the citizens of Suna to trust he wasn't dangerous anymore?

Brow furrowed in sympathy, I looked again to Gaara. His head hung darkly; he was completely still. I opened my mouth–

"Heads up!"

A ball bonked him square on the head. He was moved not an inch, and if not for his eyes narrowing on the plaything that fell to his feet, I might have thought he hadn't noticed. I grimaced. Lee stared. In a few seconds the moodily silent boy looked up.

"Hey! I'm really sorry about that, mister!" a ten- or eleven-year-old boy called out as he came running up to us. "Are you okay–?"

He froze five yards away as he met Gaara's eyes. Eyes still emotionless, still unreadable. Further away, several boys and a few girls stared on in horror as they realized who the stray ball had hit.

The boy jumped as some sand on the ground kicked the ball into Gaara's hand.

"I'm fine…" He held it out, offering it back. "Thank you … for your concern…"

"U-u-u-uhh…" The boy took a step back, not reassured by the awkward monotone and cold demeanor. "Y-you know what, you can keep it…!" He took another step back.

Gaara blinked narrowly. "I don't want to keep it. It's yours."

"Yeah, w-well…"

He finally tossed the ball, moodily averting his eyes. His aim wasn't _great_, but it was close enough; the kid caught it with a yelp.

"Uh, th-thanks!!" he said, and turned to hurry off. I stood up.

"Wait."

"Huh?" The way he was running, I was almost surprised he stopped.

I swept my eyes over the ones waiting in the field; all of them seemed to be around ten or twelve. "Do you go to the ninja academy here?"

His fear was momentarily abated, perhaps at the prospect of talking to a different, strangely dressed foreigner who was still in his age range. He nodded. "School just got out."

I smiled. "I see," I said, and nodded to the two beside me. "You're playing soccer, right? Think we could join in?"

At this the nervousness returned to his stance. His eyes darted briefly to Gaara's motionless form. "I mean … the teams'd be uneven…"

A shadow clone (its attire orange to contrast my purple) popped up next to Lee, hooking its arm through his; I did the same, dragging a greatly disgruntled Gaara to his feet. "How about now? Problem solved!"

"I… I guess that's fine, then."

"Splendid!" I said, slapping my other hand on Gaara's shoulder.

The redhead's eyes were almost comically huge. "W-wait, we're–?"

"Yes, we are playing some soccer. We're kids. Even a ninja's got to relax every now and then, y'know."

He tried to pull away when I stepped forward. "B-but…!"

I rounded on him. "Look here, pal." I jabbed a finger against his chest. "You're about to have some fun whether you like it or not. 'Kay?" I chirped with a grin, dropping the faux-seriousness.

He eyed me oddly for a few moments, and hesitantly he nodded. "A… alright…"

"Okay, let's _go!!_"

"Oi, then let go of my arm now! Oi!"

* * *

**Hinata ****ヒナタ**

"Arigatou gozaimasu!" I said softly, bowing slightly at the waist. "I appreciate your time, ma'am."

"You're very welcome, dear! I hope you can find who you're looking for!"

Once we were outside the shop, Temari and Kankurou watched as I took note of my findings. Finished, I rested the end of the brush thoughtfully at my chin and scanned over all the notes. I nodded.

"Well?"

"That confirms it. I know where Tsunade-sama is headed."

* * *

**Neji ****ネジ**

Our hands were entwined as we walked down a staircase of the Hokage tower.

"Will you stay by my side, Tenten?" I gave her hand a firm squeeze. "Always?"

"…Yes."

"Good."

I looked up.

"Neji-sama."

We halted as they neared; the three stopped a respectful distance back, but only one did not bow to me. Smirking, Hireiki slapped her hand on this one's shoulder. "As you can see, my lord, she has awakened."

"Good, good…" I said, nodding and eyeing the girl. What had been a pathetic, strengthless, bloody mess was now clean, fresh and new. She stood easily on her own power, her body strong but her posture, her eyes on the ground, reflecting innate weakness. Yet she was much improved. Cleansed. Fresh and new. Finally I picked out her scent; it, too, had changed nicely. It was like ours now.

–"_You will drive this clan to Hell."–_

"It's wonderful to see you back on your feet, Hiyuki. Are you feeling better?"

"Hai." She lifted her head, meeting my gaze. Her face was blank. Once strikingly lavender pools were pale and watery, diluted and dazed – even awed. Her mouth hung open to the smallest degree, and slowly, steadily, it produced words. "Much better. Thank you for your concern… Neji…sama…" As the words slowed her brow wrinkled only very slightly. Promptly it smoothed over again.

I smiled. "I'm glad. Hireiki, Haritsu, take Hiyuki back to the clan estate. I will join you shortly."

Together, the two bowed once more. "Hai, Neji-sama."

I raised an eyebrow. "Hiyuki? I will be seeing you shortly."

She opened her mouth. Her mother's hand snapped to the back of her head, roughly forcing her to incline her back. "You _bow_ to your _leader_," the woman grunted.

"Now, now, that's enough of that," I said, waving a hand. "You may go now."

"Yes, sir."

The three flickered from our sight. I continued down the hallway. With the briefest reluctance, Tenten followed. _It was a success. I need to inform Orochimaru-sama…_

"Neji… Isn't she one of your 'defectors'?"

I nodded. "Yes. She was."

* * *

**Seventeen, Part Four: A Heated Discussion**

**Hinata ****ヒナタ**

This bow was four-and-a-half inches taller than the last; placed on the ground, it came to a height a few inches above my waist. The wood and string alike were studier. This one wouldn't be quite so easy to draw. Power and range would increase; firing speed would be hampered. The bow's curvature was less. I tested the bowstring, and then briefly sized up and weighed the practice arrow in my hand.

"I still don't get why the heck you'd buy that thing without trying it out first," Kankurou remarked behind me.

"If I'm bad with it, I'll practice to get better," I said, notching the arrow and drawing back slowly. "I think that having gone through so many different bows … bows I've made, bows I've bought, bows I've gambled off people … short, long, symmetrical, asymmetrical, heavy, light … the diversity of the experience can only make me a better archer."

_Tnng–thunk!_

Forty yards away, the arrow planted itself some seven inches from the bull's-eye. I nodded.

"I'll have to practice with this one…"

"Th-that was your first shot!"

_But seven inches' inaccuracy is enough to aim for an enemy's heart and miss them entirely._

Tnng–_thunk!_

_Even two inches is plenty to _aim_ for a nonvital point … and accidentally end a life. _

I knew this only too well.

I was drawing back a third time when I sensed the unfamiliar presence behind me. A hand slapped hard against the shooting arm's shoulder.

Tnng–_thunk!_

He whistled as the arrow landed just under an inch from the bull's-eye of the target. Byakugan fading, I glared back at the young man behind me. He looked about sixteen or seventeen, and his dark hair was just shy of shoulder length. He held a longbow in his hand, and a quiver of arrows was strapped to his back. The hitai-ate of Suna gleamed on his forehead. He was well-dressed and bore some clan insignia on his shoulder, and though certainly not ugly the snobbery on his face was anything but attractive. Two more shinobi neared, following his sneery gaze to the arrows in the target.

"That's dangerous, you, know," I said, shrugging his hand off my shoulder. At least, I tried to; he slapped it right back down again. I hid my discomfort behind a scowl. I still didn't like being touched – particularly not by this sort of person.

He ignored me. "You're a new face around this practice range, huh? I must say, though, you're not half-bad for such a pipsqueak-ish type. It's really a wonder a girl your size can draw a bow."

"Why thank you. Now if you don't mind, I'll just get back to minding my own business here–," I shrugged again. This time he gripped my shoulder.

"Huh? What's wrong? I'm not making you uncomfortable, am I?" he asked in a sugary voice. Behind him, the ones I presumed were his teammates hooted and guffawed quietly as I felt the blush rising on my cheeks. A whispered "Kawaii!" found my ears. _If we weren't in your village…!_

"Who wouldn't be uncomfortable with some random cocky stranger touching her–!"

"Come on, babe, don't be like that…"

"Back off, Shouta," Kankurou warned. "She's not into your type."

He finally let the hell go of my shoulder, shoving lightly when he did so, to round on Kankurou. "Darn, so she's into the type that plays with dolls and makeup?"

"Ch! What was that, ya' scumbag?!"

"Sorry, kid, I must've misheard that. Do you know who I am–?"

"Ikemi Shouta," Temari sighed, waving her hand in indifference, "grandson of Councilman Ikemi Kenta, heir to the great Ikemi Clan – yeah, yeah, we know already. Spare us the theatrics."

His face lit up. "Ah, so my beautiful Temari-chan remembers my name!"

"She ain't your _nothing_, bud, and _I_ remembered it first!" Kankurou fumed, pointing at him.

_Is this guy for real? _I thought, blinking as he swept to Temari and snatched up her hand in his. She glared daggers.

"You want a taste of this fan?"

"All I want a taste of is you, Temari_-chan_," he sang, a low note in his voice. Just from a feminine viewpoint here – he was beginning to look less and less attractive.

"I'm not interested in slime like you, Shouta. Maybe you ought to learn you can't always have what you _want_." She tried to pull away. He didn't let her. A street passed behind us; I realized quite a few passerby had become standerby.

He gave that nasty sneer, lifting his free hand to stroke her cheek. "Always that bitchy personality with you, Tema-chan. In _my_ family proper ladies know their place…"

"Your family's old-fashioned…"

"You should be _grateful_ the heir of such a clan has an interest in you. Not like there aren't plenty of other chicks to choose from – girls who'd fall over themselves to marry _me_ – but the old Kazekage's daughter would make a nice matchup." I frowned when his hand brushed her neck. "You _know_ my old man had been talking about it with yours – well, until Yondaime went and got duped by Orochimaru and pitched to the buzzards."

Temari shuddered. His hand began to sneak lower.

Kankurou and I both moved – I was just a bit faster.

A forceful two-finger jab got him to free Temari's hand. My right hand snapped to his other hand's wrist, securing it above my head and forcing it back to an angle I knew was a bit more than uncomfortable. He stifled a grunt, scowling in surprise and indignation.

"I'm afraid I can't allow that," I said, gaze resting before me. I turned my head slowly. "So I'll warn you now… _Back off_," I growled, meeting his eyes coldly.

Unease flashed briefly in his eyes – then he smirked it away again. He waggled his free hand in the air, showing off the ugly red welt that had blossomed on it. "You're cute, but not _that_ cute, doll face." He tried – and failed – to yank his captured hand loose. He frowned. "Who is this Leaf-brat, anyway?"

Kankurou stood at my side, arms crossed. "Something of a diplomat, I suppose…"

"Seriously? This little bit–?"

It wasn't difficult to tilt his wrist just a tad further back.

"If there's one thing I absolutely can't stand…"

A small 'pop' was produced this time. A whimper seized up in his throat.

"It's chauvinistic, pretentiuos fellows like you."

I lowered our hands slightly, forcing the angle to worsen further still. His face was going red.

"What you don't seem to realize, Ikemi Shouta, is that this hand of yours…" 'Pop' for emphasis. His other hand, darting to the rescue, froze. "…has no right to touch Temari where you just intended to touch her."

"I'll touch her wherever the hell I feel like touching 'er–!!"

This time pain reflex almost made him drop to his knees. Pride wouldn't let him.

"You picked the wrong person to mess with. You can bother me … but when you harass my friends, I really can't help but get a little irritated."

The second he was released, he shuddered and yelped and cradled his wrist. He didn't seem to notice my hand on his chest until he was shoved off his feet, sliding a short distance along the sandy ground. One of his teammates, a less aggressive-looking young man, knelt to his side in concern; the other, as outraged as Shouta, glared angrily with a whispered "You just gonna take that…?"

I looked away. "Temari-chan, Kankurou-kun … let's head back now."

The two smiled. "Alright."

"Sure."

I threw a glance to the fuming boy. "Sayonara – Ikemi Shouta-kun."

"Grr – you freak! You're gonna pull a lucky shot like that and run away?!"

"Wanna fight?"

That was probably _exactly_ what he was leading into, and that I beat him to it threw him for a loop. He shrugged off the teammate who'd helped him up. "You're even dumber than I thought, but now that you've said it there's no backing out. Let's go!"

* * *

**Naruto ****ナルト**

_Magnificent, Hinata-chan! _I thought, snickering from where we observed the scene. The soccer game had ended, and the sun would soon begin to set. Our party of three had decided to see if we could find out what Hinata was up to – and here she was, making a scene, telling off a local, with that rare degree of strength in her eyes.

It was hot.

I struggled to contain another bout of mirthful laughter. "That guy doesn't have a clue what he just got himself into," I whispered. "Lee – I think if I ever 'hurt' Hinata-chan, _she'll_ hurt me."

"_Mattaku_," Lee sighed, "Honestly, who would have thought Hinata-san would be the one getting into trouble here? And a street fight at that?"

"Come on, Bushy Brow, it's harmless! A little spar's not about to hurt anyone!"

"Shouldn't … well…"

"Huh?"

Gaara's face was troubled as he peered intently at the two standing a short three yards apart on the street. A fair crowd of spectators, many of them genin and teenage chuunin, had formed a safe radius away, some cheering for the Suna fellow, some starting a silly chant of 'Fo-reign-er! Fo-reign-er!' The young man, tall for his age and significantly well-built, stood easily a foot taller than Hinata, and hit her calm gaze with a look to kill. "Shouldn't we … _do_ something?"

Arms crossed as I leaned against the wall, I grinned and looked again to the girl. Her beautiful face, her pearly eyes, were cool and serious; her posture and the firm set of her jaw, and the slightly lowered angle at which she held her head as well as her tail noble and self-assured as she regarded her foe with something perhaps most akin to distaste but not the smallest ounce of hatred nor malice. The aura she exuded was one of easy strength – confidence. "Hinata … doesn't look scared over there, does she?"

"…No," Gaara said.

I nodded. "At one time Hinata-chan was a person who couldn't fight or stand up for anything or anyone at all – not even herself. Her opinion was curbed to what it was supposed to be, her words whatever she might feel she was expected to say, and she fought because the Hyuuga Clan told her she needed to fight. But she is her own person now. She doesn't need people to tell her what to do or say or why to fight. She doesn't waver or shrink back from the world. She doesn't depend on others to constantly support her and protect her. The little girl I used to know has blossomed brilliantly into the whole person she can be, and into a kunoichi with substantial confidence behind her power. Anyways – that's what I see."

"Hm…"

As she said something a smirk played at the corner of her mouth, setting my heart racing. I smiled, nodding slightly to myself.

_That's the way, Hinata._

"Seeing this lovely young lady tell off someone in the wrong because she's deemed him in the wrong … and decisively prepare to use her power of her own accordance, for her own intent to stand up for someone who's become her friend… Nothing could make me happier than the _pride _I'm feeling right now."

_Hinata-chan… I'm watching you._

* * *

**Hinata ****ヒナタ**

"How does first to, say, five points sound to you?" he asked, sneeringly.

A sporting smirk tugged at the corner of my mouth. I cocked my head slightly. _Five instead of three? And not even a mention of any other rules – so you can legally keep 'fighting' to five points even if I'm down, hunh?_ "That sounds just swell, Ikemi Shouta-kun."

Malice glinted in his eyes. He spoke down so that only I could hear. "You're gonna eat those words, _and_ all the rest … when I put you in a world of hurt."

"We shall see."

On the 'sidelines,' and enthusiastic Kankurou waved a hand to each of us in turn. "In the blue corner, we have the hometown hotshot, prettyboy Ikemi Shouta!"

"Take that back, cat-boy–!"

"And in the red corner, a visitor with origins all the way in the Village Hidden in the Leaves – Hyuuga Hinata, the Kuuuroooougaaaaaaa!!"

_There are as many rooting for me as for him, _I mused as the crowd cheered.

Kankurou raised his hand. "If both competitors are ready–!"

BAM!

The crowd fell silent, like the noise had been cut off.

My fist was up – I had to swing fairly high to hit his face. His head was turned aside, his eyes wide and stunned, a purplish splotch darkening on his cheek.

Shouta's arms fell as he started to tip back; narrowly catching himself, he staggered and recovered, blinking rapidly and touching a shocked hand to his face.

"Point!" Kankurou called.

"Th-that was a cheap shot! You never said 'start'–!"

"She threw a hook, but oddly enough _her_ feet didn't move an inch," Temari noted sagely. "You attacked first."

I nodded. "Trying to catch me by surprise – Ikemi-kun?"

"I-I – I wasn't ready!!"

"Neither was I." I nodded at my lowered fist. "Reflex."

* * *

**Lee ****リー**

_Naruto-kun … you will get cramps if you keep sniggering so much…_

* * *

**Naruto ****ナルト**

_Ah! Cramp!_

I wiped a laughter-induced tear from the corner of my eye, sighing.

_Anyways – she's got this thing won._

At his unwise insistence, she conceded the point she'd earned; the score was 0-0.

"Look at that," Lee whispered. "She is not taking him seriously…?"

I watched as Hinata raised her fists, lazily took up a boxer's stance. Well… it looked more like something of a drunken boxer's stance.

Her eyes were dull and bored. "Come at me."

* * *

**Hinata ****ヒナタ**

"Well – what're you waiting for? Weren't you about to, oh, I don't know, teach me a lesson? Put me in a world of hurt?"

He was shaking in rage. "_KUSO!!"_

I shifted right. His fist absolutely pulverized that air next to my head.

He growled and struck again; I shifted, shifted, ducked a kick, leaned outside a swing. I ducked forward under another, neatly slipping behind his back. A heavy punch was blocked by the back of my forearm, near the wrist; my palm caught a jab, my forearms another few, my hands and wrists snapped to and fro, knocking blow after blow aside. He yelled, striking as fast as he could, intent on burying me in a bombardment of fists.

_Fwoosh-tmp-tmp-tmp-smat-fwo-tmp-smat-fw-fwo–_

In twenty seconds of this he not once hit my head, my body. Only my forearms, wrists, palms. The crowd was going nuts.

"Look at the kid go!"

"_Woohoo!_"

"He can't touch her!"

"Show him, cat-girl!"

"Shouta, the hell're you doing?! Hit her!"

"Go foreigner–!"

WHAM!!

This time the noise cut out only for an instant; then an appalled sort of _"Oh!" _issued sharply from a horrified crowd.

"P–point!" Kankurou called, shocked.

My chin pointed skyward, almost perfectly aligned from my neck. My teeth were clenched; a single drop of blood dribbled from the corner of my mouth, slid back toward my ear. The uppercut had slipped right between my arms, plowed clean into my jaw.

"……That's the hardest you can hit?"

"HUH–?!"

I righted my head, arms slipping around his extended one, wrists crossing over it near his shoulder and pushing down sharply while his elbow rested on my shoulder. He yelped and jerked forward, and my knee kicked into his jaw.

Kankurou was first to find his voice. "Point!"

The crowd erupted in cheers.

I spat aside a globule of blood as my foot returned to the ground, as Shouta rolled sloppily back and staggered away, a fresh splotch of purple dusting his chin. He choked, having inhaled it, and coughed a few drops of crimson onto the ground. He blinked a few times, gasping. "Y-you freakin' monster! What the hell's wrong with you?!"

"You get hit and there's something wrong with _me_?"

"_Stupid b__イ__$#&!!_"

_Here we go…_

_Tmp-smat-smat-shmp-fwo-tmp-tmp-fwo-fwoosh-fwo–_

"Fight _back_–!"

I drew back my right fist. He prepared to block his left.

But I kept on drawing back, and my left _foot_ connected solidly across the right side of his face.

"Point!"

He reeled; I spun out of it, advanced again, brought left foot forward, swinging with my right fist. He ducked his head back – and my right foot lashed around, landed hard at his gut.

"Point!"

Shouta gagged, sharply doubling up under the force and hacking spittle onto the ground before he was knocked back. When his feet met the sand again he staggered, holding his midriff.

I leapt off my left foot, launching myself forward in such a sharp way that my body, roughly parallel to the ground, rotated more than once in its flight. I landed at his feet, left hand touching down first, then promptly right hand and left foot; then my right foot touched the left. Our eyes locked.

_Ookami style!!_

"_HYA!"_

My right foot surged upward atop all the coiled force and momentum stored in my body, crashing with a great THAM! Into Shouta's jaw.

"_Point!_"

"What a hit!!"

"But it's only four…!"

The boy's feet were lifted a good few inches from the earth; he went sailing back and crashed to the sand. My bent left leg and straightened right leg fell, and I vaulted swiftly onto my feet.

The older teen shivered, whimpering slightly and rolling onto his side. _I didn't break it, but … I might've gone a little overboard. _I looked to Kankurou. "Want to start counting?" I asked, nodding to Shouta's downed form. "To … ten, I guess?"

"Right! One! Two! Three! Four! Five! Six! Seven! Eight–!"

"W-we didn't settle on a count, b-baka…! It's t-to five points!"

"Then please surrender. You're bleeding."

"Don't tell me what to do!" he grunted, getting shakily to his feet. "You ain't won _yet!_"

The instant he moved to charge, I was behind him – facing away, a slightly bent arm raised high and holding him by a handful of the back of his shirt, pulling him off of his feet. Stance lowering, I ducked my head, yelled, and swung him over myself to throw his back into the dirt. He lost his wind.

"Can we please call that a point?"

"Point!" Kankurou happily agreed. "That's game–!"

_Shoot–!_

I lifted my arm, catching a furious jump kick beside my head. A second attacker struck from the other side, and my arm snapped to block a punch. The first ninja landed to strike again, and I caught his fist in my palm; I shifted my bare foot as the other assailant tried to stomp on it, and kicked hard at his shin. He grunted, grabbing my arm.

_It's his teammates–!_

And that's when one of them thought to step on my tail.

I screeched in pain. _Kuso!! When my stance is low enough – my tail hangs to the ground…!_

Ikemi Shouta was on his feet, eyes wide with malice, drawing a fist back.

I ground my teeth, moving my head just a bit…

"Take this, bakemono–!!"

"_Fuuton: Pressure Breaker!_"

He appeared before me, hands pushing together against a seemingly invisible resistance in front of him. He turned his palms forward, ducking his head as an equally invisible wall of force cracked out, caught the older boy and kicked him back.

The two on either side of me started in surprise, and in this my tail was released. Strength rushing back to me, I placed my hands on my savior's shoulders and pushed off the ground in a split-kick, nailing both surprise attackers in the face.

"Much fun as it'd be to see that fellow bust his knuckles open on your forehead, I'm afraid I just can't allow someone to upset one hair on that pretty head of yours."

"My hero," I sighed, smiling at the blond. Naruto-kun grinned dashingly back at me.

"Hello, love."

* * *

**Naruto ****ナルト**

"Wh-who are you…?!"

"Me? Right about now I would be one _very_ ticked off boyfriend." _Shadow Matter: Bō. _The practiced form appeared, and I caught the polearm to hit its end firmly against the ground. "In the last ten minutes, _you _have trodden on everything I believe in in regards to how to treat a lady. Vulgar, superior, disrespectful, abusive… You're a disgrace to men everywhere."

"What did you say, midget–?!"

"You make a bad stereotype!"

"Indeed." Lee blurred to our side. "Teaming up on her after Hinata-san defeated you fair and square… Well, I do not think you can penalize us for intervening. We are _her _'teammates.'"

"That's right," I said, "and heads up: Hinata's our tracker-sensor type. _Lee_ here is our main offense specialist."

Of course all three of us were exceptionally battle-capable – nukenin had to be – but these morons didn't need to know it. It worked, anyways; Ikemi's lackeys practically melted in their shoes when they heard that. "Sh-Shouta, maybe we should…"

"You're not going _anywhere_ until we annihilate them!"

"Y-yes!"

"Hai!"

I took Hinata's hand, bowing to plant on it a quick kiss. "You needn't worry your hands on these hooligans, m'lady. You battled marvelously, but your cavalry can take it from here.

She blushed cutely. "Naruto-kun… Look out!"

Shouta swung – and blinked at where I figured my head had just been. I touched the end of my bō staff to the back of his head. "It becomes apparent your dishonor knows no bounds."

"Brat – I'll kill you…"

"Let's see if you can…"

* * *

**Lee ****リー**

"GUH–!!"

The chuunin's eyes rolled as he toppled to the ground, clutching at his stomach. I turned, coolly eyeing the other ten yards away. I held his gaze for twelve and a half seconds. Then he began to move his foot.

My eyes sparkled.

"BEAUTIFUL FLYING GREEN WHIRLWIND!!!"

I slid to a stop on one knee, inches from a few children in the crowd, and raised my head to flash a full smile.

Behind me, the young man's arms and legs flailed once at the air in confusion before his forehead smacked into the ground.

* * *

**Naruto ****ナルト**

"You and your friends are really good at running away, aren't you?" he grunted under his breath.

I quit Shadow Swapping. "You're already in bad shape, and I really could defeat you the moment I felt like it," I informed him factually at a mutter, warding off his strikes with curt movements of the shadow bō. "But I suppose I can humor your fantasies of annihilating me for a _minute_." He growled as I jabbed the staff at a point on his foot.

I doubted the crowd heard us for how low we spoke. "Humor me?" he sneered. I blocked a kick with the staff held vertically at my side by both arms. "So you're doin' me a favor now. Why's _that_?!"

_Solid yet pliant, as the supple wood from which the bō is made… _I maneuvered the staff deftly to catch a forceful kunai strike. The clone held out. "I know it's unbecoming to duel someone significantly weaker than oneself, but an immoral scoundrel like you troubled the valuable time of my sweet Hinata-chan." He drew back; I blocked another strike. "Don't ask me why I feel inclined to fight you. I simply _must!_"

I jumped, turned the staff and swung down. He blocked high with the kunai knife. "All that equality and noble-gallant crapfest, and the bōjutsu tendency…" I whirled, lashing the staff around as I landed. He blocked low. "You seem more like a Sky ninja than Leaf."

"Is this _knowledge_ I'm sensing in that thick skull of yours?" I nailed the back of his knee. "Still, I'm honored one would recognize in me traits of the land in which I _studied_–," I reversed, sweeping it for the taller boy's brow as he fell. He leaned back, dodging.

"You're _honored_? To be seen as one among those sentimental _saps_?" He rolled to his feet and lunged. "Then again, they are said to accomplish incredible feats of vengeance if their companions fall in battle. Sounds pretty _interesting_–!" I dodged and countered furiously. Narrowly, he blocked the downward strike above his head. "I'd say it's worth killing off some random chick to see that happen. Wonder what their trick is–,"

"It's no trick, you _fool!_" I sharply maneuvered the staff end over end; the knife, holding it off, slipped upward, and I firmly thrust the pole's end into his gut, whacked up at his jaw, jabbed his abdomen again. "Do you even know what words like 'tenderness' and 'devotion' mean? Have you ever been in love with a girl?!"

He dodged aside a third jab; I turned, blocking a knife blow as I passed and jumping away. "Building some kind of 'relationship' or what have you is a waste of time," he scoffed. "Women are good for marrying off and bearing children – producing heirs. And in the meantime a woman should be quiet and subservient, mindful of her _place–!_"

My staff connected loudly with his face, barely restrained. "You talk about women like _objects_, you sorry piece of $#!&," I hissed rapidly. "Though the knowledge you'll never know love should console me as punishment enough in itself, for some reason I can't help but find myself still wanting to hit you." I knocked his knife-hand firmly, disarming him.

He blocked a swing with his forearms. "Looks like you can't study in Soragakure without getting their principles whipped into ya'."

I withdrew, spinning the staff and striking again. "Au contraire – I'm a guy who enjoys thinking for himself. I wouldn't support their ideals if I didn't _care_ for them–," I struck and was dodged. "And most importantly, what I picked up has helped me grow that much closer to Hinata-chan – that much better a guy for the perfect girl she is."

"No one's perfect, kid."

"Of course not, but no matter our imperfections we always remain perfect to each _other!_" I swept at his ankles, and he jumped. I swept at his shins, and hit. "That's just the beauty of it!"

"Th-then tell me, since you have so much _experience_ with them–," He kicked violently at my face, and I whirled in nimble evasion, "–are all the Sora shinobi as soft and effeminate as you are?"

"Oh, so it's getting personal now?"

"It was from the start!" He repelled the staff with a forearm. "You excel in bōjutsu…"

"I usually wield a naginata, but–,"

"Cannot carry bladed weapons, of course – but even the naginata is a female's weapon, as a woman cannot fight up close with her fists–,"

He barely managed to duck back from a swing. "I seem to recall a certain incident three minutes ago in which a woman a foot shorter and three years younger than–,"

"What with your finesse and light feet and delicate, graceful moves, your teleportation defense and your twirling staff tricks – your wolf-bitch fights more like a man than _you_ do–,"

_Thamp!_ "_Don't_ call her that," I said dangerously, staff clipping his chin.

"W-wouldja' prefer wolf-bitch or wolf-slut–?!" _THAM!_

"So being strong and independent makes her a _whore?!"_

"Y-you don't even hit as hard–!"

"These hits are a far cry from my hardest; see, we can tell because you're still conscious and able to _stand_–!" I dealt him a nice wallop on the ribs, earning a cry of pain. "–Though to be completely honest she beats me at arm wrestle–,"

"What kind of disgusting wenches you hang out with–?" He blocked, and this time seized the staff. "Then again, maybe she's not _such_ a freak and you're just a _pansy_–!"

He tried to wrench the staff from my hands, and I successfully pulled it back and drove a boot into his gut. "But then again I'm stronger than you, so she'd probably _slam_ your pathetic #$$ in arm wrestle…"

He grunted. "So if the ookami-girl wonder is your sensor type kunoichi and that other one is your strongest offense, what do _you_ specialize in, little man?"

I struck again and again, dancing sharply yet smoothly through a series of kata, barely giving him time to block anymore. I bruised his hip, slammed his shoulder, rammed his sternum, batted the crown of his head. "Defense – strategy – Fuuton manipulation – something of 'genjutsu' – longrange taijutsu – and top-notch medical ninjutsu!"

"_You're_ the team medical specialist?!" he panted. "Does your circus freak lick your wounds if you heal her–?"

"I'm warning you one more time. Do _not_ call Hinata–,"

"This is too rich! Talk about one helluva pair! What are you, the wolf-slut's bitch?"

"_You_…"

"I _what_, little–?"

The staff, whirled at furious speed in my hands, was gracefully flung forward. He shifted to just barely dodge, and while his eyes were on it I jumped back and appeared behind him, hands poised and ready.

"_I cannot forgive!!_" I yelled dramatically, catching the bō and clocking him over the head.

* * *

**Hinata ****ヒナタ**

_That was so _sweet_ … and anticlimactic. _But hey, what can you expect when you spend an entire fight/argument holding back to the opponent's level?

"No one insults my Hinata-chan," he muttered coolly. "You don't understand what love is. Never speak of people as if you do…"

I doubted he had intended me to hear every word – he had probably forgotten I would – but still…

I smiled warmly, clasping a hand over my heart as the wind blew and tousled up his sharp blond locks, as with that suave look on his face he gracefully cast his staff into the breeze just before it vanished.

_Naruto-kun… _I thought happily as the crowd clapped and applauded; he swept elegantly into a bow for the fight he'd shown them, earning another round of cheer. Then my valiant champion righted himself, and as though he'd never looked away his dancing eyes drifted easily to mine.

It was true; in every way, dazzling in his imperfection, in his crooked, easy grin, his brash forthrightness, his messy hair and vibrant eyes and whisker-emblazoned cheeks – he was perfect.

* * *

**Seventeen, Part Five: A Heart to Heart Conversation**

–"_Care to go for a walk? Just the two of us?"–_

Suna was quiet at this hour; the sun had slipped from view behind the village wall. The sky was a serene, luminous plethora of oranges and pinks and purples, the land softly dimmed and lukewarm. In ten minutes not a word had been spoken. Our snugly intertwined hands were a comfortable, content mingling of presence between us as we walked.

I looked to Naruto when he reached with his free hand into a pocket within his vest. From it he produced a pint-sized plushie and a small bag of something.

"It's for you," he said, and added jokingly, "Anyway, I really hope I didn't sweat on it too much."

"It's adorable!" I said, taking them in my free hand; I was reluctant to have our hands separated. The plush wolf was black, with a white belly, paws, muzzle, eyes, and ears. "And…" I looked to the little baggie, which contained a few strips of something that smelled delicious.

"Gourmet jerky," he said, rubbing his neck with a grin. "Assorted. Local specialty."

"Thank you…" I gave his hand an affectionate squeeze. "You shouldn't have gone to the trouble…" I trailed off upon looking up and seeing the remorse on his face. His hand squeezed back, lightly.

"I wanted to say… I'm really sorry – about last night, y'know?"

"About last… oh," I said, blushing as I realized to what he was referring. "You thought I'd be angry about that, Naruto-kun?"

"I'd understand it if you were… You have every right to be…"

I shook my head. "I know you didn't mean to … and you would never take advantage of me. You're not that type of person, Naruto-kun – you never have been…" I flicked my tail around, taking it lightly in my free hand. "It's funny…" I rubbed my thumb against it; it felt no different than it might if I had touched my arm or whatnot. "In the months I've had it, my tail never … made me feel like that before. It's hurt easily, but other than that it's almost like another limb."

"Like monkeys' tails?" he asked curiously.

I giggled. "Okay, a slightly less maneuverable limb. Though it is pretty helpful for balance and leverage when I'm fighting."

"Like earlier … but conversely, it's also your weakness."

I nodded. "The pain is … like nothing you've ever felt. My strength disappears, and I can hardly move my body – but that's only if my tail is attacked. Simple contact generally doesn't have any significant effect, but last night your touch…" I figured that 'was crazy amazing' wouldn't be the best choice of words. I cleared my throat. "It was unexpected, that's all; I shouldn't have gotten … excited so easily. It just felt … weird."

"I'll be more careful next time," he said, smiling.

I returned the look. "Thank you, Naruto-kun… It really means a lot to me that we can talk about things like this."

"I know what you mean. And…"

"What is it?"

"Hinata … there's kind of something else I've been wondering – I mean, that I'm just curious about really…"

I blinked; the air around him had changed. He was nervous. "We can talk about anything, Naruto-kun." I caressed his hand in mine. "You know that."

"R-right, well… I don't know how to say this, e-eeto…… Okay, but don't think you have to answer if you don't want to, 'kay? I mean, it's not like I'm wondering for anytime _soon_, anyway. But I'm not going to see you any differently no matter what the answer is – I promise–,"

"Naruto, I get it. Ask already." All this reassurance was scaring me.

He took a deep breath. "I … okay. Just … for future reference. Being han'you and all, can you… I mean, is your body still capable of … doing…" He coughed. "Certain … _things_, like…" He vaguely gestured with one arm. "This-or-that … with humans…?" He kept a straight face and slightly narrowed eyes trained ahead even as he fumbled for words, but despite his best efforts at 'this-or-that' a blush crept onto his cheeks.

I looked away, eyes wide, face burning bright in embarrassment. I stopped walking. _Breathe in… Breathe ou– Don't you dare faint!!!_

"H-Hinata?"

I met his eyes. "Don't worry about it; you have a right to be curious. That was…" _With you in mind… _"–actually one of the things I asked Okaa-sama before I agreed to be changed. I…" I cleared my throat, averting my gaze. My cheeks were on fire. "That is, my reproductive system is still perfectly compatible with – humans'."

He sighed in relief, but I hadn't missed what he'd said. He wouldn't have seen me differently either way… He wouldn't have minded, just to stay with me?

I stepped in front of him to face him, a tentative palm lying on the center of his chest. "But…" I lowered my gaze to the ground at our feet, not meeting his eyes. "There is one thing … Naruto…"

"You can tell me," he said, without hesitation.

"Our offspring … will be like me." My tail flicked, and I briefly wiggled my ears in clarification. A note of urgency rose in my voice; all of a sudden I wanted to cry. I just wished I could do _more_ for him. "I mean – it doesn't have to be that way – if it's done on the night of a _new_ moon, when I'm completely human again, then I think–!"

I gasped, uttering a tiny "Oh!" as he stepped up to me, breaking the distance between us; automatically my head seemed to rest itself on his strong chest, the crook of his neck. I felt a small pang as his hand pulled away from mine, but promptly his hands slid smoothly onto my arms, round my elbows, up to rest a few inches below my shoulders.

"Naruto…" I lied my other palm on his chest; he rubbed my arms very slowly, very lightly. Encompassed in his gentle hold, his cozy warmth and greenery smell, and the steady rhythm of his strong heart, I suddenly found it much harder to worry about anything. I felt safe and secure. Treasured.

"Shh…" When he first spoke, there was almost a chuckle in his voice. "Our kids'll be like you, will they? I didn't quite realize that was such a problem. I dunno … somehow, I get the feeling I can manage to put up with it."

"N-Naruto…" I met his eyes, overcome with joy. I _was _good enough for him; he accepted me. What more could I ask?

He returned a subtle smile, his indigo orbs deep and breathtaking. My eyes would never weary of watching that face. If they could drink it up forever they would never know thirst, never be sated to look away. "Sometimes I really wish you wouldn't trouble yourself so much. I love you, Hinata, for who you are. It'll work out. Whatever happens, we'll have all the time in the world to decide what we'll do … after you and I have been married."

I kissed him then.

It was modest and faithful; never had so much been expressed, I felt, in a kiss of such gentle simplicity. When our tongues met, the interaction was warmly slow and melodic, itself beyond eager hunger, emanating feeling without need for aggression and sensation and force. My hands slid up from his chest, draping my arms about his neck; his hands fell then from my arms to the sides of my ribcage, and too were content to remain where they were.

Content – we were content to just cherish each other like this. Trading emotion, floating on a ribbon of delicate bliss. This kiss was harmony, and it was beautiful.

When we separated, no words were spoken; by then, not a one was needed. When we separated and I nuzzled my head against the crook of his neck and he rested his cheek against my hair, I halfway wished he would just hold me that way forever. But it was when we separated that I first detected the presence at the edge of the training field.

Lee was covering his ears even though barely within earshot, sitting with his back to us so as to grant privacy. He hadn't been there before we stopped here, at least, but had suppressed his chakra and seated himself just far away enough to avoid immediate detection – interruption. Silently I thanked him, and cherished the feel of Naruto's warm body against mine a moment longer before I pulled away, slipping my hands down into his, and nodded toward the older boy.

As said young man's ears were covered, Naruto spiked his chakra briefly. Lee turned his head to glance back, and then got to his feet and dusted himself off. His eyes darted momentarily to our entwined hands; his blushing smile as he looked at something to his distant left was more awkward than anything.

"We have been summoned by the Council of Sand."

* * *

**Seventeen, Part Six: Ties**

"Let us hope that after all of this has passed … the Sand and Leaf may start anew."

We appeared before the council after that to hear its verdict, and an hour of discussion, a formal dinner, and a night of rest later soon enough found us at the village gate early the next morning, our bags packed and our previously confiscated weapons only then returned to us. Lord Baki, followed by a line of some councilmen, higher-up shinobi, and officials, and finally the Sand siblings, came to see us off. After passing through an endless blur of formal and friendly handshakes and hugs and shoulder-punches (but by far more formal handshakes), saluting and bowing, and exchanging of regards and farewells and safe travelses and wishes of prosperity, our time in Sunagakure no Sato was at last ready to draw to a close.

One councilman Ikemi Kenta was the only one to hold a particularly sour face. After she hugged me, Temari's hearty whack on my back just about knocked the wind out of me; gasping, I returned the gesture. She and Kankurou were sad to see us go, but wore smiles and had us promise to come back sometime – before Orochimaru was overthrown, or after.

Amid all this, only the one person at the end of the line said not a word. Neglecting to look up once at us or the mild commotion around him, he held an expression blank and glum as ever and opted to stare obliviously at one grain of sand or other at his feet. Until he was spoken to.

"Gaara-kun?"

He looked up and blinked, as if waking up. "Hyuuga-san…?"

"Be sure to find the people you can fight for – ne?"

Something flickered behind the indifference in his stony eyes. "You…?"

"What?" I glanced to Naruto butting heads with Kankurou while Lee looked on and laughed. I spoke behind a hand cupped against them. "Don't tell me you thought it was all drunken gibberish? I _told_ you already, I wasn't drunk." I straightened – and caught him in a hug.

"H-hey…" he complained, freezing up.

"It might take a little while … but if you keep trying hard enough, I'm sure you'll understand what I mean." I released him. "Take care of yourself – for me, okay?"

He nodded slowly.

Lee's exchange with Gaara was shorter. Naruto socked at the redhead's shoulder but was impeded by a burst of protective sand; trying again – softly enough so as not to trigger its defensive action – he offered from the heart his own words of encouragement.

"You three…"

"Hm?" Naruto asked.

The Sand Jinchuuriki was silent a long few seconds. "…Thank you … for everything…"

Naruto grinned. "Don't mention it. See you around."

And with that, the Village Hidden in the Sand was left behind us.

* * *

"The Land of Rivers. That's where … we'll finally catch Tsunade!"

"Catch?" Lee asked.

"Huh? Hey, get off my back! She's evaded us–,"

"Me," I pointed out absently, busily scouting for a trace of scent.

"She's evaded Hinata-chan up until now, but this time she'll sit down and hear us out even if we have to tie her down to do it!"

"Oi, but is that anything for a gentleman to say?"

"Not _literally_! But this is a woman significantly older and stronger than myself, so if it comes to a fight I'm allowed to hit her."

"Ah… Okay, then," Lee chirped.

"But just sitting here – what if she's done with Kawa no Kuni by the time we get there?!" Naruto complained.

"Of course that is a possibility," I admitted, lifting my nose from the sand. "I can understand your impatience. What with Mist _and_ Sand behind us…"

The other two returned my grin.

"…Now would certainly seem just the time to forge ahead – bust out Jiraiya-sama, round up our own Leaf jounin… Just try to bear with us, Naruto-kun," I said. "You know as well as I do – get in a rush now, and we risk losing everything. The very first thing is to catch up to Tsunade-sama – and I might add that the _last_ thing we want is for it to come to a fight. Tracking out here isn't easy…" I scanned the desert sands with the Byakugan. "The scent is faint and scattered with the sand… I need to confirm every once in a while that we're headed in the right direction…"

"I understand. The most important thing now … is that we don't lose the trail here."

"Right." I trotted fifteen yards on all fours. "She generally moves at walking speed, anyways – and as soon as the sand thins out we'll be able to move faster." I dug a hole, Byakugan spotting something odd buried under the sand.

"If you look at it that way, we're bound to catch up–!"

"_Eeek!!_"

"Eh…? Ah! Hinata-chan, daijoubu?!"

Shivering on my knees a good few yards from the hole I'd dug, I lied one hand over the back of my head and with the other pinched my nose. My forehead touched the sand; tail was tucked between my legs. _Kusooo! I just had to take a whiff of…!_

"Pig droppings," I muttered. "That's her pet … at least, we _are_ going in the right direction … huh?" I lifted my head, surprised.

"What is it?" Lee asked seriously.

I stood up, sniffing numbly. "I hear someone…" I said, looking to the west. I gasped. "No way…"

* * *

**Naruto ****ナルト**

"_Ooooooiii!! Matte yooooo!_"

"His shouting voice … is kind of awkward," Hinata chuckled.

The boy traversed the desert floor as if ice skating in long, powerful strides, jetting a spray of billowing sand out behind him as he moved. His mouth was open slightly, and at first glance his face was the same blank mask as always; as he neared, however, closer inspection picked out a hint of something like urgency in his (only slightly) wide eyes.

And in addition to the massive gourd on his back, a light bag and water bottle were fastened at his belt.

_Would you look at that…_

Gliding up a particularly elevated mound of sand, he left the earth. Arms cycling, knees bent, he landed and resumed stride. When he was some twenty yards back he crouched and turned slightly, 'braking' to a screeching halt before us. The redhead bent over, hands on his knees, gasping and hacking for breath.

_He really pushed himself to catch up to us…_

I stuck my tongue in my cheek, scuffing one foot at the sand behind the other's heel. "Where ya' headed, Sabaku no Gaara?"

He coughed a little and got himself to straighten; though obviously tired and uncomfortable, he hardly seemed to mind. The set of his mouth was dispassionate, but his eyes were telltale bright as he spoke.

"I want to go with you."

I had thought as much, but that look… _Are you perhaps exhilarated … to be doing something of _your_ own accord?_ "Please don't tell me you ran away."

He shook his head – expressive, perhaps, with weariness – and dug a roll of parchment from a pocket. "I got Baki to offer me to you … as an envoy of the Sand."

I took the document and whistled. A brief paragraph of detail, five signatures, and at the bottom a hastily added 'Take care of him – Kankurou and Temari.' I chuckled innately at the lattermost. "Your old sensei I can understand … but how'd you convince four councilmen to sign this?"

"They're glad to be rid of me," was his simple conclusion. "No persuasion was required. If you accept the offer, I shall carry out a long-term mission to aid you in your quest … as a show of Suna's support."

Lee shook his head beside me. "Should you not, well … spend some time reacquainting yourself with your village?"

"He's got a point," I seconded. "It's your home…"

"The villagers despise me…"

"They despise what's inside of you and who you used to be, but you've changed. If you work hard enough to become a part of Sunagakure, and show them you're not dangerous anymore–,"

"I'm not … sure about that."

"What do you mean?"

He looked down, touching a hand to his belly. "Since you defeated me … Shukaku has felt like he's resting … in a sense. The seal that binds the sand spirit is weak, and when he recovers … I will be forced to live in fear that he may tempt and claim me again at any time… But I … don't wish to return to the state I drowned in for so long … and I don't want the Shukaku to be able to hurt the people around me…"

He looked up, eyes falling on Hinata. "But you … you can control me!"

She blinked. "Watashi?"

"Your chakra is like fire to him … and you used a fuinjutsu that _suppressed_ the sand spirit…!" He said it like it was really impressive to him – he just didn't know how to say so. "And all of you…" He flailed for words. "_I'm _not strong enough to control Shukaku, but you three are… You're _stronger_ than him. Just being around you yesterday … made him stay out of my head… And I could learn – from you–," he looked at me, "–who so easily tames a greater demon … and you…" Again his eyes met Hinata's, "…who battles so masterfully against the darkness within you… I just… I want to learn _control_ … and I truly feel there's no safer a place I could _be_ at this time…"

"Hm…" I looked to the others.

"This … this excitement I'm feeling…" He met our eyes brightly, hopefully, seeming not quite sure his expressions were right and trying to emphasize the point he was getting across, see if he was connecting. "Excitement was once something I could find only in killing … but you people fought for me, unconditionally … you reached out to me, with no other incentive than to _help_ me. You told me to find people worth fighting for … and I think I already have. I want to go with you, to see what you see … to interact with others … I want to experience what it means to fight … _for_ someone…"

"And I would be of use to you! I may not possess quite as much power, but I'm no weakling…" Desperation was suppressed in his voice as he tumbled on. "I'm an ideal night lookout… My stealth is jounin level, and I'm not easily wounded – I would be no liability… And…" He looked down, gazing into the palm of an opened hand. "I was created to be a weapon … but deemed a failed experiment, unstable, and was discarded. But I think I understand now… Why should the path, the meaning of my life, be predestined by those around me? Is there not _more_ I can do?" He met my eyes. "I _want_ to do this. I want to help you."

_An outcast … just looking for a place in the world, huh? Thrilled to feel determination for something new and good… He's already made his decision … and his logic points are sound… _I exchanged glances with Lee and Hinata in turn.

"Sabaku no Gaara, envoy of the Hidden Sand," I said firmly, arms crossed, in my most official-sounding tone. "The road we walk is one fraught with peril. We may be forced to run for days on end. We may face enemies far stronger than ourselves. You may be in frequent exposure to danger. You'll have to build up your stamina a little more for travel. This journey will not be an easy one, and it is not for the faint of heart. Are you prepared?"

"I am," he said, meeting my cool gaze certainly.

I continued to glare, and he glared resolutely back. "In addition – you'll be expected to work hard, not to give up, and not to go back on your word. Can you hold firm to this?"

"I can. I will."

I cracked a grin. "Welcome to the team."

On that day, we picked up an envoy – and a lifelong friend.

* * *

**Neji ****ネジ**

"Hm…"

I pulled down the neck of her shirt, studying a lone black diamond. Orochimaru-sama's mark was truly magnificent. Like a starfish cut in half – within two weeks, the second diamond would form, and another week or so after that it would complete and thereby balance itself again.

"How are you settling in, Hiyuki? Is it nice to be back in your old room again?" I asked, patting her shirt neck back into place.

"Hai. It's very nice … Neji…sama."

_Still a bit of reluctance there… _I noted, moving around to study her face. For now it cycled only through a narrow range between a watery daze and confusion; she was the first to be changed who didn't already possess ingrained loyalty to me. I was confident, however, that this feeble resistance could be purged soon enough.

She stood still as I circled and inspected her. I kicked lightly at the ankle that last night had been broken, and she gave no indication of pain. The back of my hand clipped her shoulder with the same result. I placed a hand on her back and sharply punched her ribs; force that would suffice to break someone else wrought only a wince and grunt. I took her arm to see that her wrist was not scarred, without even a blemish. Her fingers were healthy; I asked her to form a fist, and she did. I touched her nose, feeling carefully about its base to find it firm and well-aligned. She remained still and cooperative. Suggestible.

"Magnificent," I breathed. "Even with the medics' help, it's incredible, really. She changed gracefully. Perhaps more smooth a transition than even yours, Haritsu."

"Hmph," the boy muttered, wilting.

Her face was in the blank state when I finished the examination. Now was as good a time as any.

"Hiyuki, will you bow to me?"

I observed as her placid expression clouded and grew troubled, her happy daze evaporating. Defiance. Asking of her something so backwards, so well outside her former norm, brought her guard up and triggered resistance. Her mouth worked silently for a second, and then: "……No."

Hireiki, another among the other six in the room, began to growl dangerously. I held up a hand, silencing her.

"Why not, cousin Hiyuki?"

Her mind looked to be racing on empty, wheels turning, going nowhere. Stress worried her brow as she searched desperately in confusion, groping in darkness, perplexed. "I … do not … bow to you…"

"I believe we've already established that," I said coolly, brushing claws back over her cheek so as to draw no blood. I stoked the defiance further still. "Who _do_ you bow to, Hiyuki?"

The light flicked on behind her eyes. "Hanabi-sama–!"

"_**Bow**__ to me!!"_

The command was a snarl, fierce and terrible. She jerked forward at the waist as if struck there, knees striking the floor as though simultaneously kicked out from behind. She whimpered, and with a shudder pressed her forehead to the ground, clawed hands trembling.

I felt a brief, unpleasant pang. Briefly.

"Raise your head, Hiyuki."

She rose to her hands and knees, looking up at me. Her black and white eyes were pained. "Wh-what have you … done to m-me…?"

"I have done nothing, Hiyuki. I am your leader."

"N-no," she whimpered in a tiny voice, shaking her head, scared and confused. "My leader … my leader is–!"

"_**I **__am your leader."_

Her jaw fell a degree further, eyes leaking tears.

I brought my claws to my left hand, touching sharp nails to the fingers. Hiyuki watched intently as I sliced my hand, carving four clean lines of crimson into my fingers, down my palm. A murmur of envy stirred in the room.

"Hiyuki – do you know who I am?"

Her eyes were transfixed on my bleeding hand. She inhaled, losing herself in the scent. "My leader … Neji-sama."

"And will you follow me, Hiyuki…?" I lowered my hand, presenting a pool of dark crimson. "Always?"

"Y-yes," she breathed, urgently. "Yes…!"

"Good."

Tentatively she lifted her hands, hesitating just shy of cradling my own extended one. With an effort just to tear her eyes away, she looked reverently up at me, her breath soft and unsteady, eyes hungry and pleading.

I nodded. Her mouth opened, so grateful as to be stricken incapable of speech.

Hiyuki grasped my hand and lowered her lips, and she drank. Clumsily at first, sipping and lapping and licking, she washed my hand of blood.

* * *

**ナルト ****/ ****リー ****/ ****ヒナタ ****\ ****ハナビ ****\ ****ネジ**

**End Chapter Seventeen**

**Naruto:** Team colors! Violet!

**Lee:** Azure!

**Hinata:** Black!

**Gaara:** Crimson!

**Neji:** W-wow, that's…

**Hanabi:** Really ugly…

(static-)

**Hinata:** Gah! Every time I get close, she disappears and it's like she freaking teleports across the world or something! Does that even make any sense?!

**Naruto:** You're more annoying than Latios _and_ Latias!

**Lee:** Or Cresselia!

**Neji:** Or Mesprit!

**Hanabi: **Or–!

**Tsunade:** I get it already!

**Neji:** Cue music! **Tsunade**, **Shizune**, and **Spoink** appeared!

**Tonton:** Oiiin??!

**Naruto:** Shoot, where's my Wobbufet? Oh, Misdreavus – Use Mean Look!

**Hanabi:** The enemy can't escape!

**Lee** used Swords Dance! **Lee's** attack rose!

**Lee:** What, that is it–?!

**Shizune** used Poison Sting! **Hinata** was poisoned!

**Hinata's** Natural Cure heals poison!

**Naruto** used Shadow Punch! **Naruto's** attack missed!

**Naruto:** Oi, that's not supposed to miss–!

**Hinata:** 'Fight,' 'Bag,' 'Pokémon,' or 'Run' – there isn't a Talk option?! What do I use, Will-o'-Wisp, Flamethrower, Howl, or Crunch?

**Naruto:** Will-o'-Wisp, so they get a stat problem!

**Lee:** No, she will only recover with Heal Bell–!

**Tsunade** used Earthquake!

It's super effective! **Hinata** fainted!

**Lee** fainted!

It doesn't affect **Naruto**…

**Naruto:** Sweet, am I a flying type–?

**Hanabi:** Just hurry up and use Brave Bird–!

**Tsunade** used Dynamicpunch!

**Naruto** fainted!

…The Three Failures blacked out!

**Lee:** Ow… What… happened–?

**Naruto:** Oh, son of a #&$* she took half our money!

_(–static–)_

**Hinata:** Maybe I've been focusing on the wrong scent all along! The stronger scent is left by the pet pig!

**Naruto:** Aha! The trail ends – _here?!_

**Lee:** Here is the pig, but where is Tsunade-sama?

**Hinata: **Seriously?! How do you lose your pet pig?!

**Naruto:** Who cares how, she's not going anywhere until she finds it! It's our lucky day – grab that pig!

**Hinata:** Stop right there – don't move! I will cut this pig!

**Naruto:** Or bite it!

**Hinata:** I will not!

**Lee:** The great hog fiasco has begun!

**Gaara:** Um… Next time: **Chapter Eighteen**…?

**Naruto:** Doesn't that fresh porker just look succulent?

**Hinata:** Mouthwateri– Not funny!!

XD Okay… I guess this is sort of the type of chapter I'd normally cut in half, but… Meh, it's your end of spring break present. Sort of. Hope you enjoyed! I also got Pokemon Soulsilver for my birthday ... and it's time to train up for another tournament!!! ...So in short, this might have to hold you over for a while. Gomen!

Youkai -妖怪 – Demon, sprite

Han'you - 半妖 – Half demon

Youki - 妖気 – demon spirit/essence

Ooishi - delicious

Daijoubu – all right

Kawa no Kuni – Land of Rivers

Mattaku – good grief

Watashi - me

Fuinjutsu - seal technique

Ah! It happened again! A huge chapter? Well, that too. But apparently there's a Soragakure in one of the new Shippuden movies? As with this fic's Land of Demons, no relation!

How was the chapter? The character bonding? Was the NaruHina too weird, or did it work? What did you think of Neji's character development? The 'NejiTen' (which is in quotes for a reason) moment? How about the Hyuuga drama, and the plot twist? Again, was Gaara's character done okay? Feel free to comment, and if you have a question - ask!

Huge or not, I think this chapter turned out pretty nice! Please review and tell me what you think! Come on, review for the author's birthday? Please?

:D See ya!

:o)Hinata0321:o)


	18. Queen of Slugs

J3F\\\ Journey of the Three Failures

Chapter Eighteen

I've never been this late, have I? Man, time just flew.

I've hit a sort of rough spot in my life, if a teenager's allowed to. It's probably a stupid thing to fall into a depression over, but the basketball thing really affected me more than I let on. I've somewhat shifted from a happy, optimistic kid to … I don't know. I realized the last week of school that I didn't mind for once that I didn't have a yearbook. I had a perfectly good composition notebook that I could have gotten signatures in, but I didn't really have people sign it unless they asked to. I made some good friends, I had an awesome English teacher, and other than that this was a year I'd rather forget.

On another note – I lost in the Pokemon tournament, if anyone's wondering. I can't bring myself to use legendaries; that's like a shortcut to power (maybe I sympathize with REAL Pokemon that are well-trained to be as powerful as they can be, over ubers that are automatically powerful). Still, the majority of competitors took full advantage of the loosened legendary restrictions, creating a tournament essentially degenerated into a legendary slugfest. My Swampert, Luxray, Salamence, and Alakazam got through two rounds before we fell to a team of two restricted legendaries and two non-restricted legendaries – a team of all legendaries, even though it had no EV training and didn't seem to have any strategy whatsoever. Naturally.

In other news – Disney Naruto forgot to cut out blood once so far! In a flashback of the sannin fight, Naruto's still bleeding at the mouth. The second opening, they cut the blood off Naruto's hand, but it seems the blood you can see through the tear in his sleeve was missed as well, though it could be mistaken for a shadow. At the end of the opening, Naruto and Sasuke just stare at each other instead of holding their weapons to each other's throats XD

DragonBall Z Kai is airing on Nicktoons Network. What the crap? Anyways, it doesn't seem to be edited nearly as hard.

I know I didn't get back to all your reviews this time, but I really appreciate your feedback **ShadowFaux, Malix2, digitalflame192, amethystfirechik, OnGuard, hinata-fan2, Afalstein, The Laughing Phoenix, lil ramen lover, doraemax, An Absurdist, Aryk von Straln, Loui roui, Skull Reaper, Omega the darkness, Blizzard of love, Stygian Styx, ShadowSage99, Shizuka Taiyou, Bluesv20, 1WiththeButterfly, U. May, Rena the pirate jedi wizard, Ace of Spades216, JDWhite, BlackBlueSilver, Master Incalu, taiga-tan1000, Jman12394, KoreanGal5, kunoichibythesea, ****Zack-kun **and the anons who signed _Hiashih8er5, skidmcmarx,__ I lol'd _and_ crusader5643_!

Check out my profile for **more deviantArt pics**! There're some new ones, and some in color now and whatnot. There's now Neji's outfit, and Shodai and Kuroshin, and the line for the 'cover', and some good Naruto pics ;)

This chapter… isn't so great in my opinion. I guess I was a little off this time.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own _NARUTO_.

Oh yeah. Why - _why_ would they make it to where - okay, **according to fanfiction dot net it would seem it's now impossible to exclaim a question**. Like, (blank voice) 'Why did you kill my father?' Bad enough they cut it down to no more than two, and now just one exclamation point (while 20's ridiculous, I think up to three are perfectly acceptable!), but the question mark-exclamation point is literally essential! So while I left most supposed-to-be-multiple exclamation points alone, if you see (? !) with a stupid-looking space, well, that's why. Gosh, you can't even put two ellipses next to each other T-T.

* * *

**Journey of the Three Failures**

**Eighteen: Queen of Slugs**

**Naruto ****ナルト**

"_I_ am TOKUGAWA IEYASU, of the LAND of RIVERS, son of Matsudaira Hirotada, WARRIOR of the Matsudaira CLAN!"

"_I_ am ROCK LEE, student of Maito Gai-sensei and Master Washi of Mist and Iron, and the valiant GREEN BEAST of the VILLAGE Hidden in the LEAVES!"

"ROCK LEE, I hereby challenge you!"

"TOKUGAWA IEYASU, I gladly ACCEPT your CHALLENGE!"

"Very well then! Let us cross blades!"

Hinata shook her head. "These swordsmen…"

I only chuckled. "That's the thing about the 'ninja' of Kawa no Kuni. The country's a step behind, in a sense; with no hidden village, it's home to a number of clans that ally and clash among themselves, rarely involved in the affairs of the outside world. It's really not too surprising that this fellow wants to test himself against Lee's reputation."

"So we're … _not_ going to help him?"

I glanced to Gaara's nearly impassive face, and then to the pair of darting forms and dancing, ringing blades. "Then we'd outnumber the guy."

"They're using swords…"

My eyes traced flurry after flurry of rapid motion. I shrugged. "What can you do?"

"Aren't you concerned at all…?"

"I'm scared out of my wits. But that guy…"

CLANG!

"He fights as easily as he breathes," Hinata picked up at a murmur, eyes trained ahead.

I nodded. "We've got faith in him, too."

Kin-_kin!_

I swung my arm back; sand sprang to arrest my hand inches in front of Gaara's face.

"H-hey!" he said, offended, and gave a startled glare.

"Not everyone has an automatic absolute defense protecting them, but us regular humans aren't quite as fragile as you might think. Besides…"

_Chink! _Ten yards away, a sword plunged into the earth. Tokugawa Ieyasu, just beginning to sit up, halted under the steel of Lee's blade as it rested at his throat.

"I-I submit…"

Lee smiled, withdrawing a step and curtly stowing the katana away. "Very well. Thank you for the fight."

* * *

**Neji ****ネジ**

I bowed my head as I finished the report.

"Good… You are dismissed. Unless…"

"…'Unless,' Lord Orochimaru?" I echoed inquisitively, looking up to meet the Hokage's serpentine eyes.

"Unless there might be something more you would like to discusss…?"

I averted my gaze. My mouth opened briefly, and closed again. "No; it's nothing…"

A soft smirk tugged at his lips as he took me in with that knowing, golden gaze. "Come, now; tell me what troubles you, Neji-kun…"

Head down, I passed a moment in quiet thought. "The Hyuuga I've selected … were all loyal and devoted followers. With the change this was only … intensified, so to speak. But now, with Hiyuki…" I shook my head. "It's a bit startling…"

"You're unsettled…?"

"I have her complete obedience; she hasn't the capability to so much as question my word. But if she had any choice in the matter she would be back in New Konoha right now, serving Hanabi." I was silent another few moments. "I just…"

"This, from the man who's so tirelessly worked to smother the smoldering remains of the Leaf? From so gifted an interrogator, at that…?" he mused.

"I have no quarrel with prying information out of them." _Them _carried a touch of disdain. The rebels who suffered through a losing battle, the prisoners who enjoyed thinking they could not be broken – but oh, could they be broken. "But sitting down with an enemy, telling her to give you the information she so recently guarded, and receiving it just like that… It's strange, m'lord. I feel almost dirty, like a Hyuuga of the Main House exerting his will. There are times when I feel like … I'm not myself."

"So you prefer _breaking_ people to see your way," he noted. "You place lesser a value in a forced enlightenment, for it's hardly to be regarded an enlightenment at all…"

"I suppose so…"

"Ah, my poor child… I can see you're quite confused." He leaned forward in his chair. "Tell me, Neji-kun … is Hiyuki-chan happy?"

"'Happy,' my lord…?"

"Yes – happy."

Through my mind flickered a look of motherly pride on Hireiki's face – though it was a sharp, ambitious pride; the girl's newfound comfort, even fondness toward her mother, that could never have been in a different life; and foremost of all, the melting euphoria that overcame her, set her joyously aglow and seemingly made her life complete whenever I offered a few words of praise.

"I… I suppose she is…"

"Is she or is she not…?"

"Yes – she is quite happy."

"Is she not enjoying being in her home again?

"She seems quite glad to be back in familiar surroundings…"

"Hiyuki the Leaf-nin was half-emaciated, wasn't she…? Isn't she better off having three balanced meals a day? Eating real food again…?"

"Of course, m'lord."

"Don't you see, Neji-kun…?" He stood up and began walking around his desk. "Left as she was, Hiyuki-chan would die a useless, miserable death with New Konoha, struggling up to its bitter end. As it is, she shall join us in bringing peace to this village, and in the new age she will bask with us in the glory of the perfect village – the perfect _world_ we create. Does that no longer strike you a worthwhile vision…?"

I quickly met his eyes as he stopped before me. "Of course it does, my lord! That is what I've been fighting for all this time!" I gasped.

"Kukukuku… Well, that's reassuring to hear…"

He reached out, lied his palm on the crown of my head and lightly mussed my hair. Still holding my gaze, he presented a thin, charming smile.

"Remember this, Neji-kun. The means are irrelevant; the end result shall be the same. These delusional people who resist us will bring on themselves untold quantities of prolonged suffering, and pain, and desolation in pursuit of their _impossible_ dreams… We must save as many of these deplorable people from themselves as we possibly can. I pity them, really…"

His fingers ran through my hair.

"Those who can be freed _should_ be… Wouldn't you agree, Neji-kun?"

I nodded. "Without question, Lord Orochimaru…"

His hand settled on my shoulder. "It's not altogether uncommon, what you feel; people with power quite often find themselves afear of it…"

"I see…"

"Would you like to talk about anything else, Neji-kun? Anything at all…?"

I wondered, briefly, if he ever feared _his _power sometimes. But perhaps that was a question for another day. I shook my head no.

"I marked you because I knew you were worthy of this power, and you continue to wield it impressively. You and your Chosen, Neji-kun … will do great things for this village."

"Yes, Lord Orochimaru."

* * *

**Hinata ****ヒナタ**

I chewed my lip, eyes narrowed in thought as I stared ahead.

Naruto tilted his head a bit, resting the side of his chin on the back of a hand. He opened his mouth, shut it, and tapped two fingers across his lips as he stared ahead.

Lee stuck his tongue in his cheek and propped his chin on a bridge of fingers as he stared ahead.

Gaara stared ahead.

"Ne… Hinata-chan?"

"Yes, Naruto-kun?"

"I think your nose messed up somewhere."

"Hm…"

–"_I don't know how I didn't think of this sooner! Human scents are everywhere … but instead of trying to pick out Tsunade-sama's scent all the time, we can just follow the more distinctive scent of her pet pig!"–_

The trail ended, well, here. So here we were, four ninja crouching silently in the grass outside a fence of a River Country farm, staring into a pig pen. I'd scanned with the Byakugan; the sannin was nowhere to be seen.

"Think you, well, mixed it up with a different pig's scent somewhere along the way?" Naruto asked.

I shook my head, pointing. "That's the one," I whispered, watching the small, pinkish one amble among the crowd. "I'm sorry; I should have been paying more attention and noticed sooner that Tsunade-sama's scent was no longer present…"

"Hey, it's just a little mistake," Naruto said, looking to me. "All we have to do is backtrack, see where the trails split up…"

"Um…"

"Hold on. The two of you are missing something crucial here."

"Like what, Bushy Brow?"

"While it is possible that Tsunade-sama merely gave the poor creature away or abandoned it because it was becoming too much trouble for a ninja on the run to care for… what if she happened to _lose_ her pet?"

"I guess it's a possibility, but how do you misplace a pet pig?" I wondered quietly.

"Have I ever told you about my pet turtle Inazuma-kun?"

"Lee-kun, what does that have to do with…?"

"Hey! If she's looking for the porker, this could be our big chance…!"

"Uh…"

"I loved Inazuma-kun like a brother I never had."

"I mean, just think! She's evaded Hinata-chan by running away, but if _we_ have something she wants…!"

"When I was five years old, however, Inazuma-kun ran away."

"…Yeah… Lee-kun, I think–,"

"It a-always brings me to tears, picturing m-my poor, defenseless Inazuma-kun fending for himself in the cold, wide world out th-there!"

"Okay, shh…" He accepted the hug offered. "There, there, it's alright. Aw, Lee, I'm sure he's in a better pl– I'm sure he found a beautiful home, a nice little pond with sunlight and flowers and…"

"Eeto… You three. Oi."

"It's perfect! A lucky break! If she really did just up and _lose_ the darned thing…!"

"Hey…"

"Wh-what I am saying is that I do not think someone who loved her precious pet enough to keep it all this time could be c-c-capable of willingly discarding it n-now!"

"There, I understand, Lee-kun…"

"But… Just to be a little more sure, one of us ought to check with the farmer – see how they obtained Tsunade's pig, y'know?"

"Listen…"

"But we have to keep a low profile…"

"We'll use Transformation Jutsu – problem solved!"

"But…"

"I-Inazuma-kun…!"

"Yatta! We have a plan–!"

"Guys!"

"Huh? What's up, Gaara?"

"In the last town we passed through… we walked by a 'lost pig' sign … on a lamppost…"

"You're kidding."

His brow wrinkled. "But I'm not…"

"No, I know you're not, but … wow. Wait, where were you when I announced we were following the pig's scent instead?"

His face fell darkly. "I'm sorry…"

"No, it's no big deal!" I assured him.

"Alright!" Naruto whispered, smacking jovially for Gaara's shoulder. His hand was swatted back by some sand, but the boy went on without missing a beat. "This is a huge time-saver! Now we just have to snatch that pig and…"

"Wait, we are stealing it?" Lee sniffed.

"For a good cause!"

"With a pinch of bribery," I muttered as Naruto was going on about an autograph.

"…I guess. Yosh, then one of us must snag it!"

I blinked twice. "You say that, but why do you both look at me when you say it?"

"Well, you _do_ know which pig it is…"

I looked back to the pig pen, sighing. "Stealing livestock?"

"Oh, come on, Hinata-chan, I'm sure your ookami cousins do it all the time!"

"When they're starving!" I defended, and Naruto lifted his hands sheepishly.

_Pop-pop._

The blond's form blurred, and suddenly flailing and squealing in his hands was a startled little pig. "Okay, okay, I got it! Ta-da!" He grinned, holding her out. I sniffed. It smelled nice, in an edible sort of way – not that I would eat it! – and more importantly, it was Tsunade's pet.

"That's the one."

"Naruto-kun!" Lee snapped, taking the terrified swine. Delicately the deadly ninja swordsman held her against his body like an infant. "You must be gentle with animals, and sensitive to their feelings! You have frightened the poor girl half to death!"

Behind said deadly ninja swordsman, Gaara stared, mouth slightly open, with an expression of mild (for his expressions were scarcely extreme) shock frozen on his face.

_Lee-kun has always had a soft spot for small animals, _I thought, looking at the shivering ball of meat in his strong arms as it snuggled at his chest. I sighed.

"Gaara-kun, do you remember about where you saw that flyer?"

"Hai," he said, nodding curtly as he snapped out of his daze.

I nodded, biting my lip. "We need to get moving."

* * *

"This can't be the place…" Naruto said, exiting the ramshackle old slumside warehouse to step once more into the light of day. "There's nothing in there … well, bar a few little critters."

"It's the address on the flyer…" Gaara murmured.

"Hinata-san…?"

I shook my head, Byakugan fading. "I don't detect any notable chakra signatures around here, and I can hardly pick up even traces of Tsunade-sama's scent even though she's been through here recently." _She's hiding it somehow, but is it from me … or the possibility of other trackers? _She _had_ put up flyers to recover her lost pig, a considerable risk for someone keeping a low profile and trying her best to disappear. In that light, we shouldn't have been surprised she wasn't simply waiting around at the address provided.

The three of them were watching me; when it came to tracking, I was the leader. I thought quietly.

"We should stay here for the night."

* * *

**Neji ****ネジ**

_Look at the time…_

I shut the tome I was poring over, and the one sitting across from me, who had accompanied me to the library, promptly shut his book as well. I was about to stand and shelve the book when a thought struck me. I sat again, placed my elbows on the table, and said quite simply:

"Haritsu, what would you do if I called you a #$^= $?&#ing )~x$#?"

The look on the boy's face, however, said he had swiftly forgotten it was a hypothetical question. "Have I done something to displease you, m'lord?" he asked, eyebrows drawing inward as he stared in incomprehension. A terrific display of grief worried his face, and the usually cold young man seemed moments from tears.

"No!" I said, gripping his forearms. "You have done nothing wrong…" Before my eyes the pain melted from Haritsu's features. I shook my head, startled by the reaction, and nodded at the volume in front of him. "Were you done reading?"

He blinked. "Yes."

"Okay. We're leaving."

* * *

**Naruto ****ナルト**

It was the middle of the night when the ninja showed up.

The door opened silently. As Hinata had noticed, the door of an abandoned old building should have creaked; it had likely been oiled ahead of time for just this purpose. Retrieval. _How about that…_

Probably a kunoichi; in the darkness of the building I made out a figure clothed in black, a long, side-slit skirt falling over her pants. Even as she skulked by in a quick, stealthy crouch, I could tell she was a safe few inches taller than Tsunade-sama was supposed to be.

When the masked kunoichi opened a second door and passed into an interior room, I slipped from the wall and followed. She crept to 'our' four sleeping forms, narrowing in on 'Lee' as she spotted the portly pink bugger tucked snugly under his arm.

Walking up behind her, my feet light on the floor, I watched her crouch and carefully try to ease the pig away from him, but though he hardly stirred in sleep his protective arm wouldn't budge. Promptly she produced a syringe and stuck him right in the neck – yeesh, someone was in a hurry – and waited eight seconds before taking the pig from under a limply relaxed arm and tucking it under her own. Not bad, not bad at all.

"A-hem."

Her head whipped around. Her dark eyes were huge as they met those inquisitive purples of the naginata-wielder standing two feet behind her. Four sleeping kage bunshin went up in smoke.

I hopped a sweep-kick, ducked a high kick, and blocked a punch before we sprang apart. I lunged swiftly, swapping forward, touching a hand to the pig without touching the woman, swapping forward again. I caught the porker in my arm as I turned, sandals skidding to a halt.

"After we rescued your pet and all, you were just planning to take it back without a word of thanks?"

The kunoichi glared, but was concealing fear. "…Thank you," she grunted. "Now can I have her?"

"Gomen," I said, "Not really our style, but she's the only bargaining chip we've got. We need to talk to Lady Tsunade. Could you get her?"

The woman spewed at me a cloud of purple in reply. I was blinded.

_Poison Mist–? !_

Sharply I turned my naginata in front of me, with the use of only one hand. Four senbon were deflected, and two punctured my stomach and left lung.

"Ita!" I yelped, and in the moment I flinched my naginata was kicked away and the pig out of my hands before a boot rammed into my gut.

Thrown into the wall, I slipped into it and out of the adjacent once, flowing onto my feet right next to the door as she reached to open it.

A hand morphed out of the doorknob, latched onto her wrist. Another two sprang up from the floor, seizing her ankles.

"Nani? !"

"You should have noticed … that this second room didn't exist the last time you were here." I met her eyes, catching my naginata as it appeared at my side. "Sorry, but you're already in the Demon Illusionist's lair."

"_Kai!_"

"And I should probably point out…" _Shadow Matter: Trick Room. _The walls, floor, and ceiling began to glow with chakra. The coming pressure surge would knock her out. "…This isn't the type of genjutsu you can release…"

She hung her head. "You… had better catch Tonton!" she cried, and tossed the pig over my head.

_So that's its name…_

She had thrown it high enough that that it was easy for me and clone that sprang from the floor to catch it together.

Behind me a smoke bomb went off and was promptly dispersed by an explosive paper bomb, just as the chakra surge was released. Well, most paper bombs were 'explosive', but this one – ah, forget it. A chunk of 'wall' had been dispelled, and the kunoichi was nowhere to be seen.

_Kuso! _I dispelled the remainder of the room and bolted out of the warehouse. Careless – naturally, she'd set a tripwire before entering. With a quick kage-kawarimi I evaded the paper bomb explosion at my feet – and practically jumped into the glowing fingers the kunoichi jammed into my gut.

My stomach clenched sharply and painfully, and I dropped Tonton as I doubled up, crimson shooting past my lips. _What the–? !_

Even as my knees were giving out, a foot caught the side of my neck. I flopped to the ground.

She made for the forest thirty meters off. In that direction…

A blast of sand was narrowly avoided; Hinata's shoulder blow was not. Lee caught the pig as it was released. Hinata dodged a quick trio of senbon, and Lee, behind her, was caught in the arm. She squeaked what I could assume was an apology as she avoided darting strikes from the kunoichi's hands.

_It looks like the pig's going to the last side standing… _I ground my teeth, wincing as I got to my knees, and then to my feet. _Come on – you can move. _I pulled a senbon of my own from my tool pouch and secured it in my teeth as I ran through a flurry of seals. Holding the needle between fore and middle fingers, I brushed my other palm against it. A tiny, rotating column of wind chakra extended forward, projecting itself into a thin, nearly invisible strand. I pulled back my hand, drawing the needle further back against a tangible, almost elastic pull.

The masked kunoichi, barely fending off Lee's taijutsu, managed to break away from him.

She looked suddenly to her shoulder, almost as though she felt the tickle of an insect crawling on it. Sand ensnared her feet.

"Sorry," I muttered.

_Fuuton: Shinkuu Happou._

Vacuum Shot.

The blink of an eye – and the released senbon was thrust into the kunoichi's shoulder, sticking out the other side. She cried out, her arm locking up rigidly.

Lee's hand thumped curtly against her back. He caught her carefully around the waist when she swayed and began to fall.

I tipped back with a sigh, dropping onto my rear. Then I clenched my teeth and removed the poisoned needle sort of unpleasantly sticking between my ribs.

* * *

**Hinata ****ヒナタ**

"You're Tsunade-sama's apprentice, aren't you?"

The dark-haired woman glared up at me, teeth clenched in defiance as if she was prepared for an interrogation. She was seated on the grass, her hands restrained behind her back, as Naruto fixed up her shoulder.

"Look, we're not going to hurt you," I went on. "Okay, so we tied your hands, but we don't want to fight you and we _really_ need to speak with Tsunade-sama."

She looked away. "You people … don't seem like trackers of Orochimaru…"

"Is that what this is about?" Naruto asked, surprised. "Look at our headbands! _We're_ just trying to save the village, if Tsunade-sama cares about stuff like that."

"So that's it…" she said, eyes downcast. "I wish she _would_ consider it … but unfortunately, m'lady won't want to hear you out either way."

"What do you mean–?"

The wind blew. My nose twitched. I looked up.

The four of us jumped back as a figure crashed to the ground; the earth quailed violently, crackling like so many snapping bones under her fist.

My Byakugan awakened as the dust settled, as the newcomer rose to full height.

"_Shizune_…" the woman said, almost at a snarl. "You let yourself be beaten by four _brats_?"

"I'm sorry, milady…"

"It's _her_," Naruto whispered. I nodded dumbly.

Dressed in black pants, a grey top that frankly showed too much cleavage, and a dark, knee-length over robe, the amber-eyed, blonde kunoichi surveyed our group with a scowl of annoyance. Naruto was nervous, awed even; Lee's stance was defensive, a frown set on his face; Gaara's expression was impassive as ever, his arms crossed, but something in his eye said he understood the extent of this person's power. The woman's eyes landed on mine.

"You brought your friends this time."

Swallowing emptily, I nodded and spoke in a level tone. "We three are ninja of Konohagakure. Gaara-san here is an envoy of our allies in Sunagakure."

"And what the hell do you want with me?" she said dangerously, eyes dark.

"Tsunade-sama, you must know of the state the village is in. You are one of the Leaf's Legendary Three Ninja, and right now you alone hold the power to save it! We don't wish to fight you. Please – let's just talk about this…"

"I have _no_ desire to return to that place," she hissed. "If you don't want to fight me, I would strongly suggest you release my pet and get _out_ of my _sight_…"

She took one step forward. I stepped back. "You're being unreasonable here!" I cried. The weight of her murderous intent was bearing down on me; the slashing rage in her eyes was making me shake, but I refused to look away. "Are you or a-are you not a ninja of the Village Hidden in the Leaves–? !"

She blurred. Lee shoved the pig into my arms and reached for a blade. His fingers had barely brushed the hilt when Tsunade's arm caught across his neck; the young man was hurled and slammed to the ground with a sharp crash, sending spiderwebbing cracks blossoming from under his back.

Tsunade's eyes met mine.

_シ$####__&…!_

A Naruto clone grabbed my arm and flung me back as the true one lunged forward behind me; we switched, and he thrust the blunt end of his naginata for our foe. She dodged and swung dangerously for his face; he appeared behind her and swung the staff for the top of her shoulder. Without turning she caught it in her hand, yanked upward to disarm him, and shoved the heel of a sandal dead into the center of his chest. He sputtered momentarily in pain – and went shooting into the trees.

A sharp backfist vaporized an incoming blast of sand. My eyes grew.

"Gaara, get back–!"

The sannin flickered past me. Her fist met the shield of sand that sprang up in defense, and said shield vibrated, rippled, and exploded backwards, wholly disintegrated. Gaara, arms raised before his face, looked up and cried out in shock.

"_What–? __!_"

With no break in stride Tsunade's other fist now contacted his face. He smacked into a tree, splintering it behind him.

"Stop!" I shouted, holding the pig against me and touching claws to its neck. "Don't you dare move!"

The pig kicked and squealed in terror. I wouldn't really have done it, but…

Tsunade smirked.

"Are you ordering me around, kid?"

"H-huh?"

WHAM!

_She's faster … than Lee-kun… _I thought with a grimace, one eye huge and the other squinted shut, eyebrows drawn in with confusion, as a manicured fist bludgeoned into my stomach.

The world flared white.

Until my back cracked into something – then it snapped black.

With sheer willpower I fought the darkness off, forced my eyes open. My stomach was a wad of pain; my torso felt like it could fall apart. My knees turned inward, legs trembling feebly and hands bracing against tree bark behind me as, choking brokenly for breath, I managed not to slide to the ground.

The sannin was walking away, pig trotting at her heels. She vanished briefly, appearing a few yards past Shizune; the younger woman's hands were suddenly free.

"G-get back here!" I wheezed weakly. My eyes were watering; I shook in effort, shoulders quavering, staying on my feet. After we came _this_ close…! "Kuso!" I wailed. "I won't … let you g-g-get away…!"

Tsunade cast a sidelong glance, eyes narrowed in distaste. She kicked a stone into the air, caught it, lashed back her arm. Pain crashed below my kneecap; I shortly toppled to the dirt.

"Stop following me," she called flatly, "and tell your little friends to do the same."

"N-no! Don't walk … away from th-this! Don't you care about the Leaf–? !"

"Just be quiet, will you? ! You don't understand! Do you think you brats can be some sort of heroes? You can try all you want; I have no intention of dying a useless death…"

"So you're doing something so much more m-meaningful out here, is it? ! That what you're saying? !" My voice weakened to a whimper. I ground my teeth. "What kind of legendary ninja a-are you? What–?"

"What about Master Jiraiya? !" Naruto shouted fiercely, limping into view. His breath was unsteady, but his eyes intense.

"What of him?"

"That old sennin … scraped your name in desperation into the cold stone floor of his prison cell, with nothing but his nails and blood!" He paused, shaking his head. "What a waste of _time_! You're not looking for him! You don't even care! All you're doing … is running away from it all!"

Silence fell into the night air.

"…You're right. I don't care."

Naruto flinched.

"Lady Tsunade…"

"Shut up, Shizune."

She vanished. Shizune glanced uncertainly back at us a moment, and then scooped up the pig and followed.

I grunted. _We … failed…_

"Hinata – you alright?"

"I'm fi–," His eyes grew in alarm as I hacked blood onto the ground. "No, really, I'm fine." _I hope. _"Check on Lee-kun."

With brief hesitance he nodded.

I got to my knees and crawled over to Gaara. The redhead was slouched on the ground, his back to a tree, head down, arms and legs splayed clumsily before him. I reached out, touching a hand to his forehead.

"Gaara-kun–?"

His eyes were big and unfocused, and blood dripped from a scowling mouth. Upon catching sight of me, his expression grew murderous. A growl hissed up his throat.

My hand darted to my tool pouch. _Byakugan._

The sand around him sprang to life. I slapped a small seal tag onto his belly, injecting through it a precise burst of chakra from my fingertips. The sand fell lifeless again; a band that had been creeping around my neck faltered, but then it too crumbled away as the Shukaku's presence shrank back and faded. I sighed as Gaara groaned quietly, shaking his head.

"Gaara-kun, are you okay?"

"I think so…" A slight whimper escaped him, and he touched a shaky hand to his darkly bruised cheek.

_He's not used to pain…_

"Hinata … did I…?"

I nodded.

"I'm sorry…"

"It's fine. You can't help it just yet, but that's why we're here. We'll work on it."

He looked up; I turned to see Naruto approaching, one hand using the naginata as a walking stick, the other steadying the limp form draped over his shoulder.

"He's out cold," he said. "Can you guys stand?"

Against the tree's support, I clambered to my feet and gave Gaara a hand up. He tentatively accepted, and between me and the tree he managed to stand. Naruto nodded.

"We've got to keep moving."

* * *

**Naruto ****ナルト**

"I thought I told you to stop following us."

I shrugged. We were trailing a safe fifteen meters behind them. "We'll get to you by sheer persistence if that's what it takes."

Hinata nodded. "The fate of the village hinges on your shoulders."

"Capable but unwilling shoulders," Kurogiba pitched in. The wolf walked with us, carrying Lee's unconscious body on his back.

"Why do you _care_ so much about the village?"

"Isn't it second nature for a ninja to fight for his village?" I asked.

"Not missing-ninja."

"Are you calling yourself a fugitive ninja?"

"What are _you_?"

"Ninja of New Konoha, nukenin of New Oto."

"And you don't have anything better to do with your time than pester me?"

"Well, what else can we do?" I asked. "Can _you_ think of anything, Hinata?"

"Nope; without Tsunade-sama's help, our journey ends here."

"But wait! We _could_ try to free Jiraiya-sama from his prison!"

"Remember? We tried that already on our own, and it didn't work out."

"Oh, _right_! And that's when Jiraiya gave me the mission to find Tsunade and come back for him!"

"Though I'm pretty sure we're supposed to actually _bring_ Tsunade with us, not just find her and try again on our own."

"True, true. Well then, we _could_ rescue some of our _jounin_!"

"But if we do that, they'll surely amp up the security of all the _other_ prisons."

"Which wouldn't be a problem if we at least had Jiraiya-sama's help."

"So we just need to free Jiraiya-sama – but wait, we can't!"

"Right, Gaara?"

"Um… Yes!"

"So you're not even taking my feelings into consideration?"

"Are you kidding?" I snorted. "Sorry, but if the entire village and its shinobi are suffering gravely every minute because one person refuses to step up – well, I think that warrants just a bit of 'pestering'."

"If we could help them on our own, we would have by now. But we can't. We need you."

"When it comes down to this, I don't care how important a person, how awesome a kunoichi and medical ninja you are. Even you're not _that_ great."

She fired a look over her shoulder. I glared back stubbornly.

"Beat us up again if you want. We're not giving up."

Wordlessly she continued forward.

"Why're we walking right now, anyways? It's kind of the middle of the night, y'know."

"No one's making _you_ walk anywhere."

"Then why are you walking in the middle of the night?" I replied.

"We _were_ trying to get some distance from four certain someones…"

"That's not gonna happen."

She halted.

"Lady Tsunade…?" Shizune began nervously.

"We're setting up camp."

Four minutes later we were settled in a forest clearing – four teens and a demon fire wolf spirit on one side, two women and a pig on the other. But see, it wasn't a very large clearing; we were still within easy talking distance of each other. If anyone, though, I hardly expected they would be first to talk.

"Girl," Tsunade called degradingly over at Hinata.

"Yes?" she answered indifferently, unrolling her sleeping bag.

The woman's eyes were trained calculatingly on her. "…You're also making use of an Advanced Transformation Jutsu; that much I can tell. But there's also something off about you, something I can't quite place. Something's wrong with your physiology, the very composition of your body. Your physical constitution … the slightest deviations in your skeletal structure, the set of your bones, the alignment of your joints… You're an enigma. Nothing I can sense about you seems to make a great deal of sense. Just what are you hiding under that henge?"

"If only you knew… Fine. If you're really that curious…"

POOF!

"What … the hell…?"

"Tsunade-sama…"

"You're joking, right?"

Hinata blushed, ears pinning down against her head. "Does it look like I'm joking?"

"Th-they move!" Shizune squeaked.

"That's right…" Hinata remarked after a tiny yawn, stretching lazily. "Doctor's curiosity, isn't it? After all, how often will you cross paths with an ally who's half human, half ookami youkai?" She slinked onto her sleeping bag, tail swishing silkily with the movement. "Met any in the last fifty years?"

Some bright glint in the sannin's eyes had already thought up a question or twenty, but she put on her poker face and hid it well.

"No," Hinata continued nonchalantly, propping up again to briefly cuff and scuff her pillow with claws. "I can answer that one for you. Even your grandfather and great-uncle – history's only other two human wolf-kin though they were – never did choose to take the next step and undergo the change. Anyways, I don't really feel like talking to you. You haven't decided yet, after all – if we're allies or not."

With that she folded her blanket over herself and transformed again, disguising her canine ears, and shut her eyes. I lied down, my sleeping bag right beside hers, and our hands joined comfortably between us; eyes shut, she snuck me a smile. As much as I disliked Hinata showcasing herself as a freak, it just might have been effective; however slightly, Tsunade's curiosity had been piqued.

I looked up and noticed that Shizune, though sitting on a sleeping bag, was still sitting up, reading a small book. Gaara, of course, owned no sleeping bag.

"Just wondering," I asked, chuckling inwardly, "Y'all aren't planning to ditch us as soon as we all fall asleep, are you?"

"Of course not," Tsunade called flatly from where she lied on her side, facing away from us. "If we really felt like losing you, we wouldn't need to put that much effort into doing it…"

"Okay," I said innocently.

The next morning, we woke to see a cloudy-eyed Shizune having a staring contest across the camp with a stone-faced Gaara.

Tsunade's eyebrow twitched as she glared at the insomniac. "Get up, Shizune! We're going!"

"Hu-what?"

"Time to wake up, guys," I announced, "We're leaving."

The woman shot me a look.

"Nani? It is morning…?"

"Bushy Brow – good to have you back!" I jeered.

"What? Oh, no, do not tell me I was unconscious the longest…? !"

"I can 'not tell you' if you want, _but_…"

"Oh…"

"We're just glad you're okay, Lee-kun," Hinata said.

"Still, I must… okay, a thousand inverted push-ups!"

"Save it for later; we've gotta move!"

Tsunade had watched our exchange silently. "…You really do intend to keep following me, don't you?"

"Well, yes," I said. "How many times do we need to say it?"

"Even if it took years?"

"I guess we're hoping it doesn't, but…"

"_Why?_"

"Are you going to have me repeat myself?"

She shook her head. "You're young – young enough to turn your backs on this, to start over someplace new…"

I blinked. "I guess we could. We were practically run out of the village, y'know; I don't think anyone could much blame us if we chose not to come rushing to the rescue now that it's in deep. But… Our actions are dictated by the folks who matter to us; they define us. Maybe that's something too emotional for a shinobi to say. Maybe we could – maybe it would be easier to turn a blind eye to our precious people, go somewhere else, stop thinking about them until they fade away and we forge new bonds … but for now, that's just not possible.

"And besides," I added, "that'd be nothing for a future Hokage to do."

The woman flinched. "What did you just say…?"

I smirked. I nodded to Hinata. "Future leader of the Hyuuga Clan…" To Lee. "A loyal and splendid ninja, through and through…" To Gaara. "And a great comrade and friend… But me? Orochimaru'll have to shove off, because I intend to become the greatest Hokage the _Leaf_ has ever seen. To be Hokage… That's my dream!"

"…You… You _fool_…"

"What?"

A strange look lit her eyes as she stared at me. I glanced over my shoulder. Yep, she was looking at me.

"…Why would someone want to be Hokage?"

"Are you kidding? I'd lay down my life to protect my home! Any of us would! To be Hokage–!"

"It's a fool's dream."

My eyes narrowed. "What are you trying to say?"

She snorted and turned her back. "Hey – tell you what. How'd you like to place a little wager?"

"What, you mean like a bet?"

"I'll give you until midnight, three days from now; that's about how long it'll take to walk to the next town. If you four together can defeat me, in any way you can possibly manage, I'll admit I was wrong and join you on your madman escapade to save the village. Heck – if you can beat _me_, I'll even throw in my necklace."

"L-Lady Tsunade–!"

"But if you can't do it, you'll never bother me again. I don't care what you do, but you'll stay away from me. And I'll be taking all the money you have on you."

I frowned. "We'll think about it."

"Sorry, brat – now or never. Do we or don't we have a deal?"

I briefly met the others' eyes. _Who knows how long it could take otherwise…?_

_But … with all of us, together…_

_This might be the best opportunity we can get._

"Deal."

"_Great__!_" she said, smiling pleasantly. "During this time, I won't hesitate to attack you on sight. Starting now."

_Shunshin no Jutsu!_

Fwsh-fwt-fwn-fwssh!

* * *

**Neji ****ネジ**

Consciousness returned to the sound of deep breathing, slowly flowing air, and the rhythmic beep of a heart monitor. My sight refocused promptly on the white ceiling above.

"Welcome back, Neji-kun…" he said, pulling off the now fogged-up mask covering my nose and mouth. I sat up slowly, plucking vital sign monitoring electrodes from my chest, my legs, my arms.

"Orochimaru-sa–,"

I gagged and grunted, back arching, grasping at my forehead and throat.

"Drink this." He guided a vial to my lips, tipping my head back, and I downed the sharp potion.

"Th-thank you," I said, and loosed a small cough. "M'lord – how did it go?"

"Unsuccessful, I'm afraid … but I'm certainly learning more about it with each test."

"I see." I pulled my shirt over my head, and went on the secure my headband in place. "Thank you for this, Orochimaru-sama. I appreciate the effort…" I swung my legs over the edge of the bed.

The man smirked. He steadied me as I stepped to the ground and began to stumble; the large dose of anesthetic needed to sedate me, though already rapidly thinning out of my system, still weighed heavily on me. "You're invaluable to me, Neji-kun … my precious disciple."

_Disciple … and eventually… _I shook my head. It was an odd prospect to contemplate. Besides, what was there for contemplation?

"Should I have someone walk you to the Hyuuga compound?" he asked, a thin, supportive arm draped around my shoulders as he guided me to the door. "The village streets are never completely safe…"

"I'll be fine in a few minutes," I said. "You know that."

"Kukuku… I suppose so. I'll see you soon, Neji-kun."

* * *

**Lee ****リー**

Chilled night had fallen once more over the forest; owl and cricketsong interspersed themselves in the tranquil air. I crouched patiently in a thicket, four sets of weights lying on the earth at my sides.

_I cannot help but begin to wonder … whether we should have accepted this challenge… _Two days remained still, but at this point it had become clear enough. Tsunade intended to break us, and it grew evident it was within the realm of possibility she would need not even three days to do it.

My eyes flickered to where I knew Gaara was hidden.

_Gaara-kun … simply has not attained the level of skill, of speed required to defend against an adversary of this caliber. Even we have not. And if he were to draw on more strength … well, the result could be unfavorable._

My eyes darted to the side. _Hinata-san… at highest form, though she can now refrain from _targeting_ her allies, she is still virtually incapable of teamwork…_

_Naruto-kun's full power… _I pictured the ensuing clash, and just did not see him coming out victorious. _Well, we do not want to level the forest either way…_

_And my maximum strength … can last only seconds. _Seconds in which I might certainly be able to equal a sannin, but would not likely overpower one.

Not to mention, the more serious we were, the more dangerous this could get; if Tsunade found herself truly threatened, she would not hold back either. So we would wait. On the last day, once time was running out, we would strike with everything we had. But at present…

I tensed. _Here they come._

A duo of distant figures took form as they headed up the path at casual pace. When they were not far away, I flung my weights high into the air so that they would land a short way ahead of the target of our ambush.

Tsunade blurred forward as they fell. She plucked them from the air.

_Impossible…!_

A lunging Naruto – who was supposed to have been provided the cover of a dust cloud through which to attack – was knocked back as a cruelly thrown weight slammed against his gut. With great speed I was on the opposite side of the path, and then in the air, one foot extended before me.

_Painfully silent DYNAMIC ENTRY!_

The woman shifted ever so slightly. I sailed past her, and cringed as my foot cracked hardened earth and pain popped in my knee. The fist I swung back was blocked, and I rapidly followed with two consecutive kicks, both of which were dodged. The firm fist that planted itself on my back may or may not have fractured a rib; I grunted and was turned by the shoulder, struck a glancing blow to the temple, and blown back by a palm to my forehead. I hit the ground hard, and with one painful bounce slid to a halt.

_Kuso! _I shoved to my knees. _M-my body…!_

Tsunade dodged and blocked expressionlessly, probably not breaking a sweat as Hinata and three bands of sand struck and lashed a furious offensive. The woman ducked a strike, jerking a low elbow into the girl's gut even as her other fist smashed into the earth; she swung her hand sharply up, and the back of her knuckles clipped Hinata's jaw, flinging her off her feet and dispelling her in a burst of flame.

Hinata blurred down into existence behind Tsunade, a fist rearing back, and…

THUMP.

…Froze as Tsunade's fist tucked itself up under her ribcage.

She was lifted onto her toes, eyes wide, clenched fist frozen inches from Tsunade's face. The girl trembled as her knees began to give, teeth locked as she defiantly urged her fisted hand forward – but it could not clear the distance before she sank to her knees, hands planted on the earth barely steadying her as her hunched form quietly gasped and shook, fighting for breath.

Tsunade sneered down at her. "Pathetic…"

The girl whimpered tinily in pain, ducked her head, threw up on the dirt.

The woman took a step toward her enfeebled form as Hinata collapsed on her side.

"Wait, time out!" Naruto cried, running toward them. Tsunade caught him with a look, stopping him. Then she knelt by Hinata, pushed her onto her back, touched a hand to her stomach.

"For the love of…" She frowned, and her hand was cloaked in chakra.

My brow furrowed. _Why would she…?_

Most of the tension had left Naruto's stance as he walked to them, kneeling at her other side. He held up his hand; promptly it emanated a soft green light. Focused on the Hyuuga's prone form, he did not meet Tsunade's eyes. "Thanks, but no thanks."

The sannin raised an eyebrow, but backed off.

"You know…" Naruto said as he took over, letting his hand rest on the unconscious girl's belly. "I find it a little odd how you can pound us into the dirt one minute and then patch up some of the damage the next. Why, if I didn't know better I might even think you're starting to feel bad over beating up on a bunch of kids."

"Don't expect much of it," Tsunade muttered, her eyes passively critical on Naruto's work. "I don't feel like being held accountable for some brat's death."

By now Shizune, Gaara, and I had neared them. Naruto smirked fondly. "Even if it is a blow from you, Tsunade-baa-sama, I don't think she'd be done in _that_ easily."

"What did you just call me…?"

"Elder Tsunade. You are my elder, are you not?"

Not answering, Tsunade observed a few silent seconds longer. "…She's hot."

"I didn't know you swung that way, Granny, but either way–,"

"That's not what I meant. Her body temperature ought to be roasting her…"

"Oh, that. Funny thing – her average hovers around 103, or 104. To run a 98 like us humans … well, I guess something would have to be wrong with her." He lifted his hand as the jutsu subsided. "But then again, we're not talking about this. After all, we can't go divulging secrets to someone whose loyalty at the moment's just a bit shaky."

"You won't have to worry about that. This momentary truce of ours will be ending shortly," Tsunade bit back with a scowl. Naruto held her glaring eyes stubbornly for several seconds; then Hinata, oblivious to the tension, slowly sat up between them. The sannin apparently forgotten, Naruto's attention was immediately on the girl.

"How do you feel?" he asked, an arm around her shoulders. "Can you breathe alright? Is there a lot of pain here? How about here…?"

She answered him, blushing under the attention and concern; when he was satisfied the girl was a-ok, he sighed in relief.

The sannin silently scrutinized the teens from where she stood. "Sorry to say, but something about you really doesn't quite seem to strike me as the medical ninja type."

"I didn't quite realize a 'type' was required to help people. After all – aren't most people with the _power_ to save lives instinctively driven to use it?"

Tsunade's eyes turned cold.

"I don't know; maybe that's just me," Naruto went on levelly. "But it begs the question – why are _you_ a medical ninja, Tsunade-sama? After all, you've said it yourself that you don't care either way."

"That's enough!" Shizune cried, "You have no idea–!"

"_Boy_," Tsunade said dangerously, "If you know what's good for you, you _won't_ try me."

"Excuse me, but I have a name; it's Uzumaki Naruto. And I told you already. We won't give up – I won't give up. Sorry, but I made a promise to protect that village and I never go back on my word."

"Because you'll be _Hokage_ someday?" Tsunade sneered.

"That's right – I will. And I for one would lay down my life in a heartbeat if it was for the good of the Leaf."

"That's the problem with you…" Tsunade smirked darkly. "Sacrificing your life for the sake of the village? Life's not like money, kid; to risk and gamble it off at the drop of a hat … it's a fool's bet!"

My teeth clenched. "What did you just say…?"

"Have you ever taken a good look at the Hokage of the past? The earliest wanted nothing more than to end hostilities and bring prosperity to the village … and for all the good they may have done, in the end they died young and in vain for the village, for the _village_, still in the midst of chasing after their dreams…"

A rare chill was settling in Naruto's harsh eyes; his mouth was set in an even frown.

"Same with Sarutobi-sensei. A teetering old fart was compelled to try and act heroic, and look at what happened to him!"

_How dare she…!_

Naruto shuddered at the words. It was clearly growing very difficult for him to remain calm.

"And here you brats are, going for glory in some big vigilante quest to free the village from Orochimaru. You'll lay down your _life_ for it, you say, anything for the _village_, you say – a fat lot of good you'll do the village when you're dead."

"So we'd be better off like you, then? Doing absolutely nothing but roaming around and cowering in the dark? Better to give up beforehand than to have faith and risk disappointment, right?"

At the calm words, all eyes fell on the new speaker. _Hinata-san…_

"Sorry, Konoha, you'll have to continue suffering who knows how much longer because, lo and behold, the great Tsunade-sama is afraid to have hope."

"What are you getting at…?"

Hinata looked the woman in the eye. "Pardon me for saying it, Lady Tsunade, but Naruto-kun is too good a gentleman to say it. To be frank you seem a lot like them – that is, the rare brand of coward who, presented the circumstances, would sooner join Orochimaru than oppose him."

Amber eyes narrowed on unreadable white as Hinata got to her feet.

"But on second thought, as far as intent goes most New Oto-nin do claim to believe they're saving lives, in the best interest of the village, through their lack of resistance. The difference between New Oto and New Konoha shinobi is whether they're willing to live for the village or die for it. But you're – well, running away, messing around, hiding out, waiting for whatever happens to happen. If you look at it that way, you're actually worse–,"

Not another word was allowed to leave her lips. In the blink of an eye Tsunade had her by the neck of her jacket, pinning the girl's back to a tree with a solid _thwack! _Hinata winced slightly at the impact; her arms hung calmly at her sides.

"Say one more word…"

"And you'll what?"

_KRACK!_

Naruto, Gaara, and I could only stare in hidden terror as Tsunade's fist punched cleanly through the tree very near Hinata's head.

"I'm warning you…"

"Lord Founder must be rolling in his grave. Even you wouldn't kill the children of your village – or would you, Tsunade-sama?"

She hit the girl in the stomach – and I quickly looked away as she rammed her knee up against her groin. Hinata jerked and squeaked in surprise and pain. Tsunade threw her to the ground. The girl lied shivering, teeth clenched, a hand clutching her stomach and her knees pressed tightly together. I stifled a grimace. I obviously did not know how painful such a blow was to a girl, but I knew too well that in training Master Washi had no qualm with resorting to such a tactic if and whenever a careless opportunity presented itself.

"You'll shut your _mouth_…" Tsunade growled.

She was blushing in embarrassment. "S-so when we're losing an argument and c-can't think up a comeback we reimburse our esteem with a little physical payback and good old-fashioned humiliation, huh? Very mature, Tsunade-sama–ack!" …There was a shoe on her neck.

_Are you trying to get yourself killed? ! _My hand went for a sword hilt.

"Don't move," Tsunade said flatly, pressing harder; eyes wide, Hinata kicked in alarm.

Under her foot rested the life of the only one of us capable of tracking a sannin. Still, she would not… she could not…

I glowered, and the sword slid back into its sheath. Naruto, also ready to spring, raised his hands in submission. Stirring sand retreated into Gaara's gourd as he followed suit. Shizune, though disapproval was stark on her scowling face, did not act. Tsunade smirked.

"Tell you what. How about we place the same stakes on a different wager? I don't really feel like toting you around for another two days anymore."

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked coldly. "We already made a deal."

Tsunade waggled a finger, casting him a sidelong glance. "Oh? But you haven't even heard my offer yet. Instead of the four of you defeating me, this girl…"

Hinata loosed a strangled cry, face becoming tinged with blue.

"…Simply needs to land one solid blow."

I gasped. It is likely we all did.

"Well?" She released Hinata. "What do you say?"

Naruto glowered. "We have to–,"

"No thinking about it. Answer in the next fifteen seconds, or the offer expires. But if the girl fails … don't think you can fall back on your former challenge and try to defeat me all together."

Which were the better odds? All of us defeating a sannin, or one of us landing a single blow? We had not even had a chance yet – we had been planning to try at higher power later…!

"If it's just one, let me do it," Naruto demanded.

_Not a bad idea. Not only does he have _that _power, but Hinata-san… She still is not the type of person that can handle so much pressure on her own._

"I don't think so," Tsunade sang, seeming to be thoroughly enjoying the situation. "You heard my offer. I'll go one-on-one with our little tough talker here."

_Kuso…!_

"I need an answer from someone. Five … four … three…"

I met Naruto's eyes. Teeth clenched, he looked down and shook his head.

"Two…O–,"

"I-I'll do it…!"

Naruto looked up, eyes huge.

Gaara frowned anxiously.

My jaw dropped.

Tsunade grinned sharply. "Deal."

* * *

**Naruto ****ナルト**

This was bad. This was bad-bad-bad-bad-b-a-d-_bad_.

_When women fight, they always seem to want to tear each other to pieces…! _Okay, so maybe that wasn't true of Hinata – she was too sweet to want to tear someone to pieces – but this Tsunade… Any compassion she might have felt a few minutes before was long gone, as proven by her little demonstration. I mean, of all the people to get on the bad side of, Hinata just had to pick this _really_. Scary. Lady!

"My throat feels fine now, Naruto-kun…"

I looked up at her quiet voice; the girl's eyes were downcast, perhaps troubled. Justly so. "O-oh, right," I said, fingers slipping from where they ever so lightly framed her trachea.

She shut her eyes as she smiled meekly at me. "Naruto-kun, your hands are shaking. D-don't worry. I won't fail the village; I won't fail you."

_Fool, I'm not worried about–! _Well, of course I was worried about the village and all, too, but more immediately… Okay, let's just say I recognized an excuse to beat someone down when I heard one. "Right. I know you can do it, Hinata-chan."

"Yes," Lee agreed.

Gaara subtly nodded.

"Are you ready over there, or what?" Tsunade called cheerfully, handing her cloak to Shizune. The younger woman, in contrast, looked very unhappy about the entire affair.

"Just about," Hinata replied, running through a quick string of seals and summoning up Kurogiba. She lied a hand on his shoulder, meeting his eyes and no doubt mentally filling him in as to the current situation.

"Your summoned beast, huh?" Tsunade said. "I thought we were fighting one-on-one."

"A summoning jutsu is another ninja art, isn't it? And besides – the two of us are practically one."

"Perhaps … but if you're using the Art of Summoning, I might just be tempted to do the same. I might even choose to make use of _all_ of my ninjutsu."

Hinata hissed a quick intake of breath. She shook her head at a silent question from the wolf. "Stay back, Ani-ue."

"Hm…" Glaring demonic daggers at the sannin, the wolf was seated beside us.

"I'm ready whenever you are," Tsunade called. "I'll even grant you the first move, so long as you get this show on the road sometime today."

I scowled.

"Ano … Naruto-kun…"

I looked to see Hinata's eyes were again trained on the ground before her; pink dusted her cheeks. She turned her head slightly, barely daring meet my eyes before averting her gaze again. In the space of a small few moments, the line of her mouth wrinkled uncertainly, and then her lips parted, faltered, shut.

I blinked in confusion. "What's up?"

She met my eyes slightly again, fingers prodding nervously together. "D-do you think I c-could have … maybe…?"

Understanding clicked. I formed a wind scalpel on my pointer finger, and shortly flicked an incision into my other forearm.

Hinata smiled gratefully. "I won't need much."

"Take as much as you need."

She took my arm and lapped eagerly at the spilling blood. My eyes instantly began to lose focus. It was a task for her to hold in check, I knew, to restrain herself and look dignified as possible as she began to gently suckle the wound; a couple of times before she had slipped and bitten me, but never caused any serious damage. Warmth spread in my cheeks, and I inhaled as a sense of serenity blossomed in my chest; I felt like I was floating on air.

_The … the demon's bite…_

_I feel almost dirty, but … I can't help it…_

_When Hinata feeds from me…_

_It feels too good…_

I shivered, giving in to a painfully audible sigh. But despite the happy butterflies dancing in my stomach, I didn't miss the gasp Shizune emitted as her eyes cut fearfully to her master, nor did I fail to catch the way that vicious, cocky boastfulness of moments before had evaporated from Tsunade's face. Instead of mocking us for our strange transaction or complaining that we needed to hurry up, she just stared – stock still – eyes wide.

A drop of my blood hit the ground.

_Is Baa-sama … trembling…?_

Then the seconds of feeding were done, and Hinata's tongue lapped over the cut; already it was knitting together, sealed.

The girl stepped forward.

Her shoulders were slightly hunched; her hands shook. Her tongue darted out, cleaning crimson from her stained lips, and her body shuddered. Head down, she snickered lowly in pleasure, a blood-chilling demon's laugh. When she raised her head, a fang-boasting smile shone excitedly on her wide-eyed face. If she had felt any apprehension before, she didn't now. She raised her hands, arms crossing in an X before her.

"_Youki… RELEASE!_" she barked, spreading her arms as her claws sprang out, as her hair darkened, as jagged stripes of black flew to pattern her skin. She lowered to a crouch, and an animal growl blared from deep in her throat. The floodgates were open. For a short while her demon essence would be running full force, and she was raring to use it. "_Here goes…_" she whispered, blurring forward.

"Lady Tsunade!"

* * *

**Hinata ****ヒナタ**

"Lady Tsunade!"

I mentally swore, eyes huge as outstretched claws just barely brushed the side of her shirt; she nearly stumbled as she landed from the narrow evasion. I swatted down an urge to go on the attack. Something was wrong. _I assumed I'd have to strike with intent to kill to have any hope of maybe grazing her, but her reaction was so late… a bit slower, and I might've…!_

I located my voice. "Are you awake over there? ! If you're not going to take me seriously we need to call this off, for your sake!"

A fraction of a second later, and I might have shredded her side wide open.

"Lady Tsunade…" Shizune said, eyeing me uncertainly.

"I'm fine," the sannin assured her, brushing it off. "She was a bit faster than I anticipated, and got a little lucky. It won't happen again…" Her eyes were cocky as before when she looked to me. She held out her hand and beckoned. "Get over here, girl."

I did – and swiftly my arm was twisted behind me, force met my back, I smacked harshly into a tree. _She's fast…! _I thought with a whimper, staggering back and shaking my head a bit. I'd seen her move – I was still just a little too slow to _do_ much of anything about it. _Focus… _I thought, growling as I charged.

I took a bound on all fours and sprang up, launching into something of a Leaf Hurricane kick. The woman ducked and spun to cleanly evade me, and the moment I landed I was blocking a knee strike at my face; the force knocked my hands against my face and shot me into the ground.

Landing on my back, I backflipped swiftly onto my feet and charged again, lunging to slash. A furiously rapid storm of claws and fists and palms were dodged and blocked and parried as she backpedalled at a controlled pace. I lashed out with a kick, and my ankle was caught in front of her face. I lashed the other foot up, aiming for the back of her shoulder, and she turned the ankle she held and ducked; my foot sailed over her head, and I struck back with the heel. This blow she caught, and, holding both my ankles, crossed them and shoved in such a way that I was thrown spinning away from her. My side connected sharply with the ground, and from the bounce I sprang into a crouch on all fours. I cringed, and a knee hit the ground.

"What, that's it?" Tsunade taunted. "And you thought you could hit me?"

My teeth clenched. "I will!"

I attacked at a ferocious pace, with focused wildness leaping and striking and darting and slashing and flowing and kicking and punching and once tossing in an attempt at biting, Byakugan ablaze, moving as fast as I could. She shifted and blocked and dodged and evaded and blurred and intercepted and parried and slapped me across the face. I threw out everything I had, and she moved right along with me, keeping pace and countering with calculated precision.

_One hit – I just need one hit–!_

Her hand caught and firmly gripped my wrist.

"My turn."

"Huh–?"

A kick crashed tremendously into the side of my ribs. It all flashed white.

–"_You've done well so far, Hinata…"_

"_Ah – th-thank you very much, Houkou-sama."–_

I hit the ground and yowled in pain. It was – something – something had to be broken. God, the _pain_! H-how long had it been since I'd been broken…? !

No – I had to get up. I had to get up, now. It was for the village…!

"I can't fail here!" I shouted, lunging strongly to slash. I saw her slipping aside, a hand touching my upper arm, a knee rising – and lost my wind in a too-sharp grunt, halted against the vicious force slamming into my gut.

"_AH–!_"

–"_Your final trial will be a simple battle."–_

_Sh-she's too… strong…_

Force rocketed into my jaw, throwing my head back.

The foot she'd kicked with lashed down, crushing, into my gut. It shot into my jaw again.

My gut.

My jaw.

But this time there was an extra 'kick' of force, her chakra, and it lifted my feet from the earth, sent me sailing up and back – and she clutched my shoulder and wrenched me from the air and threw me to the ground. My back broke the earth under it, and force rang in my ears. White.

–"_Kuroshin-sama, Kurochi-sama, you're my opponents?"_

"_No…"–_

I was on my front now; the heel of her sandal was digging cruelly at a pressure point on my back. I cried brokenly in pain.

"Give in."

"I c-can't…!"

The heel twisted. My pain flared exponentially.

–"_Return to me, my summoner."_

"_Return, my summoner."_

"_What… What is this?"–_

She picked me up by my jacket, and threw me onto my feet. I stumbled clumsily.

"Hinata, watch out–!"

_BAM!_ went Tsunade's fist, crashing across my face. Another drove in, cracked into my stomach. I hacked out my breath.

_She's holding back somehow, but she's still…!_

A third blow planted itself on my breastbone. My body glanced off one tree, spun, and crashed full force into another; my transformation shattered at the impact, and I clung to the trunk for support.

_I can't…_

I jumped away. Tsunade's finishing punch broke the tree in two, as a twig. She freaking _caught_ it before it fell, slamming it down toward me as I stumbled away; catching my footing, I lowered, whirled, and rose up with a yell, arms crossed at the wrists above my head meeting the force, breaking the descending trunk apart. I dodged a flurry of punches as Tsunade advanced, ducked under her arm to slip behind her; with chakra on the surface of my left palm I lifted a segment of the broken tree trunk heavy as I was and lashed it savagely for the sannin. She met it with a fist, it disintegrated to splinters, and narrowed amber eyes sliced through my shocked white.

–"_Kurochi and Kuroshin aren't your opponents. They are."_

"_Right. If you wish to become a wolf-sister… Prepare to face history's only two wolf-brothers."_

"_Sh-Sh-Shodai-sama … Nidaime-sama…"–_

I screeched, flinging myself aside as a monstrous heel drop devastated the earth. My eyes were huge as I leaned back; a chakra-charged fist nearly clipped the tip of my nose.

_I can't … do this…!_

–"_Urg… I can't go o-on… My b-body … won't move anymore…!"_

"_Is this the extent of your determination? Did you think earning the name Ookami would be _easy_? !"–_

I could only dodge, for blocking was too painful. I scrambled desperately. Running, hiding.

_The fate of Konoha … could hinge on what happens here and now…!_

_B-but I…!_

I threw a punch, and when one of her hands blocked the other sharply nailed me in the gut. Tears welled up in my eyes as I recoiled with a sound of pain.

–_I-I've never felt … so much pain…_

"_Get up!"_

"_Th-this is i-impossible!"_

"_What is this pitiful display? ! One so pathetic dares to insult this House of youkai? You dare to shame us with this feeble attempt? !"–_

Teardrops flecked off my chin as I shifted. A fist brushed my cheek, and bruised it.

_But I…_

–"_If you believe you are worthy of bearing the name Ookami, stand up and _show_ us…"–_

I dodged narrowly.

_I've been through worse!_

–"_Show us, Hyuuga Hinata. What is the strength of your resolve?"_

"_I…"–_

_What the hell am I doing…?_

Running away … that wouldn't get me anywhere. Hadn't we just said we would lay down our lives for that place?

My teeth clenched hard as I leapt far back, avoiding a swing. She lunged again; I prepared to dodge.

_Didn't I just say it myself? When it came down to a divide, there were two types of Leaf ninja – those who live for the village, and those who could die for it!_

I instead set my feet, squared my stance, meeting the sannin's eyes head-on.

–"_I w-will…!"–_

The woman yelled out as she drew back her fist.

_I am Hyuuga Hinata, kunoichi of Konohagakure no Sato, rightful heiress of Clan Hyuuga, and through my veins flows the proud blood of the Ookami! I will…!_

–"_I will…!"–_

"Stand and _FIGHT!_" I roared, rooting my feet with chakra and crossing my forearms in defense.

Tsunade's punch was blocked.

For an instant nothing seemed to happen. I was painfully certain my forearm had fractured on contact. My snarl-locked teeth vibrated as my wide eyes determinedly stared her down, first slightly, then growing steadily in intensity until my teeth chattered as if with cold–

_**BOOM! ! !**_

The earth exploded at my feet – fracturing with a tremor-jolt into slabs and blocks and chunks of stone, the recently level surface thrown into jagged disarray.

Tsunade's mouth popped open, her eyes wide and disbelieving. My arms shifted, hand wasting no time in latching firmly onto her wrist.

"_I've got you!_" I growled, drawing back a fist.

I proceeded to punch her face as hard as I possibly could.

She grunted, and her body smacked into a tree, crackling its bark. Then she crumbled into stone.

"Shoot!" _A substitution…!_

My hands clapped together. Where was she? !

_No time – I have to go to Curse Level Two–!_

'_Sis, behind you! !'_

'_Wh–?' _"Unh–!"

I fell strengthless to my hands and knees, face hot.

My mouth was dry as I shakily turned my head. My voice was quiet, carrying a very slight tremble and a stony seriousness tinged with terror.

"Let go."

"Hm?" the woman said, a smug look on her face. "Quite the weakness you have here. Does this hurt?"

"It's freakin' annoying – _GYAAAAAH!_ Now it hurts!" I shrieked as her grip on my tail tightened.

"Stop it – Let her go!" Naruto cried. "Not liking her is one thing, but you have no idea how much pain you're causing her right now!"

"That bad, huh?" Tsunade mused lightly. I was lying flat now, hands over my head, shivering and gasping and scarcely daring blink. "Tell you what. Before I let go, I want your word that you and your little troop of pals'll stop following me. Go find someone else to bother if you want – but you'll leave _me_ alone."

"I c-can't do that!" I squeaked shrilly, sweating in pain. I might have been foaming at the mouth. My head felt ready to explode.

"Must not be that bad after all."

Her grip strengthened brutally.

"_AAAAAAAAAAAGGHHH! ! STOP IT!"_

"Give in!"

"NO!"

"You're asking for it!"

"MOTHERXXXXXX! You freakin' psychopath! $(&#! &$ヰ#$&^$゠Xヴ$#! ! Let go! God, stop it! STOP!"

"Scream for your mom!"

"MOMMYYYYYYY–!"

CRAK–!

* * *

**Naruto ****ナルト**

I stared, dumbstruck, after Tsunade broke Hinata's tail. The girl's scream broke off abruptly; within the instant she flopped completely limp.

"Ought to teach you."

"Lady Tsunade, that was cruel…"

I shook my head, shock giving way to rage. "What the hell did you just _do? !_"

Beside me, Kurogiba's eyes were huge. "She…"

Tsunade flickered ten meters away, and a blaze of dark energy exploded from Hinata's unconscious form. My jaw dropped. The air became frozen, brittle. My stomach wrung itself unpleasantly at the palpable darkness in the air; beside me, Lee stumbled a step back, teeth clenched, grabbing at his belly. My soul was rattled at the pressure.

Then it was over. Kurogiba swore, racing to the motionless girl, and I hurriedly followed; Lee and Gaara weren't far behind.

"Pup – can you hear me?" he asked, nudging her face with his muzzle. I knelt, hands already aglow, searching for abnormality.

Gaara gasped. "How…?"

"What is it?" Lee asked.

"Her tail … it's disappeared…"

"I-it did!" I yelped, surprised. And her ears – her ears were human, but she was under no transformation…

"…What just _happened_?" Tsunade asked, watching quietly behind us. Kurogiba looked up, glaring icily.

"Don't act concerned now. The tail is the han'you's link to the youkai realm, the spirits of our ancestors – and when you oh-so-smugly decided to snap it, you ruptured that bond."

"So what happens _now_, mongrel?" the sannin shot back, like she was in any position to get all offended over his taking a tone with her.

"Let's just say that when she underwent the ordeal and became an honorary sister of the wolves, she transformed inside and out. Her chakra … is comprised primarily of youki, the demon essence she possesses because of her ties. With all this suddenly wrenched away, she'll be lucky to wake up with a quarter of the power she might wield if she were still a regular human."

"But – she will change back to normal, right? !" Lee asked.

"For a few days she _will_ be 'normal,' if not pathetically vulnerable. Hopefully it won't be long."

_Hinata… _My hand shook as it rested on the forehead, the cheek of a fatigued, sickly white face. She was already ninety-nine degrees.

Teeth clenching hard, I found Tsunade's eyes. She frowned indifferently down at me.

"Well?" I growled. "Don't you have anything to say about this? ! !"

'_Heheheheheee… My, kit, aren't you getting angry…?'_

I started to stand up; I probably would have caught myself anyway, but Lee's hands gripped my shoulders.

'_How __**dare**__ she reduce Hinata to this state–!'_

_Stop it. You're putting words in my head._

"Come on – what is done is done," Lee said, oblivious to the silent conflict. "Hinata-san is injured…"

I frowned, looking down again. "Yeah."

The girl was limp as the dead; this notion alone spiked a flare of anger, but it was lost under concern as I began to really examine her. Two of her ribs were cracked, and, under a grotesque, darkened bruise, the radius bone of her left forearm had sustained quite a fracture. She had bruises like freaking chickenpox.

My eyes shifted again to my warrior's porcelain face; palely sallow in complexion, mouth hung slightly open, her sad face was weary as her body, like all the life, every last measly ounce of vitality had been drained out of her. It was relaxed, at rest, but not at ease, and this time not even my touch could soothe her. _Oh, Hinata… It hasn't changed, y'know._

–"_It hurts me to see the fighter, the warrior Hinata."–_

_I _still_ wish you didn't have to fight so much…_

I looked up as Shizune approached and knelt at Hinata's other side. Face glum, the woman didn't meet my eyes.

"What are you doing?" Tsunade asked, eyes narrowing. "You don't have to clean up after me."

"In all respect, Lady Tsunade, what you just did was…"

"So what, you think we owe something to them–? !"

"Lady Tsunade, let me do what I want to do!" she cried, ducking her head. The older woman was stunned silent.

"You don't have to…" I began quietly.

She looked up, offering a sad smile. "There's a fracture toward the distal extremity of her left radius, right?"

Toward the lower end of one of the two forearm bones? "Yes…"

"I can handle it. You try to work with those ribs."

_She identified the wounds by sight alone… _"Okay," I said, getting to work. "Arigatou."

* * *

The next morning, we woke up around noon. Well, most of us woke up. Gaara was already awake, and Hinata was comatose.

Alas, when Lee, Gaara, Kurogiba, and I with Hinata on my back set off for the town, Tsunade and Shizune were more or less walking with us.

"We failed your little challenge," I muttered. 'We' was technically a she, but I wouldn't have felt right blaming Hinata for this. "What are you tagging around for if you hate us so strongly?"

Tsunade scowled down at me. "Since it _is_ my fault she's in that state…"

No way – what was this? Responsibility for her actions, perhaps?

"I can't just leave an unconscious girl in the hands of three teenage boys."

"What…?"

Me. Lee. Gaara.

"We're hardly the type–!"

"Why are you suddenly so keen on getting me to leave?"

"You have a dirty mind, Obaa-sama!"

* * *

**Hinata ****ヒナタ**

"_Koinu… What is the source of your power? Do you know it?"_

_I open my mouth. "Well–,"_

"_But not something sappy like 'the people who matter' or what have you. I'm talking about your demonic power. Can you tell me where it comes from? What allows for something so unnatural as a being originally human to hold her own demon essence?"_

_I think for a few seconds. "What do you mean?"_

_Ani-ue sighs, drawing up some patience. "What do you have that a regular human doesn't? What physical difference do you possess?"_

"_Fangs and claws … and, then, my ears and…"_

"_That a human _doesn't_ have in any way, shape, or form."_

"_A tail?"_

"_Exactly. The han'you's tail embodies its bond to the realm of youkai – the link that connects one to the ancestors. Your tail … is the prime manifestation of your demon essence, koinu, and it is what draws unto you the strength of the Ookami."_

"_I never realized…"_

"_It's a part of your very essence, Hinata. For that reason, an attack to the tail … is a direct assault on the spirit…"_

* * *

From the moment I skirted the edges of consciousness, I knew something was wrong. Anxiety twinged inside me.

–"_Take pride in it, but always – _always_ – protect it well."_

"_Yes, Ani-ue."–_

I was empty and numb. The feeling brought on a sickening sensation. I stirred weakly, my brow furrowing.

_What's happened? Where…? !_

Terror swirled around in the emptiness. Was it hot or cold? I didn't know. It was too quiet. It was _never_ this quiet. I loosed a tiny whimper.

_Wake up… Wake up!_

I woke with a shudder. I was under an unfamiliar polished wood ceiling, under a blanket, on a futon. Chilled moisture flicked from my brow as I turned over and clambered to my hands and knees. I looked quickly left and right, gasping, sweeping frantic eyes about the lightly furnished room. The world was distorted, everything dull and rounded and indistinct in the dim light – like it was being viewed through a lens that didn't suit me.

I shook my head, grasping at my pounding heart, shrinking as fear and nausea and cold sweat twisted together. Where the hell was I? ! I spotted something – recognized my bag – and scrambled to it, tore fruitlessly at it with too-round nails, and searched, checked one side, the other – there – tugged at the zipper. Clumsily grasping hands withdrew spare clothes, a plushie, a flask of ink – upturned it, dumped it over on the floor, flung things aside. My arms dragged heavily; gasping at a dash of color, I found, fumbled intently at, shakily clenched the hilt and sheath of a thin dagger. Some droplet of solace clenched as I flashed an inch of a glinting, obsidian blade.

"Hinata?"

"_Aiiieek!_"

I shrieked at the contact to my shoulder, rising to my feet and lashing the blade round. The boy's hand snapped securely onto my wrist.

"Easy, Hinata–!" He caught my other fist. "Calm down – oi!" He shifted to avoid an underhanded kick, and in an effortless motion by his grip on my hands the blond swept me off my feet. My frail back thudded to the floor, and despite my fighting and kicking and spitting in his eye he had in moments wrestled and pinned me firmly down.

"_Let go of me!_" I wailed.

"Calm yourself! I'm your friend!"

"Why the hell would you sneak into the room? !"

"I didn't! I knocked and opened the door!"

"I would've heard it! !"

"Hinata, look! It's me! It's Naruto, y'know? !"

My huge eyes blinked after a few more rapid breaths. Above my head, the dagger dropped to the floor from a trembling hand. "N-N-Naruto-kun…?"

He nodded. "Yes."

"Wh-what's wrong w-w-with m-me? !" I squeaked.

He released me; I picked up the dagger and sheathed it, then stuck it in a pocket as I got to my feet, twitching nervously. He snatched the pocketed weapon, shaking his head as I started to protest. He spoke quietly. "Tsunade … broke your tail, remember?" I felt above my backside, confirming the absence. Oh, $&/#! "You've been out a couple of days. We're in an inn in town that's run by a friend of Grandma's."

"O-o-ohh…" This totally freakin' random teardrop slid down my cheek. I paced back and forth and back and made for the door, trudging as fast as my heavy feet would carry me down the hall outside.

"Where are you going?" Naruto called, coming apprehensively to my side.

"I'm gonna b-be sick – I n-need some fr-fresh air – I g-gotta go out-s-side – it's s-so dark in here–," For no reason at all I lifted my hand and bit sharply into it, and blunt as they were my teeth did the job. Still striding purposefully, I sucked and lapped the blood as it fell – it tasted horrible, actually – but I drank it up anyways.

"Hinata…? !"

Oh gods. Oh my _g__ods. _Why was my body so goddam heavy? ! Was – no, my backpack wasn't on! This was worse than a new moon. Not blocked off – gone – couldn't feel it – youki, gone – nowhere to be found. I bit down into two of my fingers this time. #$X&, did it hurt. Still tasted awful, too.

Now imagine my surprise when throbbing pain fluttered in my skull, when iciness engulfed me, when my vision rapidly unfocused and refocused and I found myself looking at the back of my head.

Oh, dear…

It was already going black as my body finished one more step and collapsed.

* * *

"You're lucky to be surrounded by such good medical ninja. It would've scarred."

'_See, your soul's not currently firmly rooted to your body as it's used to.'_

I was lying down again; I wasn't all that capable of moving at the moment. _'So I slipped. Out of my &#$X&__ヶ__# body.' _I hadn't needed to summon Kurogiba again; he simply hadn't dispelled.

'_Don't talk about your body that way. Just because it's weaker than you're accustomed to doesn't mean you need to attack it, either. Especially, even.' _He was talking about the hand that lied bandaged at my side. _'Listen, your mate's talking.'_

'_Ani-ue…' _"Arigatou, Naruto-kun…" I muttered weakly. It all felt like the flu, but it wasn't. I certainly didn't have the fever I should've. "I'm sorry … for attacking you."

"Don't worry about it. Just try not to freak out like that, y'know? You really scared me…"

"Gomen…"

So my spirit was usually well more firmly connected to my body. It made sense. Almost as in the second level of the curse seal, the full moon state, a couple of fatal wounds were brushed off – my soul wouldn't be upturned and vacated that easily – and rapidly organs were restored, blood replenished, all while I remained conscious.

But now… I could die just as easily as any human. My youki was gone, and my chakra, chakra that had adjusted itself to pairing with youki, laughably weak with the absence. If I were stabbed, I could be history in seconds. I was vulnerable – more so than I'd been in a long time. Maybe not as killable as the average human – the _curse's_ physical effects, some general hardiness lingered still – but being in no state to defend myself, it was practically the same. I shivered, at the thought and at yet another painful surge of nausea.

Naruto seemed to read my thoughts. "You don't need to worry." He patted a fisted hand onto his breastbone. Even against a world dulled in my sight, his eyes were brilliant and serious. "I'll protect you; that's never changed. If anything does come our way, you can just sit back and get your rest; I won't let it touch you. You have my word." His other hand closed, gently firm, on my uninjured one.

I managed a smile. "Then I d-don't have anything to worry about…"

Kurogiba nodded and spoke up. "Rest, and as soon as you're able, meditate. Five more days, and you should be able to change back to normal."

"Hai…" I turned my head slightly, looking past my friends. "And … what is _she_ doing here?"

Naruto shrugged as behind him Tsunade's eyebrow twitched. "Probably wants to study you or something."

"I have no such intention!"

"You said you couldn't trust three teenage boys with an unconscious girl. She's conscious, isn't she? Why are you still hanging around, then?"

"Boy, you've got some nerve…"

He turned his head to face her. "Aren't you satisfied? You've done enough damage already. Please leave our room – Hinata needs peace and quiet now."

Hard golden eyes glowered back at him. The woman turned and left the room.

* * *

**Neji ****ネジ**

"Satisfied? You're weaker than me. This hasn't changed," I said quietly.

"Teme…" he muttered, eyes livid, face red.

"Don't fault me for your humiliation. You have none to blame but yourself," I said simply, releasing him from the hold by which I had pinned him to the ground. I offered him a hand up, which he arrogantly decided was beneath him and sourly declined. I shook my head. "_You_ chose to disregard Lord Orochimaru's judgment and challenge me for the right to learn the jutsu, and you lost. The least you could do is swallow your pride and accept defeat. Then again," I said offhandedly, "I suppose pride is all you've got at this point."

He started, dark eyes flashing dangerously.

"Kukukukuku… Excellent work, Neji-kun…"

I turned dismissively from my subordinate, bowing deeply with a fist crossed over my chest. "Thank you, my lord," I said, and rose again. The corners of my mouth turned up as I met Hokage-sama's proud golden eyes, and a pleased, lofty smirk was reinforced on his face.

"Hey, Hyuuga." A hand landed on my shoulder, gripping firmly.

"Hm?" I said with a raised eyebrow, unfazed and neglecting to spare a look his way. I could have stopped him easily, but decided against it and allowed myself to be pulled to face him – and I found myself looking directly into a pair of blazing Sharingan eyes a short few inches away.

"_You're __**mine**__…_" Three tomoe revolved with a thick slowness around each pupil, swimming through a crimson pool of molasses, moving at a surely constant speed but somehow nonetheless lilting, staggering dizzily, and my sense of equilibrium began to crumble as the rest of the world started to melt away.

"_Pathetic!_" I growled, my hand latching strongly onto his shoulder, and my Byakugan flared to life to break cleanly through the illusion that was taking root in my mind.

The following result was surprising.

The Uchiha flinched away with a small, startled gasp, his eyes growing wide. The pressure on my shoulder weakened and fell away, and his bloodline faded. Trembling, he lost balance and slumped to his hands and knees.

An alarm went off inside me. I didn't know how, but what had just happened held some manner of significance. Orochimaru-sama observed silently as I knelt beside the boy.

"Uchiha!" I said, with a hand on his back, and he gave no response. I lifted his chin to see unfocused dark eyes sitting dull and idle in a white face. I formed a one-handed seal. "Kai!"

Consciousness sparked into his eyes – and he pushed away from me to vomit heavily onto the floor.

"You fool…" I muttered as my mind raced.

"Ah… A reverse genjutsu?" Orochimaru-sama mused.

_No, _I thought, staring on as Sasuke coughed weakly. _I utilized nothing of the sort. All I did was…_

The Hyuuga eyes were tinted lavender, but upon activation of the Byakugan they cleared to a blank white.

With our eyes inches apart … if he had chanced to focus on…

"Maybe not reversed … so much as…" I began faintly, and the Uchiha started, wide fearful eyes sharply landing on my face. Then the instant had passed, and he rose just too abruptly to his feet.

"My apologies, Lord Orochimaru. I'll find someone to clean this up."

"Sasuke-kun…" he said icily, stopping the boy in his tracks. My breath caught.

"Sir…?"

Though his face was displeased, his tone softened in something near amusement. "A bit of anger is fine, and I encourage the two of you to remain competitive … however, I do not approve of such childish behavior."

Face flushed, he ducked his head in shame. "I understand, my lord."

He nodded. "You're dismissed, Sasuke-kun… Neji-kun shall begin work on this technique. This one is far better suited to him, either way…"

"Hai, Orochimaru-sama."

* * *

**Hinata ****ヒナタ**

I meandered across the inn's rooftop and found a suitable place to plop myself down under the light of the moon. Then I noticed what's-er-name was here, too, sitting not all that far away, actually, but by the time I noticed I didn't really feel like moving again. A touch of vertigo; I lied back, resting the back of my skull on the cool rooftop, sighing as I gazed contentedly skyward. The moon was all shiny and shimmery, real pretty and stuff…

"_What_ are you _doing_?" the lady asked. Su-, no, Tsu-something. Tsu-Tsu-Tsu… Tsubasa? Tsuki…?

I shook my head a little. She'd asked something; I shrugged meekly, propping up a bit on my elbow and bringing the bottle to my lips. I wouldn't even bother say I was just steadying the nerves. A little drizzle found its way out from the corner of my mouth, getting on my neck, my shirt; I cursed at a mutter, wiping my sleeve over my mouth as I finished the swig.

"I asked you a question, girl–,"

"Wuzzit _look_ like'm during…?" I complained loosely. I'd used the wrong word somewhere in there, but figured I'd gotten close enough. I smiled, giggling quietly as another wave of woozy strangeness tumbled over my body like shoreline ocean waves. Somewhere in some annoying part of me I knew this was wrong – I'd gone way further than ever – but I'd convinced it to shut up some five or fifty minutes ago. "I fel' like total bullspits earlierrr…" Wrong word again. Whatever.

"Do you do this often?"

"Useta, kinda … but I never use-a… had'a drink – _hic_ – azza huuman b'fore…" I sighed at the tingly fuzzy butterflies fizzing around me. "It's daff… dam… def… _different_," I enunciated, and smiled at the feat.

She hadn't moved from where she was some seven or fifteen feet off, but I think she was looking at me as I promptly rewarded myself by choking down another generous swig. All staring at me – it was kinda creeping me out. "…Your 'brother' prescribed rest and meditation. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think _this_ is all that vital in expediting your recovery." I scowled at her reasonable voice, and she sighed. "How'd you even get your hands on that?"

"Trazzermation Judzu… Nowun knowza differnce… Look oldenuf', they don'even check'a ID…" I remembered feeling pretty damn cruddy about it earlier – tricking people, I mean – but I'd gotten over it by now. I slurped and slopped down another sip of the stuff, unsteady hand spilling some all over my chin and shirt; I grunted a curse at the waste, but my heavy arms needed a rest at my sides and I forgot to try and wipe it up. I lied there, arms out, embracing the sliver of moon up there as it kissed me with its glow.

"You don't think you've had a bit much?" she said flatly. Was that – yeah, I thought it was. Prob'ly sarcasm.

"Hey – hey, Baa-chan," I spoke up spontaneously when the thought surfaced. "I wuz kinda thinkering eary-earlierr … I mean, uh sat – naw, sed – yeah, so I _sayed_ somethingsa problaby shouldn't'a…"

"So you're apologizing." She had her doubts.

I shrugged sort of.

"I don' keepuh grudge… Ah meen, figger you been threw'a lottsa &?$# in yertime, tooo… M-me… my guess waz, like, she been threw somma' traumatick'in er youth … ain't 'er fault, may-bee, tha' she's a screwdup ol' bat don'wanna helpa village… Much as I wanna to sayed Get the XXXX off yer XXX witha self-pity parry, cuzz'a past izza past and'a villige needsya – wellll, can't reely jes _demand_ it when'a don-know how bad-a dramaticky insuhdent XXXXed'cha up innah past…"

I guess she didn't know whether to say thanks for the apology or not. To be fair, I probably wouldn't have, either. I was already forgetting what we were talking about anyways. Brow furrowed, I opted to sit up and tackle the dilemma with a fresh shot of juice. Dilemma gone. Poof…

"I … was a bit out of line, too, I guess. I shouldn't have let a few brats get under my skin, to say the least … and I guess I really didn't need to say all of that."

"An'ya breakuh friggin' tail – like, who XXXXin' _doez_ that? Godsdammer, had'a breakuh tail. That hurtah hella lot…" I downed some more. "An'now looka me … fragile littah humannn…" My focus blurred.

"Brat…"

I chuckled. "There's thezzah orphans sorta' lookup't'mee… I picked'em all up from destroyered towns'n wha'not crap, broughtem-a thissah sweet lil' abbey in Prairie…"

My hand was really trembling now; a splash of the bottle landed half in my mouth, half on my person. A droplet of water broke from my eye, slid down the mess of alcohol on my dirty face and chin.

"None've bin adoptered, th-tho– _hic – _Even tha' far from Fire … nowun wantsa 'dopta kid when'a worl's lookin' dark a'thiss." My shoulders shuddered. "'N longer it takes, olders they git, lessah chance they 'ave… Bu' them kids – Why they hafta' put up w'that? Ain' done nuthin' wronga dezzervit… They needsa' s-sumwun's light in theirr lives, yeah…?"

"At least they've got their guardian demon… Hey – are you crying–?"

I bawled.

"Hey – you'll wake people up–!"

"Whyza' evverthing like th-thisss, kussoooo? ! !" I yelled at the unresponsive moon above, free hand fisted at my side. The woman was by me, snatching the bottle away. "Heyy…!"

Her arm effortlessly held me off as I flailed stupidly at her, slurring profanities in protest. She took one whiff of the rim and started.

"Son of a– This is strong!"

"Givvah back, you XXXXin' ol' XXXXX! !"

"Listen to me! A girl your size–!"

"Leggo a' me!"

"I'm not kidding! How much did you drink–? !"

"None-ah yer bizznesss!" I spat, breaking away from her. The moon and stars quivered, spun; I folded an arm across my middle, glaring darkly at her. "'M going back'ah m'room…" With this declaration, I stepped forward.

To say the least, unexpectedly falling, flailing, and jolting to an upside-down halt by an iron grip on my ankle did _not_ bode well for my stomach.

_O-o-oh… …_

She pulled me back on the roof, and I turned from her and tossed my cookies, so to speak. When I paused, precise fingers firmly prodded into my abdomen and lower neck in a way that, in my current position, swiftly got me to heave more out, again and again. From there I can remember only more puking and choking and coughing and eventual darkness.

* * *

**Naruto ****ナルト**

_Knock-knock-knock._

What the…? What time was it? It was still dark, so who in the world–?

_Knock. Knock. Knock._

"Yeah, I'm coming," I groaned, yawning and fumbling for the room key. I made my way to the door.

_KNOCK. KNOCK–_

"Gosh dang, what is it–? !"

I blinked. I looked back to our empty bed, then at the figure limp in the woman's arms.

"What'd you do to her? !"

Tsunade scowled at me. "_I_ didn't do anything. Your friend here…"

The sour stench of alcohol met my nose strong. "Aw, no…"

"Can I come in?" she asked, an eyebrow raised.

"Y-yeah…"

"I'll clean her up in the bathroom. You get her some fresh nightclothes – can you slip them in without peeking, or do I need to have you leave them outside the door?"

"Wh-what do you think, grandma? !"

* * *

"Oh, Hinata…" I murmured. The girl dozed on one of the room's beds, curled on her side and tucked neatly under the blanket from shoulder down. She was shivering at intervals, whimpering like a sad, sick little pup; I lightly brushed hair out of her flushed, pale face.

Behind me, Tsunade spoke. "For kami's sake… Getting wasted enough to almost waltz off a third-story rooftop… Is your friend always such a reckless idiot?"

I clutched the girl's hand. "No…"

"She's obviously got a drinking problem. She could've killed herself tonight…"

"This isn't _her_!" I protested. It killed me to voice it. "Hinata's not usually like this; she has a bad habit, sure, but she would never have tried to get herself seriously drunk… She's no hardcore alcohol abuser or anything…" This self-destructive behavior wasn't her; she wasn't herself, and it was scary.

"Then why the sudden change…?"

"This girl…" Stroking her hand briefly, I sighed and shut my eyes. "She always tries to take everything on herself… She tries to look strong enough to take it, to show she can hold her own so she won't concern anyone else. She wants to take responsibility somehow for what she feels is her duty, I guess – so she bottles up and buckles down and faces it all alone, what she can handle and what she can't, even though it destroys her inside…" _Baka… Even while I'm right here waiting to help you… _"She just can't handle that much pressure."

"So she's taken to punishing herself this way?"

I shot the woman a look, but was too concerned and wearied by all this to be seriously angered. "Hinata… shouldn't have to be a fighter, but she chooses it anyway with no hesitation. We weren't born lucky; people like us have to make our own luck. She's always struggling, battling diligently against what she would probably call her destiny… But now feeling like she's just failed the entire village, coupled with having half her spirit crushed out of her – can you really blame her for tripping over the edge?"

She shut her mouth at that.

"Her demon power … it's another strength she's stacked as fortification on her shell, but in one decisive stroke of inconsiderate brutality it's been stripped away." I looked back to Hinata. "But Obaa-sama, you … I don't really get it."

"What do you mean?"

"You've done it again; you mercilessly break her tail one day, and a couple later here you are saving her skin, showing up at our door like a mother cradling a small child in her arms… Got a soft spot for kids?"

She snorted. "What, I was supposed to just let her die?"

"Well, no…" My face was hot. I turned and sat down on the edge of the bed, eyes downcast in thought. "Tsunade-sama…" I bit my lip uncertainly, catching my tongue.

She crossed her arms, leaned against the wall behind her. "The girl said you're too good a _gentleman_ to voice what you think about me. If that's so, just go ahead – spill it."

"See, I read your book…"

"What?"

"Introduction to Medical Ninjutsu – I read it months ago, just hoping to maybe pick up a few tricks, but it's what inspired me to pursue and learn more about the field. You're – amazing. I mean, you're a genius, a living legend – you established the Leaf medical corps – and you've done loads of other great things for the village, for the entire world of medicine. That's how I _saw_ you, anyways. Matsuzuki-sempai, in Sky, practically worships you. But now that I've met this awesome, idolized kunoichi who every medical ninja strives futilely to be, all that awe and respect, well… You're like some sad, wandering, moping bum, a sour old crone … who doesn't mind crotching a thirteen-year-old girl for disagreeing with her," I added at a mutter.

"Aw, so I broke a bright-eyed kid's little heart, did I?"

"You have the _power_ to do so much! Why wouldn't you _use_ it–?"

"It's not my concern anymore!" she shouted. Quieting, she averted her gaze and clenched a hand at the crystalline blue pendant of her necklace. "I told you already … you four can try at it as long as you please, but count me out. I'm _no_ hero…"

She walked to the door, and left the room. I looked after her a moment, and sighed.

"'Ey, Nawrudo-kunn… izzat you…?"

I glanced back at the small voice; Hinata's eyes were groggy and without an earthly care. "Sorry – did we wake you up?"

"It dozzen matter," she said softly, sitting up behind me. She wrapped her arms loosely around my shoulders and nuzzled fondly at my neck, resting her chin on my shoulder and giggling oddly.

"Hinata, you need to rest–," The words broke off in a murmur as she nibbled playfully at my ear; pleasant warmth rippled in my chest, rich and deep and intoxicating as she wetly lapped and nipped and kissed at the top of the ear, down its curved edge…

I turned a bit, slipping an arm around her waist, and she gasped in wonder, shivering as I found her ear to lick and suck slowly. She pulled onto my lap, and I was conscious of her chest brushing mine as she swiped her tongue over my neck, bade it flutter sloppily along my jawline, and sound rose in my throat at her electrical touch; my hands ran through her soft hair, thumbed her ear pinchingly as I pecked her nose, as she stroked my belly, my chest, and licked my chin. My breath was heavy now as her teeth nibbled at my bottom lip, and when at long last our lips met, smashed hotly together, my tongue dived in. And tasted the trace of alcohol still on her breath.

"No," I said firmly, breaking from the kiss, pushing her away. "Not while you're drunk."

She looked dejectedly up at me, and my heart panged at the confused hurt in her eyes. "'Ow c-come?"

"We might get… carried away."

She was trying stubbornly to move closer again; probably more out of clumsiness than intention, her hand met a startling place on my pants. I yelped, slapping the hand off my arousal and pushing her back again, firmly holding her away by the shoulders with arms just longer than hers were. I couldn't help it; I stole a good look at that attractive shape to her chest. If I touched her now, she wouldn't even think to resist; I could feel her, violate her as much as I wanted, and she might not even remember in the morning. Naughty thoughts – I grimaced, shaking my head and fighting off an undeniable excitement at the dangerous prospect.

"Stop it, Hinata. You're not yourself; we aren't about to risk starting something we'll regret later."

She pouted, but didn't try to fight me again. I waited a minute or two while we both cooled off, and relaxed my grip on her shoulders.

"Let's get some sleep now, ne? Are you sleepy?"

"Mm…" She nodded, eyes unfocused; she was out of it again. I lied down on my side on the bed, coaxing her to do the same; facing me, she cradled one of my hands fondly at her chest. And abruptly bit it.

"Ouch! Hinata, no biting!"

She murmured something and lethargically licked the thin line of red spilling onto my hand. She nipped again in the same place, making more blood run.

"Hinata! Stop it!" I reprimanded. Maybe it was frustration in my own shortcoming – that I had however briefly allowed dirty thoughts to run free just minutes prior – but she wasn't helping the matter and it was really ticking me off.

She looked drunkenly at me and smiled, giving a puppylike 'yip' sort of noise and breaking into an off-key bout of giggles at her joke.

She started as I gripped her wrists firmly in front of her. "That's enough. If you're not going to behave then I can't sleep by you and chase the nightmares off."

Some manner of dimness fled her eyes instantly; it was as if understanding of the words had slapped her hard in the face. Terror moistened her wide eyes so that they glistened, and the girl threw her arms around me, clinging in desperation with the feeble entirety of her drunken strength. "N-n-no!" she whimpered shrilly, shaking her head. "A-anything but that…! 'M zorry – I-I'll be g-g-good…!"

Shock and pain gripped me as she continued to plead in a tiny voice, distraught, sobbing and trembling against me. I felt awful; if I could take the threat back, I would've. Seeing as I couldn't, I shushed and crooned and embraced her quivering form, whispering soothingly.

"D-don't leave mee…"

"Shh… There, I'm not going anywhere… No, I wouldn't really have done it. I'll always stay with you, Hinata-chan; you're not alone." _I'm here for you … so you don't have to tackle everything alone, either… _I kissed her forehead, gently stroking her hair. _Even _if_ I can only help in this little way… _"I'll stay by your side; that's a promise."

Curled up against me, the girl wept quietly, brokenly against my neck, shivers gradually subsiding. Eyes shut as I held her close, I patted her back, inhaled the fresh scent of her hair, and sighed.

_Oh, Hinata-chan…_

* * *

**Hinata ****ヒナタ**

I woke to the sound of a door crashing open. I sprang to my … okay, where I would've sprung to my feet I sort of flopped clumsily off the bed and crashed to the ground. My skull was _pounding_.

"_Rise _and _SHINE!_" Naruto's too-cheerful voice sang as the door slammed shut.

"Aaah…! You're too _loud_…!" I grimaced; my mouth was all dry and fuzzy.

Wait – if that was Naruto, who–?

"Ah, you're back!" Naruto said, hanging partially off the bed above me. I groaned.

"Wha…?" My arm was off the ground slightly – what was on my wrist – what the crap? "Why'm I handcuffed to you…?" I croaked out. Kind of the only manner of speech I was all that capable of at the moment.

The Naruto on the bed rubbed his head sheepishly. "Well, you see…"

"Boss, I found just what we need!" the standing Naruto, holding a grocery bag and a clear baggie of leaves, said. In my opinion, with way more volume than was necessary.

"Good work!"

The clone tossed the bags upward lightly, and in a blur Naruto – the real one, I guess – was catching them and striding in the opposite direction, heading to a counter where his mixing tools were already laid out.

The clone now handcuffed to me picked up, "It's for your wellbeing, y'know? We don't need you sneaking off to get drunk again."

"It's too dark in here." The real one at the counter waved an arm, and a clone briefly popped up at the window to fling the curtains wide open. I squeaked in protest.

"It was just fine in here…!" I groaned miserably, an arm covering my eyes.

"You need anything?" the clone asked, getting down to lift me onto the bed again.

"I'm thirsty…"

"Want some _sake? !_"

"NO…!" I whimpered, cringing at the sight of the bottle he produced.

"Good, because we dumped it out last night anyways!"

_My backpack stash…? !_

"Water," the real one called, without looking sharply slinging back at us the contents of an almost-full glass; he threw the glass, and the clone teleported to catch it and poofed back to capture in it the flying arc of liquid, spilling not a drop and swapping back, free hand bound once more before the cuff had a chance to fall in his absence. I grimaced again, dizzy at the motion.

"Drink up," he chirped brightly, helping me sit up before offering the glass. Well, he kind of pressed it to my lips. My limbs were too heavy anyway. "You might be dehydrated."

_Pleeease stop talking so loud…! _I shut my eyes tight and accepted the water, sipping steadily to down it. Real Naruto spoke.

"Oh yeah – until further notice, I'm holding onto your money for you."

I coughed. "Wh-what?"

"No booze-buying for you."

"D-did you _raid_ my backpack…? !"

"Yes!" he chirped happily. I could almost see the grin on his face.

The clone pulled the blanket back over me. "Kurogiba said rest and meditation for a quick recovery. Nothing you can't do with us cuffed together, I reckon."

"What about the bathroom…?"

He clicked a switch on his end and pulled; the short line between us extended with an unwinding noise. "Goes to fifteen feet. Should be plenty for one of us to wait outside, ne?"

"Why are you doing this to meee…?"

The doppelganger smiled warmly. "Hinata – you're not taking very good care of yourself. For your sake, until you get your tail back and you're right indestructible as you're used to being again, we're not giving you another chance to harm yourself."

Naruto walked up to us, a small ceramic cup in hand. "Matsuzuki-sempai's miracle hangover formula," he explained, holding it out.

My eyes widened hopefully. If it would get rid of this hammering in my head…!

He swiftly withdrew the cup of medicine just as I'd nearly touched it. Why? !

"Have we learned a lesson?" he asked, lightly, teasingly shaking the cup out of my reach.

My eyes followed it. "Y-yes…"

"And we know that _next_ time we have a hangover, Naruto's _not_ making us any miracle potion, right…?"

Strange use of first-plural and third person were screwing with my already screeching skull. I blinked. "Hai…!" I whimpered.

His face softened, and he helped me to sit up and drink the thick, gunky potion. It tasted _horrible_.

"Do you want to feel better or not? Come on – faster you drink it, the faster you'll get it over with," he crooned, going on like he was coaxing a toddler to drink cold medicine. I think he was thoroughly enjoying every second of it.

Gag reflex carefully held at bay, I managed to swallow the foul concoction. I coughed weakly. "What did you put in that…?"

"Maybe a little extra here and there for texture, and to give it that extra-_unique_ flavor," he said, innocently batting those deep, electrical eyes.

"You're evil…"

"Because I luff ya'!" he said sweetly, switching to handcuff his real self to me as the clone went up in a puff of smoke in his place. This elicited from me a small laugh in spite of myself; then my eyes slipped back, and my head plopped wearily down on the pillow behind it.

_Naruto-kun… really is a wonderful guy…_

A knock sounded on the door, and I startled slightly. I really didn't want Lee and Gaara to see me in this state…

"Come in!" Naruto called.

I blinked in confusion as Tsunade appeared in the doorway. She held up a small jar of liquid.

"…Hangover medicine."

Naruto's eyebrow twitched as he smiled brightly. "Already taken care of."

"Oh? Then keep it for next time."

"Hey, what kind of adult are you? ! I'm kind of trying to encourage her not to _have_ a next time! Y'know? !"

* * *

**Lee ****リー**

My chopsticks were pushing the rice around in my bowl.

–"_Naruto-kun? Where are you heading back from? Wait – who is with Hinata-san?"_

"_I'm with her – just a shadow clone here. Hinata's feeling ill this morning; I just fetched some stuff for medicine."_

"_Ah… We were about to head to breakfast. Should we see if they will let us bring plates up to you?"_

"_It's fine. We'll be down once she feels a little better."–_

"You're not eating…"

I started, glancing up at Gaara-kun across the table from me. I swiftly scooped up and downed a generous mouthful of rice. "Yes, I am. See?" I said, grinning brightly once I had swallowed.

"It's Hyuuga-san, isn't it…?"

My face fell, and I nodded. There was no point in trying not to worry the younger boy; he was strong himself, after all. And – not that he wasn't sharp enough to figure us out (he was) – but he was with us now. I smiled sadly.

_Hinata-san… does have that bad habit… _"I fear that she … is not well right now," I admitted, looking meditatively into my bowl of rice. "But – it is hardly for us to worry about, by and by. Naruto-kun … will take good care of her. You can bet that as we speak he is vigilantly nursing her back to health, tending to her every need." I almost chuckled at the thought.

"Naruto-san, alone? We won't … offer him help…?"

"That is the thing about him, when it comes to Hinata-san – since he does not need our help, he will not want it."

"I'm not sure I comprehend…"

I picked up a bite of fish. "Those two have a … _special_ sort of connection. You would be surprised, but he possesses quite the tender side for her. If there is anyone capable of ensuring Hinata is back to herself as swiftly as possible, it is Naruto-kun."

The words were true, and upon voicing them aloud I found myself able to stop picking and actually eat my meal.

Gaara looked up as I was polishing off my rice. I turned my head, eyes sighting the one who approached us. Surprised, I hastily swallowed.

"O-ohayou gozaimasu … Shizune-san," I said politely.

The woman lifted her downcast dark eyes, her face serious but not harshly so. Managing a feeble smile, perhaps in ensuring communication of truce, she joined us at the table.

* * *

The little pig yawned cutely, resting her head on my lap; my hand stroked the short, faint fuzz of fur on her pink body as I looked down, deep in thought.

"So, please…" Shizune finished, "try not to think too harshly of Tsunade-sama."

_That is … quite a story…_

"To her … the village opens too many old wounds…"

I looked up from the pig calmly resting in my lap as a figure walked across the courtyard. Where had he come from…?

The man wore a hooded, dark cloak that hid most of his body and darkened his tattooed face with shadow. He was a ninja – a member of one of the native clans, perhaps but perhaps not. He was set to walk past us; Gaara, seated on the bench beside me, remained cool and unreadable as if he had not noticed the shinobi, though I was certain he had. I continued to methodically pet Tonton. Leaning against the tree beside us, Shizune similarly gave no indication of unease. If he struck, we would strike together, but we were all suppressing our chakras well. He would walk past us.

He stopped in front of Shizune.

"A message for you," he said, his arm lifting at his side, holding out to her a blank white envelope. He never so much as looked at her.

She shook her head. "There must be some mistake–,"

"It's for you."

She hesitantly took the envelope, and he was gone.

Frowning, she opened the letter. She withdrew a small slip of paper. She gasped with a start, dropping the envelope and looking up and stepping away from the tree, sweeping wide eyes over our calm surroundings.

"What is wrong?"

Her eyes snapped to me. "Nothing." Her face was white. She could not have _not_ realized we knew it a lie, but she was clearly hoping we would go along with it anyways. "Let's go inside."

Trading a quick look with Gaara, I scooped Tonton into my arms and followed as the woman strode purposefully back to the inn.

"What did it say?" I tried.

"Just a bad joke," she deflected.

"A bad joke is enough to spook a jounin…?" Gaara murmured.

Her eyes were troubled as she glanced back at us. She bit her lip, and then strode off in the direction of her and Tsunade's room. Tonton hopped from my arms to head after her.

_Strange…_

* * *

**Neji ****ネジ**

_What did it mean…?_ I returned the gate guards' 'good afternoon' as I entered clan grounds.

My mind had drifted again to the training session the day before. It was significant somehow – gravely so. My eyes had reflected his ocular genjutsu… Something similar had happened, months ago. Maybe not similar… to be more precise, something related. Something I _should_ have been able to draw the connection to instantly. A trivial detail – but I always (had it been always?) had difficulty with trivial details. I racked my weak memory yet again, scowling in frustration.

"Hm?" I snapped out of my thoughts as I turned a corner. Across the courtyard, I spotted three teenage girls walking closely behind a fourth. Hiyuki.

"P-please, just leave me alone…"

I silently observed as they somewhat cornered her at the wall.

"Hey, Hiyuki-chan, we're friends, right? Or are you too good for us or something now? Ha, look at little miss defector here, barely back and strutting around like she _owns_ the place or something!" Hasami said. "Why does Lord Neji give _her_ so much attention, anyways?"

Hiyuki squeaked quietly, shrinking back as her older cousin slapped at her hair. The others laughed at her reaction. "Please! Guys, I'm not your enemy a-anymore–!"

Hotaru cut in, more than a year younger but easily overpowering her tiny voice. "I don't understand why Onii-sama even allowed you back. I mean, I know he's a kind and gracious ruler and all, but traitors like you ought to be rotting behind bars–,"

"Lord Neji's decisions are his alone!" Hiyuki snapped, surprising them. "I m-mean, who are we to question him?"

"Oh, look at that!" the third, Hatoko, cackled. "See how good she is at pushing her act? Pretending she doesn't worship the Main House behind our backs!"

"I d-don't–!"

"Tell me – do you miss your Lady _Hanabi_?"

Confusion swamped Hiyuki's features. Confusion was dangerous. Her eyes briefly lost focus; she shook her head, mouth twisting into an appalled scowl as something was jarred within her. "I-I…!"

"Look at her, she can't even deny it! She _enjoys_ being the Main House's pet! What did you _tell_ Lord Neji to convince him to let you return here? You must think you're pretty slick!"

"No, I'm serious! Don't come any c-closer–!"

Hasami punched her hard in the stomach. Hiyuki doubled up with a grunt, and the seventeen-year-old pulled her by the hair, threw her to the ground.

A number of distant onlookers had collected. Not one thought to come to the girl's aid.

"You don't deserve Lord Neji's kindness or his forgiveness, trash!"

"_Ungh–!_" Hiyuki cried, eyes shut as she was kicked.

"H-hey, maybe we should stop – I mean, it's Hireiki's daughter, and Hireiki _is_ one of…"

"I can hardly imagine Oba-san opening her arms to this brand of scum," she spat, kicking Hiyuki again. The girl shuddered in pain. "She's just so pathetic! I'll bet even Hanabi and her dogs didn't want you around! That why you had to come crawling back here and worm your way into Lord Neji's good graces? Is that what happened? !"

"Agh! S-stop…!"

"Why should I? Admit it! You're nothing but a dirty, cheating traitor, aren't you? !"

"I am n–!" _Whap!_

"Tell us the truth!"

"S-stop it! I am l-l-loyal to Neji-sama!" She was crying, in pain or confusion I couldn't be sure.

"You are not!"

_Kick! Kick! _Smat.

"Huh?"

Hiyuki's white hand was clamped firm on her ankle.

White.

With blinding speed she rose and plowed a savage fist into her tormentor's gut. Then a lightning-sharp backfist cracked against the older girl's face, sending her bouncing and tumbling away like a ragdoll.

_Shoot…_

"What're you doing–? !"

As a palm was thrown Hiyuki snagged the wrist. Her one hand sharply twisted Hatoko's arm behind her as the other snapped to her neck, lifting her off her feet as she slammed her back into the wall. As Hiyuki released her she started to fall, limp and barely conscious; then Hiyuki turned, grasping her arm in her other hand and flinging her with startling ease across the courtyard.

Darkness burned into my ankles, my wrists, my neck. I was there to intercept the dazed Hatoko – catching her just before she could be allowed to rocket straight into the wall. I grunted, lowered her to the ground, crouched on all fours, sprang.

My hand latched onto Hiyuki's fist an inch in front of the younger girl's face.

I stifled a gasp.

Her wrist – no rings. Her white face was plain, unmarked. Her snarl showed fangs that were still white rather than black. Her nails were hardly beginning to point.

_She's not even _at_ the first ring … and such a dramatic change in strength? Even more … she's completely lost her mind…_

I met her glowering, black-and-white eyes – eyes that knew no restraint, no discrimination. "_Enough_, Hiyuki."

Her eyes widened, fierceness evaporating with my voice. "N-Neji-sama…!" she hissed.

I nodded to her other hand, which seemed to be crushing Hotaru's shoulder. "Let go of her."

She did as told, and her skin colored as she stepped back in horror, dropped to her knees and pressed her forehead to the floor, trembling. "I'm s-sorry, milord…! I don't know what…!"

I nodded slightly, though she wouldn't see me. I glanced over the stunned-silent onlookers.

Holding her shoulder, Hotaru looked up with shocked eyes. "Sh-she… Hiyuki is…?"

"Yes." I spoke up, allowing all to hear. "Hiyuki is one of my Chosen! I have selected her as fit and deemed her worthy of sharing my power – so do you wish to say that you distrust my judgment? Will you discard my decisions?"

"N-no, sir!"

"I am shocked to find I leave the grounds for a few hours, and return to see my family trying to tear itself apart. We are the Hyuuga Clan, and one clan united! Is Hiyuki not one of us? Does she not too bear the mark of our past injustice? !"

"H-hai, she does…!"

"Yes – and she has been selected by me to protect our village and our clan. And you will master your power in order to do so, correct?"

"Yes, my lord. I will," Hiyuki said, ducking her head again.

I nodded. "Someone, help these three to the medic's. Hiyuki, come with me."

"Hai, Neji-sama."

* * *

**Naruto ****ナルト**

–"_Tell me, Naruto – how many times did the clock tick as you meditated?"_

"_Say what? You told me to clear my mind, Matsuzuki-sensei! If I'd known I was supposed to be counting from the start–!"_

"_Oh, but y__ou're not allowed to count. You must clear your mind."_

"_Whaaat? That doesn't even make sense!"_

"_This exercise is hardly about testing your ability to count – it's about focus. Eventually…"–_

It was 3:51.

We'd begun meditating at two o'clock, and my pocket watch had ticked six thousand six hundred and ninety-four times and counting. I hadn't done the mental math or anything (I would check later, though nowadays I generally wasn't far off) – I just knew that I'd started at two, and that at this moment it was 3:51, and that the ticker had sounded six thousand seven hundred and two times. I opened my eyes on the digital clock on the nightstand.

3:51.

I waited a short while. It would be changing to 3:52 now.

3:52.

Smirking in satisfaction, I shut the notepad waiting open at my side. I had a feeling I didn't need to check this time.

At my other side, Hinata… well, she seemed to be having a little more trouble. The handseal she maintained trembled with the effort of concentration; her eyes were not relaxed but tightly shut, and her mouth locked between a scowl and a grimace as she growled quietly in frustration. I hated to interrupt someone's meditating, _but_…

"Hey – Hinata–?"

"AAAAHHH!" she yelled, hands mussing furiously at her hair. She got to her feet.

"What's wrong?" I asked seriously, getting up as I was forced (handcuffs) to pace with the disgruntled girl.

"I _can't_ clear my head – I can't focus! !" she screeched back.

"Maybe it was too early after all – you can try another day. Your soul's still pretty freshly fractured…"

"Kuso!" she cried, kicking the trash bin. And jerking in sharp recoil that sent her flopping clumsily to the ground. Taken out by a trashcan.

"Hinata…" I said, concerned. I helped her sit up against the wall. While she didn't seem to be outright crying, her eyes were watering heavily as she shivered in pain.

She'd managed to break three of her toes and a bone of her foot. At least she'd put a dent in the trashcan.

"You've got to watch out for yourself, y'know?" I said, hands aglow against her bare foot as I tried, gently as possible, to ease the bones back into place. "I'm here to watch out for you, too, sure – but I'd much rather not to see you in pain to begin with."

Her face remained glum, dispirited and miserable. She didn't look up.

"Hinata."

"Huh?"

"Do you know … how precious you are to me?" I looked down, focusing momentarily on the soft, gracefully slender foot I held. "You have … a lovely face…"

"Naruto-kun…?"

"The softest, most pleasant voice … a wondrous smile, an adorable blush … a kind heart that never ceases overflowing with warmth, a beautiful soul … and a brilliant mind – so I really do wish you'd speak it more often," I added with a light chuckle.

My chakra continued to mend the damage, to soothe the irritation enfolded in my hands.

"You also have a perfect, strong and healthy body … and I don't like seeing it come to harm, Hinata. Whether you're a human or a demon, I'm in love with every last bit of you." Finished, I briefly stroked the top of her foot and gave it a light squeeze in my hands. I met her eyes. "So can you take care of it, keep it safe and well? For me?"

"Naruto…" She nodded.

I stood and gave her a hand up. Once she was on her feet, I planted a quick kiss on the hand I'd helped her up by. "That's my girl," I said, smile meeting smile as her sweet laughter fluttered in my ears and my heart.

* * *

**Lee ****リー**

An uneventful few days passed us by, during which time Hinata furthered her readjustment into being a human. Naruto's very presence was a salve to the wounds of her battered soul. She had worked up the strength to summon back Kurogiba (who had dispelled before upon discovering that Hinata, in her weakened state, had initially lacked the stamina to sacrifice even the small output of chakra needed to maintain his summoning), and through their Soul Link he had aided her greatly in her meditation and in generally keeping her mind in order and at ease. She and Naruto had moved on to (very) light sparring in the woods by the inn as her recuperation progressed, leaving Gaara and I to spar ourselves – albeit at a considerably higher intensity. We once invited Shizune-san to join us, but she had shortly, politely declined.

We had not seen much of either her or Tsunade-sama in the last few days, but we saw enough to know they were still currently residing in the inn as well – though Tsunade-sama was apparently more often than not out gambling or drinking in town. Despite having the clean opportunity to lose us while Hinata had been in no condition to travel, for one reason or another they had yet to move on.

Bafflingly enough, it was only once the girl was in good enough condition that Tsunade decided it time for her party to leave – though not without first coming to inform us. And even more shocking still:

"I need you four to come with us."

Naruto shook his head. "Wait – you need _us_ to go with _you_? What exactly does that mean? It'd be just swell if you could come with us to rescue–,"

"If you'll do this for me … I will."

_Just like that…? _The four of us exchanged glances; I looked into the sannin's unreadable eyes, but could not see into them – could find no inkling of an explanation within. My eyes shifted to Shizune-san.

Where the younger woman had been so nervous and on edge before, now she, too, was coolly blank and unanswering. My eyes narrowed. _Odd…_

Tsunade spoke, her voice firm and almost impatient.

"It won't take long."

* * *

**Hinata ****ヒナタ**

A crow shrieked piercingly overhead. I inadvertently sort of whimpered and moved closer to Naruto as we walked, and unconsciously he took my hand. I didn't like this. Maybe I was still pretty jumpy; maybe I was merely disgruntled that were it not the time of the new moon, I would probably have been able to return to normal today.

Was it just me? But though they did a better job of concealing it, I could sense the others were uneasy as well. Naruto remained keen of our surroundings even as his sharp eyes were trained on Tsunade's back as we walked on. Lee's face shone with unbridled fierceness, and Gaara wore a hint of an uncomfortable scowl. I looked up. The forest was silent, so silent – except for these _birds_…

I shivered as we passed a lone raven on a fairly low tree branch. It didn't fly away as we walked by – just kept staring boldly with a black bead of an eye, its curved beak seeming to grimace at us.

No – my thoughts were still irrational with the sense of vulnerability. I was just paranoid. I wasn't completely helpless – maybe around chuunin level at present. I was apparently sane enough that I no longer needed to be handcuffed to Naruto, either, and my dagger's weight on my belt was reassuring. It _was_.

I was probably spooked because I was so used to hearing the forest sounds of all the animals in the area. They were still there – probably. Maybe not as many, but, well… they had to be there. I just couldn't hear them.

And if something was wrong – I mean, we had a _sannin_ on our side.

…Right?

'_Something is amiss.'_

I nearly jumped. How long had it been since I'd so much as flinched at Kurogiba's voice in my head? He briefly rested his muzzle on my shoulder, nudging his cheek against mine.

'_And there _is_ something wrong with these crows. You noticed, right?'_

'_Sort of…'_

He nudged my arm. _'Come on – you're making _me _jumpy. This nervous … you won't be ready to react to anything. Look on the bright side – as long as the slug queen is on our side, we have a pretty impressive force. How likely is it that we'll encounter someone here who can contest a sannin, three effective elite ninja, yours truly, the sand's Jinchuuriki, and a current unfortunate roughly-chuunin?'_

'If_ she's on our side…'_

'_If she's on our side.'_

Why wouldn't she tell us what we were doing, where we were going? Why…?

"Tsunade-baa-sama."

"…Yes?" she answered, not looking back at the boy.

"We asked where we're headed, and you said you couldn't tell us. We asked if we'll be facing enemies, and you said you couldn't tell us. Instead of hounding you for answers, we decided to humor this and believe that for whatever odd reason you really can't tell us … but there's no way in heck I'd be following you right now … if I didn't trust you completely."

"And why do you find _me_ so worthy of your trust?"

Tsunade had stopped. We all stopped.

"You're not who you used to be, and you might not be a hero… but you're not a bad person, either. We can trust you – can't we, Tsunade-baa-sama?"

Tsunade's head lowered. "…You don't have a choice anymore…"

As one we tensed, prepared to strike.

"…And neither do I."

"What do you mean? !" Naruto demanded fiercely, eyes wide, his naginata poised an inch from her back. His hands gave a shudder. Instead of answering him, Tsunade raised her head and called out, her toneless words calm and clear in the noiseless woods.

"I've brought them."

"Who are you talking to? !" Naruto cried. Tsunade didn't respond even as he pressed the tip of his wrapped naginata firmly behind her heart, almost pushing her.

Lee whirled. "Shizune-san–? !"

His hand flashed to his wakizashi, but Shizune's knife was already easing upon his throat – when she was blasted by crimson flames, and burst into smoke.

_What is happening–? !_

"Good work."

It was one of those moments when the heart misses a beat, and a liquid chill flushes the body with cold. That _voice. _

I looked up to have my worst fear confirmed.

For there _was_ someone who, even without the help of his partner, could probably take on a legendary sannin, three jounin, the Wolf of Fire, the power of sand, and a measly unfortunate chuunin. He was standing right across from us, and he would be wanting Naruto-kun and Gaara-kun.

He _had_ promised me we'd meet again.

"Uchiha… Itachi…"

* * *

**ナルト ****/ ****リー ****/ ****ヒナタ ****\ ****ハナビ ****\ ****ネジ**

**End Chapter Eighteen**

**Naruto: **So… this story is getting to be pretty long, huh?

**Hinata:** I'll say.

**Hanabi:** You got that right.

**Gaara:** …

**Lee:** You might even say it is of epic length!

**Naruto:** 'Epic'? Hmm…

(somewhere in Naruto's imagination – the EPIC party)

Naruto: Hey Odysseus, hey Gilgamesh, wass_up_? !

Odysseus: Who… the–?

Gilgamesh: I have NO idea.

(Below Naruto's thought bubble)

**Naruto:** Hehe. Sweeet…

_(–static–)_

**Lee:** How can this be? We did not think she was capable…!

**Naruto:** You won't so much as touch Hinata – not today. I promised her, y'know… that whatever might come our way, I would protect her so she can sit back and get her rest.

**Itachi:** Don't think you'll be as lucky as you were the _last_ time… You're still weak. Do you think anything has changed…?

**Naruto:** It's funny, really … since the last time was when Uzumaki Naruto became… _MURASAKI KITSUNE! ! !_

**Gaara:** Next… **Chapter Nineteen**.

**Naruto:** Don't think you're dying today, either, Granny. We still need you to come back with us … and rescue Jiraiya!

Phew… After typing this one, I guess I don't see it as quite as bad as I thought it was… Not good, but not awful either. Guess I'm content with it. Don't know how it got so long, though.

I stole Tokugawa Ieyasu from history XD

Also, inazuma is lightning.

What'd you think of the chapter? What was good, what was bad? Sorry for so much angst. Were Tsunade and Shizune in character, believable, etc? How was the quick fight with Shizune, or Hinata vs. Tsunade? If they seemed weak in comparison... well, I don't think they're at sannin level just yet. Any thoughts on Neji's chat with Orochimaru, or his whole 'Chosen' thing? Naruto's Trick Room (not to be confused with a certain Psychic Pokemon attack XD), or his meditation? Anyone need Hinata's drunk dialogue 'translated'? How was the NaruHina? Who knows what Sasuke's trick is _now_? Review about whatever, flame if you want, I'll see you when I see you.

Later!

:o)Hinata0321:o)


	19. Dealing with Devils

J3F\\\ Journey of the Three Failures

Chapter Nineteen

Huh… it's been more than three months…

Summer. I don't know where summer went. Kind of like my whole sophomore year. I was talking to a friend a few weeks into this school year and mentioned something about how we were in the same math class last year – but it _wasn't_ last year, it was my freshmen year, and I just blinked, like 'wait – really?' My dog went to the vet the other day, and I was absolutely sure she was three, almost four years old. She's almost _five_. Five? ! I can't believe it. So, summer. Wake up, jog a mile, practice basketball. Jog another mile, or two, or three. Shoot around some more, layup, dribble, ball handling, whatever. Go inside. For whatever reason I didn't have breakfast. Why am I on the computer? Let's read a Yahoo article. And cringe at disturbing comments. Dropdown the address bar. Hmm… Look at the recent websites, go somewhere. It's kind of late for lunch now. Walk the dog, jog some more alone once she's tired. Lie down. Now I'm upstairs. What am I doing? Notebook. Write. This writing is crap. Pushups, sit-ups. What did I go downstairs for…? Since I'm here, might as well get on the computer. Wednesday. Similar, but watch some crappy Disney Naruto. It's about the only time I turn on the TV all week. New day. It's raining. Dribble the ball in the garage. More push-ups, crunches, wall-sits, bridges. Video games. It stopped raining. Jog. Tuesday, see the psychologist. Yaaay… For a while, there's summer camp. People stop showing up when they see how tough the workout is, until only a pitiful fraction of the athletes signed up show up each day. Wake up early, put a granola in my bag, ride the bike to school for camp, drag myself home after. Completing a perfect camp attendance streak the third year in a row. Get on the computer. Huh. Take a nap. Go jogging. Shoot around. Let's draw a picture. Night, morning. Wake up. The windstorm last night broke the backboard, knocked over the goal. Bike to the park, shoot and run around when there's space on the court. The jogging trail, when there isn't. Summer in a nutshell. Some ninety days. Total amount of time spent with friends: four hours, early summer, a trip to the local mall. Somehow the topic is brought up, and me and my sister see if we can count on two hands the number of times I've left the house, park and camp and appointments aside. She doesn't let me count the time I went grocery shopping with our dad. Seven.

Ah, the cruel high school coach who would allow someone to be cursed with a love for basketball. But then, if I think about it - that lady is in the business of taking the love, the _heart_ out of basketball. That first playoff game last year, I saw a team of ballhogs and hotshots (I love 'em, but they mostly are are) meet a team of fighters who'd probably worked and played and trained together. We lost by more than 50, and to be honest it was beautiful to watch.

And then, my schedule. Something's wrong – where's my Spanish? As it turns out, I can't be in AP Spanish IV and Basketball – same class period. If that's not a sign, what is?

I got the hell out of basketball.

You taught me well, Coach. Go ahead and give up ahead of time, save yourself the trouble of trying. It's not like you can succeed anyways. Thanks, Coach.

T-T Sorry, really – desperately – had to get that out. And sorry for venting here, where I'm supposed to be writing fanfiction – this, and for the last few chapters as well. But it seems this, hopefully, ought to be the last of it. Thank you, those who gave any words of support or understanding – I mean, I'm not asking you to, but thanks a million.

I'll admit it – I replied to exactly two reviews this time. I'm really sorry about not replying to a lot of wonderful reviews, but I want to thank** ExKyuubi,** **BlackBlueSilver, narutosvixen, armoredishamael, Omega the darkness, The Laughing Phoenix, Bardad101, Malix2, OnGuard, Rhomulus, Rena-san, dreamer at heart, YoungSiege, U. May, ThatGuySly, Uzumaki Ricky, Universal Hope, Lanky Nathan, GijinkaGirl, No- I'm not on facebook, KoreanGal5, sixth seraph, Shizuka Taiyou, kunoichibythesea, The Unknown Twinkie, hinata-fan2, Cybergades, Kage-Hyuga-Nara, Mudkip Of War, Loui roui, hysterikku, BlackWolfCub101, Okami Kage Hachi, Hammerchuckery, kurokazeryuu, **and anons who signed _Cabale_, _May Miranda_, and _Danielle_ – from the bottom of my heart. 'Thanks from the bottom of my heart'? Is that cheesy? Well, I mean, seriously – thanks. You are all utterly awesome.

**Notice! **There are a lot more art links on my profile. The cover's colored, and there's CS2 Hinata, a New Konoha group picture, one with Hanabi, Hiryuu, Hikujaku, Hiyuki, Harumi, and Hitaka that looks pretty good… All of the ones put up since last chapter have 'new' by them, but if nothing else I'd recommend the cover, and the New Konoha one under 'Other', if you're interested.

Chapter song? My-HiME OST 1 number 20, "Nazo ga Nazo wo Yobu", I guess. Oh, that's another thing - thanks, all who suggested chapter/ character songs ^_^

This chapter's pretty rough, but just try to bear with me this time around. Sorry to keep you waiting on a cliffhanger, but here it is!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own _NARUTO_.

**

* * *

**

**Journey of the Three Failures**

**Nineteen: Dealing with Devils**

**Part One: Raise the Stakes**

**Hanabi ****ハナビ**

The smack and slap of forearms striking forearms, palms meeting palms snapped furiously into the air, and below it dusted the tap of light, swift feet dancing with purpose over the earth. Sweat burned my eyes. My arms swung loose and fast, hands throwing off a flurry of gentle blows, and I shifted my stance in a flash as my palm swept to halt an abrupt, powerful and unexpected fist.

I darted, she dodged, I retreated, feinted, advanced again, strike, step, strike, shift, block – rushing air sifted in and out of my lungs, fast, controlled, efficient. Chakra crackled and cancelled between two palms; without pause her larger hand folded deftly around mine, swift as the lunge of a snapping serpent, and my hand was a fraction of a moment from being expertly broken when the sole of my foot impacted the side of her ribcage, savage. She yelled, and I barreled into the weakness, striking more and more sharply still; she deflected it all, backpedalling precisely, teeth clenched.

I saw it in her eyes before I saw it in her body, and then I saw it in her body before she even moved to strike. At that point I spun neatly in evasion, hair splaying out, as the palm lanced by. She tried to back away, to distance her body from me, whilst lashing the heel of her other palm down for my shoulder; I blocked, caught her strength on my raised forearm, and thrust away as my free palm split the air, arced for her chest, as I struck to finish it.

A drop of sweat fell from my chin, plopped to the dirt. I blinked.

_I… miscalculated the dist–?_

WHOMP!

Auntie Harumi leaned away from the palm a centimeter in front of her chest, turning and artfully throwing a sharp boot into my collarbone. I was kicked off my feet, back smacking to the dirt. I gagged a second and rolled onto my side, pressing a hand against the pain throbbing on my clavicle.

"Daijoubu?" Hitaka murmured in concern, coming to my side. Hikujaku frowned bemusedly.

"_What _was _that_?" Hiryuu-oji-san asked drily, voice containing some hint of a growl of distaste. His patience was wearing thin.

I began to sit up. "I don't know, I-I…" I stuttered and trailed off. _Oh…_

"What's the matter?"

Chilled, I disguised a sudden sick shiver behind a shake of my head. "It's nothing; I can keep going. I'm just a little off today."

Hiryuu frowned, and the near-contempt in his eyes made me cringe. "You've been out of it for a week now, Hanabi-sama. I don't know where your mind is, but it would best swiftly find its way _here_, to your training."

Before my shamefaced 'hai' could be muttered, Harumi spoke up.

"Sir, you've been pushing her hard for several days in a row now. I know that time is of the essence … but in a child especially, overexertion can impact one well more negatively than the benefits can hope to counteract."

After a moment Hiryuu nodded slowly, relenting. "We'll step it down a notch today."

Harumi shook her head. "No, sir. For at least today and tomorrow, she needs to rest."

"Two days, Harumi?"

The woman walked to and knelt by me, and I looked up in puzzlement until she, with a polite 'sumimasen,' pressed a finger lightly to my thigh and brushed downward. I winced, yelping in pain and startling from the contact. Harumi looked up. "You see? Even medical ninjutsu can't fully play the substitute for the time it takes the muscles to recover from stress. I've kept quiet, but if we continue at this pace Lady Hanabi's resilience will only deteriorate. Not to mention… this girl has broken five different bones in the last twelve days. There's only so much I can do to keep accelerating her body's natural healing processes."

"Very well, then," Hiryuu conceded. "You're finished for today, but an extra hour of study and meditation both tomorrow. …Hanabi-sama? M'lady, did you hear me?"

"Huh?" I said dumbly, wide eyes snapping from the western sky as I jerked to attention.

Hiryuu eyed me uncertainly, and I wondered what sort of a look I had on my face. "You really do need rest…" he muttered in a moment.

As the five of us set off down a path, I couldn't help my eyes' drifting again to the west.

_Nee-chan… you've been having a really rough week, haven't you?_

_

* * *

_

**Naruto ****ナルト**

"Uchiha… Itachi…" I whispered, stunned.

_What is this? How… Why now…? _My teeth were clenched; my hands gripped my naginata too tightly. _Why now? ! _My eyes cut to my left, where Hinata trembled, nearly in tears. _Hinata can't fight – not against someone like this…_

"Your kage bunshin tried to kill him," Tsunade called, motioning toward Lee. "You said that you wouldn't…"

"You were required to bring here Naruto, Gaara, and Hinata. That one is superfluous… and he has the power to make himself a bit of a nuisance," the Uchiha stated simply.

Even in such a situation, Lee bristled. "Superfluous…?"

I swore under my breath. _Tsunade… really did sell us out. _Good grief. I mean, if she'd wanted us gone that badly…

f"Give her back."

I looked to the sannin. Her eyes were cold and venomous on the Uchiha.

"I've fulfilled my end of the bargain, haven't I? Where is Shizune? !"

I gasped quietly.

Not looking away from her, Itachi raised his hand and gestured briefly in signal. Moments after Hoshigaki Kisame came into view from the trees behind Itachi. Stopping before reaching his partner, the blue man cast to the ground the black-clad form draped over his shoulder. She had been blindfolded and gagged for who knows how long, and her wrists were raw from the tight, rough cord that bound hands behind her back to discourage struggle. Her right leg looked to be broken in more than one place. Shizune crashed to the ground with a grunt and lay unmoving, shivering stiffly in pain. _How dare they…? ! _

"Pardon her condition," Itachi said, not a request. "Kisame got a bit rough."

"You're apologizing?" the shark-man scoffed. "She was scheming an escape."

"Shizune…!" Tsunade breathed, her voice high. I looked up, and was shocked at the emotion in the old woman's eyes as she cupped a hand over her mouth.

My mouth twisted into a scowl. "So that's how it is… Akatsuki, you're despicable!" I cried.

Kisame laughed. "Look at that – the Nine-tailed brat is calling out monsters! Oi, do us a favor will you? Don't even think about trying to run this time. Not to say we won't catch you, but this one here might just have to pay the price," he warned, planting his Sharkskin sword on the ground near Shizune's neck.

Tsunade's eyes narrowed. "Enough! Just hand her over and I'll be on my way!"

Itachi shook his head inexpressively. "Before we do so, Tsunade, I'm afraid I have one more thing to ask of you."

"You're going back on our deal…?"

"It isn't much…" the Uchiha said. "I just need you to heal me."

"Nani…?"

"Searing from a pressurized chakra blast more than seven months ago has been causing me… complications, of sorts…"

"Someone managed to wound _you_?" Tsunade scoffed, a harsh smirk in her voice.

Face humorless, he uttered something of a chuckle. "They say even a moment's arrogance can thwart the greatest of shinobi… At least, it would seem the fearsome jutsu's wielder had grown rather formidable since… _but_…"

In an incomprehensible flash of black and red, the cold man was standing at Tsunade's side, leaning forward, cloak flaring out behind him.

His crimson eyes locked briefly with Hinata's white. Then his foot buried itself in her stomach.

The girl didn't seem to know what had hit her before her back hit the tree with a solid _crack_ of force, before a mess of red shot from her mouth, or even by the time she slumped to the ground and her head drooped forward, momentarily swaying limp on her neck. First blood – the easy prey.

_Kuso! Down for the count…!_

"So it's true… you really are worthless under the new moon…"

Tsunade hadn't batted an eye, or even looked. My teeth clenched. The Uchiha at my side cast an icy look down at me, a derisive sort of subtle sneer, and then turned his head and spoke to the sannin once more.

"Will you do it?"

Looking down, she nodded.

"Kuso…" Slowly, I wrought a smile. My brow smoothed. "Tsunade-baa-sama… Well, maybe I shouldn't've trusted you after all," I said rather quietly, with a slight chuckle.

I know she heard me, but the woman didn't respond. The Uchiha stepped in front of and faced her, crimson eyes intent on her as she wove her seals.

"But I _was_ right somewhere, at least," I pointed out. "I knew you weren't a bad person, see. It just turns out that, what with the village and all you've lost or left behind… Shizune onee-san is the only precious person you have now, isn't she?"

Her eyes were glum as she continued to pointedly ignore me, bringing hands that emanated green energy slowly toward Uchiha Itachi's midriff.

"And yet these Akatsuki scum, who would turn that love for your only comrade against you…"

"_Naruto_…"

"I find that to be utterly despicable."

Three things happened then in the blink of an instant. The original, from out of sight, Shadow Swapped to Shizune. Next, he traded places with me. And finally I, before Kisame could even realize the disappearance of his captive, dispelled.

* * *

When I appeared with her at Tsunade's side – or as it would seem to the eye, Shizune burst into existence in my arms – well, to say the least, the old bat quit ignoring me.

For half a second it seemed the two tremendously powerful ninja were staring at me. Then in one sharp motion Tsunade withdrew the palm a hair's breadth from Itachi's cloak and returned it as a fist.

Her blow shattered the earth; with the man having blurred in evasion, Itachi's sandals skidded back several meters along the ground.

Kisame was stunned. "What the–?"

_With surprise on our side…!_

Leaving Shizune, I whirled to my left, right arm outstretched.

My right hand latched onto Kisame's left shoulder, pulling him forward. Itachi's eyes widened a fraction.

_It's easy to block someone from trying to use the kawarimi on you… but to stop someone physically touching you from substituting is a different matter entirely._

"LEE!" I barked, and as I swapped to him and Itachi's kunai burned the air where I'd been, Lee was thrusting a katana for Kisame's stomach.

The man cut his own palm diverting the blade so that its tip merely carved a shallow line from his middle to his side. His left hand swung the Samehada violently toward me, and I was gone, spinning into existence at Tsunade's side. Kisame's sword crashed with a bang into the earth; off-balance, he hurriedly leapt back again as Lee lashed out.

"Yes," I muttered, "We're still in this…"

I glanced back as Gaara was gently removing Shizune's blindfold, and nodded. "Good – Gaara, protect Shizune and Hinata for now. Kurogiba, help him… I bet Lee and I together can make short work of Kisame…"

"What just _happened?_" Kisame was growling. "That wasn't… the jutsu of the Leaf's Yellow Flash…?"

"No," Itachi confirmed, "Though in certain ways, it's almost an effective recreation of that art. _Almost_…" Itachi mused. "You've become quite crafty with Kage Bunshin no Jutsu…"

"Baa-sama…" I continued, still at a mutter, "Correct me if I'm wrong, but you ought to be a pretty tough match for Uchiha Itachi, right?"

"I should…" she said after a short moment's hesitance.

_I thought so… That's why they took a hostage for ransom. They wanted to ensure she'd hand us over and leave … in hopes of avoiding a direct confrontation with her!_

"Tsunade…" Itachi said tonelessly, a slender eyebrow inclined coolly. "It would seem you intend to protect these children."

The woman snorted, casually taking two steps forward. "I guess you _could_ say that, couldn't you? But…" She grinned dangerously. "I'm all for obliterating the dirtbags who kidnapped my faithful assistant. I'll teach you a lesson, little boy…"

Itachi smirked slightly as he slipped the hand that usually rested idle through the sleeve of his cloak. "Hm."

My eyes could barely track Itachi's rush – and shortly found him to be before Tsunade, outstretched fist being successfully diverted by her forearm.

"Ha!" Tsunade's knee lashed for his stomach, and Itachi touched a hand to it and lightly vaulted over the woman. He landed and whirled, slashing in an explosive motion with a swiftly drawn kunai, and as one of Tsunade's hands blocked him at the wrist, the other's pointer finger flicked the flat of the blade from above.

The knife busted a hole in the ground, vanishing from sight. Itachi's foot aimed for her back, and she actually turned away from him to block the kick on her right forearm. As her left hand gripped his ankle Itachi thrust a fresh kunai knife for a vital point in her back; before it could land Tsunade pulled him by the ankle, throwing him with a yell across the clearing.

Itachi's body flipped and turned wildly in the air before his feet met a tree with so fierce an impact-breaking shove of chakra as to blow out a segment of the trunk. He shot to solid ground and blurred forward again as the tree toppled in his wake, and Tsunade shifted smoothly to evade a slew of screeching shuriken. She ran forward and leapt well over the Uchiha at the last moment as he threw a murderous jump-kick, and she folded and flipped a few times in the air as she shot down, smashing a sandal into the innocent ground. Itachi jumped as the earth for a good radius around her jolted and broke, and as he landed he raced to attack.

Their specific movements were finally beginning to become lost to my eyes as Itachi rained down a furious storm of taijutsu; Tsunade shifted and dodged and backpedalled and sidestepped, teeth gritted in focus.

Then the side of Tsunade's foot cuffed at the ground, splitting a deep crack through the earth – a crack that jolted right through the point Itachi was set to step.

He stumbled with a grunt as his foot sank and lodged to mid-shin in the earth. And he looked up to see Tsunade's foot swinging around toward his head in a mighty kick.

"Drop _DEAD!_"

CRACK!

A spray of mere wood splinters peppered the air in the direction of her blow. What remained of a log skittered and thumped and tumbled animatedly end over end until snapping in two on contact with a tree.

Panting lightly, Tsunade found Itachi's emotionless eyes as he stepped into view from the trees.

_Wh…Whoa… _I thought, blinking. _Baa-sama… I knew it! She really _is_ amazing!_

"As expected, a good medical ninja is not easily struck…" Itachi remarked.

_Kind of like me, but – AH! Wait a second!_

–"_This girl simply needs to land one solid blow."–_

_Sure, on a sannin-level expert in evasion! We got suckered!_

"I'd prefer not to expend a lot of chakra here…" Itachi went on, drawing a kunai. "However, I'm not keen on drawing this out, either."

"Wh-what are you doing?" Tsunade asked.

Itachi pricked his own hand with the knife. "You understand, don't you?"

_Snickt–!_

Shizune's hoarse, whispered "How?" ghosted in my ears.

Tsunade could only begin to cringe away – and was frozen stiff as a few droplets of Itachi's blood landed on her face, her clothes.

"It makes no sense! Why would he–? !"

"Lee…"

The older boy turned his attention from Itachi's self-mutilation to the quivering legendary ninja standing between us, eyes huge and round and unfocused as her breath shook, mouth agape in pure horror.

_What … the hell?_

"How did you know?" Shizune cried weakly.

"Surely you've not forgotten … that another of your three great ninja was once a member of the Akatsuki?"

With that, Itachi appeared before Tsunade, shortly smeared his bloody palm over her forehead for good measure, and fired a brutal fist dead into her gut.

Tsunade doubled up, wheezing. I was too shocked to do a thing but stare when Itachi punched her in the face, sending her to the ground.

"…Blood?" I murmured in realization. "A legendary ninja _and_ doctor, and you're scared of _blood? !_"

I yelped, swapping twenty yards as Itachi wasted no time in rounding on me. My hands flashed through seals – and I broke the sequence as I was forced to refocus my chakra to substitute away.

_Kuso! That Sharingan … can probably pick up on where I'm set to appear! _I thought, fleeing him again. I swiftly whipped my naginata out before me, positioning it in both hands; the bottom of Itachi's foot met it with crippling force, knocking me backwards just before I whisked my being to a new space yet again. I stumbled and kept on my feet, glowering as the man paused briefly in his calculated pursuit.

"How long do you intend to run away, Naruto?"

"Gr…!" _He can move almost – just almost – as fast as I can substitute. If I keep my distance and stay sharp, he can't quite touch me … but I can't find room to strike back…!_

My hand slipped into my tool pouch, withdrawing one of the three light kunai I kept on me. I drew back my arm, and when Itachi moved I substituted and flung the knife toward him.

I lunged forward, right hand drawn back, as he made to dodge.

The dodged knife slipped silently into my ready hand, flipped deftly in my fingers, and was driven for Itachi's back.

Promptly he whirled in evasion – and smashed a backfist into my face.

I tumbled a few times, managing to roll to my feet and hold out a forearm to catch myself hard against a tree. I shook and coughed, ducking my head.

"Yes – crafty," Itachi mused. "But that just won't work here. That's the simple truth, you see…"

"Yeah? We'll just see about that."

_Bushy Brow… Hurry!_

_

* * *

_

**Hinata ****ヒナタ**

'…_Little sister… Little sister…!'_

_What? Who is…?_

'_Oi, in there! Pup…? Wake up now.' _He licked my cheek, slathering on a stinging slobber of vapid, volatile flame.

_It's dark…_

'_Then wake up!'_

I woke with a jerk, yelping as Kurogiba prodded my mind, hard.

'_Th-that hurt – oh…!' _I grunted, arms wrapping across my midsection as I shuddered and coughed up a few drops of blood. _When…?_

–"_It would seem the fearsome jutsu's wielder had grown quite formidable since… but…"–_

'_He kicked me, didn't he?' _I wanted to cry. _'Chikusho… a single blow…!' _I shut my eyes, debilitated with pain. I coughed again. _'I'm so weak…'_

Gasping lightly, I looked up through wincing eyes. _They're fighting…_

_And I can't help… I can't even move…!_

I pressed a feeble hand to one side of my face, teeth grinding as my eyes watered. _Damn it all…!_

The mark throbbed furiously. I gasped, bewildered, watching in disbelief as my skin paled, as a ring encircled my wrist before my eyes – then I shoved it back.

'_Hinata? !'_

'_It… practically tried to awaken itself there…' _I tensed as it arose again – a pounding urge, a wave of dazzling, dizzying power. My hand went for my dagger and froze.

'_Get a hold of yourself,' _Kurogiba grunted, forcing my hesitating hand down on the hilt. We folded my fingers firmly around it, and I sighed in relief as the temptation subsided along with the curse's power, drawn off into the obsidian New Moon blade.

'_Thank you…' _I looked down. _'Ani-ue…?'_

'_What's up?'_

'_We should do it – use _that_ combo.'_

'_You're joking.'_

'_I'm not! The three of us couldn't handle Tsunade… the two of them won't defeat Itachi. With the Berserkergang–!'_

'_No. If we Berserk now, you'll only get yourself killed.'_

'_You don't know that–!'_

'_Besides, you'd be no good in a team with those two…'_

'_So we won't even try to do something? !'_

'_Hinata, that isn't even a plan. You're not thinking straight.'_

'_Ch…!'_

'_Besides, it wouldn't even work. You're–,'_

'_Human? !' _I snarled waspishly.

He growled sharply back at my crippled soul, eliciting from me a mental whimper of recoil. His spirit was probably stronger right now, I realized, which should have been normal, actually, since he was after all a full demon, but my surprisingly powerful spirit was the first thing big brother Kurogiba had ever acknowledged in me–

'_Calm yourself!' _he cried, imploring in frustration as I broke into an abrupt sob poorly hidden behind my hand.

'_I – I think I can move now!' _I blurted stupidly. More water jumped from my eyes. _'But instead of helping them I'm whining and crying a-a-and–!'_

'_Shh…' _Calm feelings drifted fairly forcibly over from him, pacifying, sedating me. I knew how much he hated to bend my emotions – I knew how much I usually hated it, too – but I didn't really care at the moment. _'Sure this is a crap situation, but you need to calm down. Think. An effective Berserkergang is physically impossible without a full youki release. You know that. Even if we could in some way manage it, I wouldn't possess you. You would never be able to keep your _own_ head in order, in this state.'_

'…_You're right…' _I admitted weakly, abashed.

There really _was_ nothing I could do.

* * *

**Lee ****リー**

"Sit still, you little punk!" Kisame spat, attacking viciously with his Samehada. "I'm gonna repay you in spades for last time!"

"Last time…?" I thought aloud, rolling outside a jab of the blade and deflecting the following swing with a katana.

–"_HIDDEN LOTUS __SEISHUNRENDAN! BARRAGE OF **YOUTH**!"–_

"Ah, right!" I said, going on the offensive and getting him to parry a few blows of my own.

"'Ah, right'? That's all you have to say about that lucky fluke? But this time I won't get careless! I'll take off your _head_–!"

The massive blade arced dangerously toward my head – and Kisame stumbled as I perhaps vanished to his eyes.

_No… I can sense it, actually, _I thought, knees bent as my straw sandals skidded back through the grass. Fifteen yards away, Kisame whirled to face me – just as I took off sprinting around him, cloak billowing behind me. In moments I had circled him once, and as I did a second time I dropped at four different points the training weights on my right arm, right leg, left arm, left leg, throwing four plumes of dust into the air and more than doubling in speed. As I passed through the clouds on my third circuit I flung four handfuls of shuriken with great rapidity; all were deflected by quick movements of his sword.

"_So you deflected that one, huh? !_" I said, circling him rapidly several times more. The dust clouds were whipped into a singular ring of rushing debris, and then stretched skyward – a vortex. "_Then let us see you keep up with this!_"

I let fly shuriken after shuriken as I raced, hidden from view, and the man whirled and maneuvered his sword expertly about to deflect the barrage of arcing, speeding stars. _Suberb, _I thought, _he has hardly been even occasionally grazed…_

"Quit playing games–Whoa!" The ex-Mist swordsman brought his great blade crashing down – on my light, green poncho, fastened to a kunai.

_There!_

Kisame couldn't raise his sword in time. He yelled as three shuriken slammed into his blocking forearm. "Lucky!" he snarled, knocking down another few projectiles with the sword.

When my billowing cloak flew in on a kunai, he merely dodged. It vanished back into the dust cloud – where I was there to catch it and launch it toward him again.

Its return he had not expected. The Samehada shredded through the green cloak, and the man gasped.

_So you thought that was me? !_

I shot from directly above him, two blades plunging down for his neck and upper back.

SLSSH!

As he leapt back one of my katana cut the arm that dragged the Samehada. The blades lodged a few inches into the earth, and I twisted my body to fire a kick toward the side of my enemy's head.

"Don't get cocky!" Kisame growled, blocking with left forearm and sweeping his sword left to right, toward the katana still planted in the ground.

_They will break…! _I pushed away from his blocking hand, and my feet returned to ground where his sword had just passed; in the same motion, I was pulling the katana free. The Samehada swung by, striking nothing at all save for the air around us, and I whirled and slashed for my foe's abdomen. He leapt far back to avoid me; he was trying to gain distance to refocus.

Beginning to run forward, I threw my right arm back and allowed tension to gather under the weight of the sword behind me. As my foot shoved the ground, I began to turn my body…

_ACCELERATE!_ My chakra ran down the length of the blades so that my spinning leap sharply jumped in speed.

"_LEAF RAGING WHIRLWIND!_" I declared, pelting him strongly with aerial kicks and slashes as I spun. He ducked a heel strike and blocked the following kick, and two swords' blows glanced of his sharkskin blade. I pushed away from him and charged again; he backpedalled as we met in a quick exchange of blows, and broke apart.

"…Unlike last time," he muttered, sword held at the ready, "you actually know how to hold a blade. That much I'll admit." He took a small step to his left.

I stepped to my own left. "Arigatou. I have trained long and hard to master it."

"You don't say? Who was your master, boy? Anyone I might know?"

"Possibly… It was Master Washi, he who walked the path of Mist and Iron."

Surprise glinted in the man's beady eyes. "You're not serious."

"I possess the wakizashi to prove it."

"Then… You killed Washi-sempai?" he asked incredulously.

"Not killed – defeated."

"Heh – a soft Leaf brat, after all. I don't know what he could have seen in you or how you managed to take him down, but I _suppose_ I oughtn't disrespect him by messing around with you any _longer_!"

_His strength…! _I thought, ducking in close evasion as he suddenly flung the massive sword my way. Then I caught sight of the man as he completed a string of seals. _Kuso!_

"A distraction? !" I gasped, barely dodging in time as a slender shark made of water exploded from Kisame's mouth. _If I had remained focused on the sword a second later–!_

A strong hand plowed into, and firmly gripped, my shoulder.

"No, that was!" Kisame roared, dropping a savage fist into my breastbone. Eyes clamped shut, I yelled and spewed blood as I was crushed between the violent force and the quailing earth. I grunted as a large palm clapped onto my forehead, pressing my head firmly to the dirt. "Ha– Now you can't _move_ anymore, can you–? !"

My katana crossed behind his neck.

"This is NOTHING!" I bellowed, driving a foot into his gut.

_SLL–_Splssh!

_A water clone…?_

"_Hyaa_–!"

I shoved from the ground in a spinning leap as the Samehada crashed down about where my torso had just been. My eyes cut to Naruto and Itachi; the blonde maintained twenty or so shadow clones, and struck at the Uchiha whenever he was near. Each time a bunshin was destroyed another quickly popped up in replacement. Though having so many shadow clones active rendered Kageken movement linking tricks impossible, the boy was undoubtedly substituting throughout the crowd in avoidance of his foe.

_He cannot stall forever… I need to hurry! _I met Kisame's eyes. "Gomen," I said, as chakra began to stir up the air around me. "I will be ending this quickly.

"First Gate Kaimon, Gate of Opening–!"

In a flash my swords were crossed above my head, holding off a two-handed strike from Kisame's blade. I smirked.

"Reminds you of last time, does it not?" I remarked.

"Guess you're right – except unlike last time, I'm afraid I don't intend to let you pull off that trick of yours."

"You do not…?"

With a yell, he shoved the Samehada down with all his bodily strength. The earth depressed and buckled at my feet – but I myself was moved not an inch.

"What's this? !" he cried in disbelief. I grunted and held my ground, holding off his immense power with my own. "You're… strong…!"

"I hope you will not hold it against me, then…" I said, voice slightly strained with effort as I pushed the Samehada back. "…But I do not exactly care whether you intend to let me do so or not."

I abruptly let my katana begin to fall.

_ACCELERATION!_

Kisame's eyes widened as his Sharkskin sword went shooting into the sky. His empty hands groped at the air above him in confusion. I grinned.

"Second Gate Kyumon, Gate of Rest – Open!" I shouted, slashing fiercely with my left-hand sword, and then the right. Kisame carefully dodged them both – and his hand latched onto my shoulder.

And my hand latched on the neck of his cloak.

Swords never leaving my hands, I turned, hefted the man over myself, and slammed his back to the earth. He lost his wind in an airy yell.

"Third Gate Seimon, Gate of Life… OPEN!"

A shockwave of power hit the air; the earth shook beneath me. I turned the sword in my free left hand to point it downward, and positioned it above Kisame's heart.

_I will finish this one … and use the greater gates on Uchiha Itachi–!_

"_AAGH!_"

My head snapped in the direction of Naruto's scream of pain.

His opponent was behind him, holding the boy's right shoulder; shadow clones stared in confusion as the apparent original's same arm was wrenched behind his back. I had only an instant to take this in, however, before my eyes made contact with those of Uchiha Itachi, who even _as_ he forced Naruto's arm was staring this way as if…

He had been waiting for me to look.

With a jolt, the inner gates were snapping involuntarily shut.

Imprisoned in his gaze, I could not look away. I could not move. I could hardly even think. But bar my paralysis, I did not feel that I was being drawn into any further genjutsu.

Shadow clones all bursting to smoke, Naruto slipped from Itachi's hold with a Kage-Kawarimi toward me.

Itachi briefly half-stumbled at the boy's disappearance, but did not go after him.

Another shadow step put Naruto twenty yards nearer, his hand reaching out in desperation, eyes stretched wide, calling my name.

_Me…?_

_But…_

_I am just fi–_

My mouth fell open, as if in surprise.

I had seen something dark blue flash past, and found my feet leaving the earth, my flung body drifting through the air, turning over, turning, so ungracefully, like a leaf afloat on a breeze. Then red caught my eye, and I noticed the arcing trail, a mess of vivid color that ran from the open air to Kisame's upraised sword to the gaping valley of spurting crimsons that ran from the side of a hip across a body and through a left shoulder and upper arm.

_M-m-my… body…?_

I wanted to scream in sheer terror. Then the world exploded in pain … and I did not know _what_ to do.

So I just fell.

And fell…

And fell.

* * *

**Naruto ****ナルト**

"_LEEEEE!_"

I dived and caught him at the ground, and we slid a few feet together. Teeth clenched, I took in the gushing wound, the shredded skin. Lee's face was nearly as white as his eyes. _This is bad!_

"Oh, look – another one!" Kisame screeched gleefully, bringing his sword down toward us both. My eyes widened as I glared at the incoming blade.

But when Kisame's hand fell, it was empty. And no sooner had the Samehada been sent careening by a missile of sand than Hinata had suddenly impacted the man with a thump, both clawed feet and both clawed hands hooking onto his ribcage and shoulders as he was knocked back, and, snarling like some wrathful beast, gripped his throat in her teeth and wrenched.

_She's resorted to the curse…_

She sprang off the man and spat roughly as his body thudded to the ground.

"That was a close one." The prone Kisame melted into liquid, and the real one struck Hinata a harsh knee to the face.

_Kuso!_

"Naruto-kun!" Shizune called, "Bring him here!"

"Got it!" I cried, shadow swapping with Lee to Shizune's side. I helped her in quickly and carefully peeling off what remained of his shirt and belt.

"I can't walk, but I'm capable of this much. We can still save him," she said, hands already releasing healing light as she finished a swift examination. "The leather guard at his hip, and his sword straps – they kept it just shallow enough for him to escape immediate death…"

"Thank goodness," I breathed. _Help her, _I ordered, dispatching two shadow clones that lit up their hands as well. _Just hang in there… _I turned my head.

Sitting next to me, Tsunade had gone white as a sheet. Her eyes nearly watered as she gawked, seized in raw horror. It didn't look like our strongest fighter and best healer would be pitching in any time soon.

My eyes shifted to Uchiha Itachi as I stood.

"Shame," he said apathetically. "If you had only come without resistance, that boy would not have needed to suffer this way…"

I ground my teeth. "He isn't the type of fellow who'd sit back and let his friends go off to certain death."

"He's r-right…" Hinata said, stepping forward. "Or did we not make it clear enough that time? If we go down, we go down fighting – _together_," she added, and Kurogiba growled in agreement.

"I can fight, too," Gaara said behind me.

I smiled. "That's the spirit – but no." He blinked, perturbed. I looked forward again. "These three can't defend themselves now. If you leave them, they'll become targets in a heartbeat. This is where we need you to be now, Gaara – okay? …Hey – Gaara. You heard me, right?"

"H-huh? Uh, yes! I understand!"

"Hn…" I snapped to attention at this slight, nondescript utterance from the Uchiha. The young man's eyes were shut, and his mouth settled on the verge of smirking. "You seem convinced that the three of you would be marching to your deaths. While Naruto and Gaara are Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi and Ichibi, did you ever stop to ponder what we could want with Hinata…?"

"Nothing good, I'm sure," I muttered acidly.

Itachi shook his head. "In short…" His eyes opened on the young Hyuuga. "Hinata… I'm supposed to offer you a position in the Akatsuki."

…

I blinked. "Uh…?"

"What did you just…?" Hinata trailed off.

"I think I just heard something crazy," I said honestly.

"Do you think I'm joking?" Itachi asked. Well… "One of our ranks was watching outside Suna. Our superiors believe you could be of use. You possess the Byakugan. You have exceptional ability as a tracker. You're proficient in the sealing arts. And while your strength may not be on par with that of most current members, on an average day you're no weakling, either. Not to mention, you _are_ quite skillful… when it comes to combating demons…"

"Wh–why would I ever–?"

"Because," he said seriously, "though our organization intends to capitalize on the world war Orochimaru is bound to start, if you'll join and serve the Akatsuki, we will… _depose_ of Orochimaru just as soon as war is securely in motion."

"We already have a plan for overthrowing Orochimaru…"

"Free your imprisoned shinobi and tip the scales in New Konoha's favor – yes, we're well aware," Kisame picked up, walking to Itachi's side. "But just think of the regret you'll endure should you fail. Why risk it? It would be a simple task for one or two of our number to remove Orochimaru for you. You Leaf people cherish your comrades, right? No lives wasted in civil war…"

"But instead a _world_ war…!"

"Just_ think _about it," Itachi urged. "If you accept recruitment, the Akatsuki will be obliged to extend a pact of nonaggression toward the Leaf Village."

"So you're saying you currently have intentions of harming the Leaf?"

"We may or may not. But should a reason to, or benefit in doing so arise, we will be unable to act against that village… You don't seem to believe us, Hinata. Since you are the type that would sooner die than serve us unwillingly, our superiors have graciously delegated these terms to be offered for your service."

"Th-that's…" Hinata paused, lowering her head in thought.

"So, Hinata… What will you do?"

Kurogiba rested his head on her shoulder. From where I stood beside her, her eyes were hidden by her bangs. "Hinata…"

_Such a decision…_

Another few moments dragged on.

"Okay."

I gasped. Itachi and Kisame looked up.

"You've chosen…?"

"Even if I trusted a criminal organization to keep to its word, why… the hell… would I turn my back on Naruto-kun, Gaara-kun, and Okaa-sama? !" she yelled, spewing toward the two an angry jet of red flame.

_No seals? Wait – Kurogiba! _I realized as the wolf lifted his head from her shoulder, and Hinata's shockingly red eyes faded to milky white.

Itachi and Kisame had dodged the lancing blast; the former smirked icily. "Then you've chosen your path…"

"I have," she affirmed, nodding. She met my eyes briefly. "We save the village – our way."

"Right!" I agreed, cracking a hint of a grin as I took my stance and glared down our foes.

"This one's got spunk. I don't like that," Kisame remarked with a toothy sneer. "I think I'll just get rid of that, and maybe see if I can't be more _convincing_ while I'm at it…"

"Do as you please, but–,"

"Relax – I'm not gonna skin the wolf-kid! Let's just say I'm curious…" He grinned viciously, roughly pointing the Samehada Hinata's way. "I want to see what our adorable would-be kouhai is made of."

I bristled at an angry twinge within me. "Hinata…"

"I'll be fine, Naruto-kun," she said, Byakugan awakening. "He's in bad shape after his tussle with Lee-kun. I can handle it."

I winced. _Can you…?_

"Alright. Let's do this…"

* * *

**Gaara ****ガアラ**

When Naruto-san had first rescued Shizune-san, he had to leave in such a hurry to attack Hoshigaki Kisame that she was left lying there, a ways in front of me, alone.

I frowned slightly. Naruto-san and Lee-san were attacking, but soon thwarted; Tsunade-san was keeping an eye on Uchiha Itachi; Hinata was unconscious. I was the only one not doing anything… sort of…

So I knelt by Shizune-san and helped her to sit up, in my arms. I realized, well… it was probably … unpleasant, to her, being tied, and gagged, and blindfolded the way she was… I mean, she couldn't talk, or see, or really move… It must have been very unpleasant.

But my hand paused uncertainly by her blindfold. When I thought about it – she couldn't even know what was happening, who was holding her. It must have been frightening. I didn't want to startle her, touching her all of a sudden… so I figured I should say something, first…

Cautiously my mouth opened. "You're… all right… It'll be okay now," I said, awkward. I wondered if it had been… comforting. I mostly hoped I hadn't been too faint for her to hear. Then, as she nodded a bit in response, I carefully untied and slipped off her blindfold.

The lady's eyes were dark and puffy. They cracked open slowly and shut again – tender to the light, I guessed. I wondered how long she had been like this…

I undid the knot of the rag tied behind her neck, that went tightly across her open mouth. I tugged on it, and was surprised to find it lightly stuck in place at her mouth; it came loose on one side, but I flinched at her small sound of pain. _Sorry… _Gently, I peeled the coarse rage from the other corner of her mouth, and I frowned at the sight of the bruised, cracked skin beneath it.

I took up a handful of sand and bade it to cut quickly through the binding on her wrists. She shut her eyes, whimpering as she willed arms from behind her back. Her wrists were raw and scabbed… it looked painful.

_It kind of… makes me feel sad, seeing this…_

At this point her eyes had focused, and I tensed as I realized she was looking at me. She managed a smile, and in a weak voice she spoke.

"Thank you, Gaara-kun…"

I felt… really good, when she said that.

But I wasn't altogether sure of what to say back. So I sort of tried to smile, and then looked away – at Tsunade, fighting Itachi. My face was warm.

_I did something good… I _helped_ someone…_

Not long after Tsunade-san had been taken out of the fight. I used the sand to pull her nearer, leaning her against the same tree as Shizune-san. I needed to protect her, as well.

I heard Hinata breaking down.

I heard, but didn't look. I absolutely did not want to see her that way. And if anyone could comfort her now, it was probably Kurogiba-san.

Still… that quiet sobbing… her breathing, hastened in despair…

'_What a pitiful scrap of flesh she is…'_

_You – leave me alone._

'_Why should I, hmm?' _the tanuki sang. _'The wolf-pup is weaker than you right now… she wouldn't be able to stooop uusss…!'_

_That's enough. Hinata is my – my friend!_

'_Just LOOK at her!' _Raucous laughter blared in my skull as my eyes landed on the girl. _'That lowly creature that thinks it can suppress your power… Why not just put it out of its misery?'_

_That… _She looked so pathetic over there… broken… vulnerable… My hand was lifted. So… unsightly… _That…!_

'_That __**inferior **__existence–!'_

_Shut up, beast. _I wrenched my eyes away from her; my hand brushed the rhombus charm of the choker at my neck. _I am not that person anymore…_

Nevertheless, when I saw Lee-san wounded, I was rocked by a murderous desire reminiscent of the very worst of those glorious crimson days.

'_KILL your enemies!'_

_No…! _And the Shukaku's call of incitement was ignored as I decided the immediate priority – and blasted the sword that was poised to seal both Naruto-san _and_ Lee-san's fates.

Hinata, who was weak, and Naruto-san were the ones who were going to fight now. But… if they were going one-on-one with the two Akatsuki, I didn't want to let Hinata fight alone…

"I can fight, too," I said, when Lee-san was safe. I glared toward our foes. _I think I can tell… It's not just because I want to kill, either. I want… to protect my comrades…_

_My friends…_

_From these shinobi who threaten them…!_

But Naruto-san said no.

"These three can't defend themselves now. If you leave them, they'll become targets

* * *

"_Wh…What…?"_

_The world is frozen, noiseless. Everything as it was, but for a rust-red sky, the burnt hues of the world, the dark, dark grass and trees. Naruto-san's mouth is frozen open, a determined look on his face. Shizune-san is healing Lee-san, the energy from her and two kage bunshin's hands a still, grey fog petrified over pitch black blood. A pair of leaves that had been in the air before me, dancing on a breeze, sit unmoving in space, surreal._

_I shake my head. "Naruto-san–!"_

_As I touch his shoulder my hand passes through, and his blonde hair, purple garb, shifts to so many shades of grey – and I start as he decomposes into a mass of crows that fly outward, spiraling, squawking madly, vanish._

_Everyone else on the scene fades to grey, to black. Except for two…_

_Coloration is retained exclusively by I and by a smirking Uchiha Itachi._

"_Hn…" he mutters, walking toward me. I tense._

"_But… I never directly met your eyes–,"_

"_I caught your attention with the movement when I pretended to fix my hair…" the man explains calmly, pushing stray bangs out of his face. "I didn't need direct eye contact. You saw it, didn't you? That subtle gesture of my finger…?"_

_My eyes narrow, and a great blast of sand is sent streaming toward my foe. It dissolves, melting into more ravens a meter before him, and they fly past, vanishing into the sky._

_I growl, palms clapping together. "Kai–!"_

_He flicks his hand out, and incredible, supernatural force seizes my body, wrenches me backwards. I collide solidly with an invisible wall – pinned there – my body pressed flat, splayed fingertip to fingertip, spread-eagled, helpless._

_The man is suddenly before me; I grind my teeth and turn my head aside. But his palm clamps firmly from beneath my jaw, and with a no-nonsense jerk he forces me to meet his eyes._

"_Listen to me, Gaara. I won't hurt you."_

"_What is _that_ supposed to mean–? !"_

"_Calm down. I need you to listen very carefully."_

_My breath is swift, my glaring eyes wide and unblinking._

"_There is a man watching this battle approximately sixty meters north-northeast of where we really are now. As soon as an opportune moment arises, slip away from here and kill him."_

"_What are you…?"_

"_He'll be hiding himself in the soil or greenery; take Hinata with you. She can also verify for you that he is another of the Akatsuki…"_

_I can read nothing in his voice; he seems to be serious. Yet something subtle makes me want to obey, to comply to his wish, stifling the arguments as they surface. I focus, resisting. "I don't underst–,"_

"_It is imperative," he says sternly. "I will create the opening… the rest will be up to you."_

_I'm losing ground; his will is forcing itself into me. "Wait…"_

"_Hm?"_

"_If I do this… will you leave us all alone?"_

_To my amazement, he actually smiles. "That is a promise I can certainly make." His hand leaves my jaw, withdraws to the air before me. "The man is not a skillful combat type; with surprise on your side, it should be _easy_." The hand gently strokes over my belly. "Just trust me… and…"_

_A cry lodges itself in my throat as his fingers pierce me._

"_Sate your thirst, while you're at it…" His gaze crashes into mine, and the Sharingan has evolved into something more._

_He wrenches, hard, and I howl as the Shukaku's maddened roar pounds frenzied and screeching in my skull, demanding of me, shaking me, igniting me with deafening pain._

_

* * *

_

is where we need you to be now, Gaara – okay? …Hey – Gaara. You heard me, right?"

"H-huh? Uh, yes! I understand!"

And as Itachi went on speaking like nothing had happened – which to the others, it hadn't – I clutched at my belly, almost in pain.

_Protect them now – Shizune-san, Tsunade-san, Lee-san. Protect them!_

_But – as soon as p-p-possible…!_

_I have to __**kill**__ that man!_

* * *

**Nineteen, Part Two: All t****o Protect**

**Hinata ****ヒナタ**

"Hraaah!" he roared, swinging his sword.

"Ha!" I shouted, right hand fisted at my side as my palm was thrust out before me.

_Fweeeeenn–!_

Light sparked between the two black pebble-sized stones at my feet – and with a crackling of energy the Samehada impacted a faint blue triangle of light that sprang into existence before me, the upper vertex of which focused a foot from my palm. The shield was grainy in texture with its composition of countless miniscule hexagons, and rippled momentarily where the blade struck.

Kisame grunted, trying to force the sword through, and the shield shimmered, bending only slightly. Chakra blazed like faint fire out of the character 'focus' that had been scrawled onto my palm. I ground my teeth, and behind me Kurogiba gave me strength.

_Barrier Seal: Hex Formation._

"Huh – so you've sealed a barrier spell into those six stones, then?" he sneered.

I nodded, Byakugan blazing determinedly. "Nothing solid will pass through this barrier…"

He gave a sudden shove of strength to see for himself; I flinched, my foot sliding a few centimeters back, but kept my chakra under control. Kisame snorted. "A seal barrier might block an attack and dramatically reduce the effort you need to hold it off … but that you're relying on such a defensive tactic goes to show just how desperate your situation is. You _know_ you can't beat me – but what fun is it if you won't even strike? !"

He broke away so suddenly that I nearly staggered. Then I released the barrier whilst lowering and extending my left foot to a third black pebble behind me.

Kisame whirled sharply, lashing his sword for my unprotected side.

I reached back as if to stop the incoming blade – and my toe kicked the sealed pebble into position. The Samehada was halted sharply as a barrier caught it with a high-pitched hum.

And as it did Kurogiba was already bounding _through _said barrier, claws spread, snarling with demonic malice.

_The Wolf of Fire… is a far cry from what you'd call 'solid.'_

Eyes wide, Kisame couldn't pull away fast enough. He yowled as the beast's teeth sank into his shoulder, but incredibly he stayed on his feet, albeit staggering, even as the huge wolf's hind claws dug a clean slash into his cloak. _'Now, Pup!'_

_Mi-Hitsuji-Saru-I-Uma-Tora! _I jumped toward them as they struggled. _Now – I'll blast them both at close range with the Fireball Jutsu–!_

Kurogiba roared as the Samehada cleaved him in two, tearing across his middle in a billowing spray of thick black, then red, then orange flames.

I choked on the jutsu as pain broke my midsection. I hacked out an idiotic spurt of fire and spittle, eyes huge, wind leaving me as I sealed the Soul Link in shock, as I somehow landed on my feet, as I folded stiffly at the waist and pressed my hands to my abdomen in confusion. I was frozen with pain. _N-not breathing. Breathe…!_

My sight flickered as the back of a fist struck across my face. I hit the ground, rolled twice, came to a stop on my back, and let my head fall to the side as my mouth opened to eject on exhalation a bit of crimson.

_C-come on… You're in one piece; it doesn't even hurt anymore. Not enough that I should be frozen like this! _My toes twitched. _I can move… _But the memory of pain, the imaginary, excruciating pain, had hit me hard, too hard, had rocked me, the damned weak human I was.

"Your pooch is made of fire and chakra. Tough luck… that makes me his worst enemy," Kisame chortled.

"Kuso," Kurogiba growled. Half of his body had dispelled, while the other retained his spirit. Back legs morphed into existence again; he was whole, but smaller. _That sword… it ate his chakra, his control over his medium… so even Ani-ue, who isn't usually affected by weapons… _"You think that'll be enough to keep me down?" he snarled, teeth bared.

His mental presence nudged at me. Then – confusion.

"Oh?" Kisame scoffed, grinning. "You know, you're a lot less dangerous-looking all of a sudden…"

He was stalling for time – trying to let me collect myself. Gritting my teeth, I propped up a bit on an elbow. Kurogiba's fierce eyes cut briefly toward me, then flashed to Kisame again.

"Not to mention, it looks like the summoner might just be ready to throw in the towel…"

As Kurogiba bristled and growled at the man, I felt him nudge the surface of my mind again, like a tap on the shoulder, but urgent.

The wolf's act dropped as he met my gaze dead-on. "What the hell are you locking me out for? !" he barked in frustration.

I flinched, eyebrows drawing in. It wasn't intentional! "I d-don't know, I–!"

I blinked. _When did he get there?_

I very nearly froze up. Then I shoved against the earth, sending my body spinning sharply to the side as Kisame slammed his blade down from high in the air.

I rolled once on landing, pressing a hand to the earth to stop on my side. Kisame smirked. "So you dodged it, huh?" He planted both hands on the hilt, and spun in evasion as Kurogiba blazed past; then in the same motion the man blurred toward where I lay. "Then how about this–? !"

I lifted my left hand, teeth clenched. "Barrier!"

Fortunately Kisame hadn't noticed the two pebbles at my feet, and grimaced in annoyance as the crushing force of his sword was caught inches above my stomach by the triangular wall of light. My back was pressed flat to the earth, and my left arm, bent at the elbow with forearm perpendicular to the ground, trembled at the pressure as the shield bent slowly under Kisame's strength.

I shortly folded in two fingers of my left hand. "Reverse!" I cried, and a good deal of his force was turned back on him, pushing the Samehada away. I kicked my feet up; one knocked the sword from his grasp, and as I caught balance on my hands I lashed the other around for his face. He blocked effortlessly enough, but where he would have grabbed my ankle he was forced to instead dodge as Kurogiba pounced again. Kisame cut to the side and went for his sword, and at the same time I caught my footing and ducked to retrieve the two stones, and a third a few more feet away, before stopping to face my foe with the remaining three close by on the ground.

Humor glinted in Kisame's eyes as he sank into his stance, and charged. Byakugan eyes wide, I stepped curtly back and activated the barrier in front of me at the last possible moment.

At least, I'd thought it was about the last possible moment. But in a ferocious flash of speed Kisame pivoted before the barrier, whirling to swing his sword instead from the side.

I hopped. The sword passed beneath my feet. The barrier released, the man continued his swing as I was still returning to the ground, and rotated sharply to strike once more from the same side. A pebble was slipping from my right hand as I turned, thrusting left palm out.

_Fweeen–!_

My feet were meeting the earth as Kisame recoiled from the triangular barrier, a lower vertex of which extended, undiverted, with the falling stone until it reached the ground.

"Heh," he snorted. He drew the sword back again – and before I could think of releasing the shield he knocked a roundhouse kick into the triangle, dead center. He didn't bring his foot to the ground as he leaned over an edge of the barrier, using the 'foothold' for additional leverage as he wrenched the Samehada for my unprotected side. "You're cornered–!"

Maintaining the barrier with my extended left hand, I turned away from Kisame and touched my right hand momentarily to the side of the incoming blade, pushing lightly to swiftly swing my legs over it.

The blade met the inside of the barrier – and I let myself fall flat, tilting the barrier's angle and forcing my left as far down as I could. The Samehada was pinned to the ground.

The man frowned at me. Then he flinched, probably as he detected Kurogiba leaping toward him, going for his neck from behind.

"You half-wits!" Kisame growled, free hand lashing back to seize Kurogiba by the throat, pull him through the air, and hurl him to the ground.

Well – not the ground. I was kind of in the way.

Even though he wasn't quite bigger than me at present, the collision smacked the breath out of me. The barrier broke, freeing Kisame's blade; I pushed Kurogiba one way and hurriedly dodged in the other, avoiding another slash of the sword. I scrambled a ways on all fours before rising to full height, sprinting for the trees as Kisame chased after me.

"Now you're running away? !"

"Just shut up!" I whimpered as he gained on me, and as the sword swung out I ran up a tree.

The Samehada blasted through the tree trunk just as my feet were leaving it. My left hand ghosted lightly over his forearm, and the other his head; I cartwheeled over him, and on landing lunged to ram my left palm into his back.

_Gotcha–!_

I launched into a Rotation, and a weak dome of chakra deflected before I leapt back as Kisame swung the blade around again. "You know, for an esteemed rogue ninja you're not all that strong!" Kisame taunted, attacking furiously. I retreated, ducking and dodging strike after strike, panting for breath.

_Here! _I'd backed up to where two of the pebbles sat on the ground, and as Kisame's attack was caught by the barrier Kurogiba blazed in on the attack. I anticipated with my Byakugan, and as the man dodged aside I was cutting in to whirl low and plant a heel behind his knee, releasing a sharp burst of chakra. When he began to fall I lunged to take the offensive – and abruptly he rose, whirling to slash. The blade barely clipped my forearm. _Why aren't my attacks affecting him? !_

"You're pretty light on your feet, perhaps… but every move you _make_–!"

I jumped as he rammed the sword straight toward me, and my feet landed nimbly on the wrapped edge. My bare feet pushed off just before its scaly surface flared up viciously, shredding the sword's wrap to tatters.

"Every attack you _throw–!_"

I flicked one of the pebbles in my right hand to the left, and then dropped them both as he swung upward toward me. My feet were high as my left hand awakened a sliver of barrier above the sword, a short, wide-based triangle, and as it was halted I used my balance atop it with a reversal move to spring myself into the air, over the man's head.

I twisted and flipped sharply as I fell, and with a battle cry slammed a solid kick into the back of his skull. He was stumbling as I landed, and I whirled to throw a gentle kick toward his side.

"Astoundingly…"

THAMP!

Kisame's large hand was locked strongly on my lower leg, and it didn't seem to want to budge. I blanched as his eyes struck mine.

"There's no power at all in _anything_ that you do."

I flinched.

I was helpless to do a thing to stop him. Kisame pulled on my leg, and smashed his elbow into my gut.

The things around me wavered, shook. My breath surged upward in a pained grunt, and on it was flung a splash of scarlet, droplets of red blood that trickled into the air before me as my body was thrown back.

My backside touched ground first, and I tumbled head over heels, uncontrolled, graceless. I came to a stop on my front and lay there, a pile of meat – not even, a scrap of flesh – unable to move. My teeth clenched; my vision wouldn't stop blurring, sharpening, focusing, unfocusing, on whatever the heck it was I happened to have been left looking toward.

"Pup… pull yourself together…!"

_Ani-ue's… He's weakened, isn't he…? It must… It was a struggle, probably… just forcing himself not to … dispel … back then…_

"Did you hear me? I'm telling you to snap out of it!" he said – aloud, for I currently lacked the strength of will to open my scared little mind and permit his entry.

I whimpered, coughing feebly like an infant. My eyes were trying to water. "A-Ani-ue… it hurts…!"

"Then suck it up, and get over it already!" he cried. "If you're the Hinata I know, hurry up and start acting like her!"

At this my body gave a shudder; water spilled from my eyes. And as a loathsome weight bore down on my frail heart, as I grimaced in grievous shame, I could only take flimsy solace in that he couldn't read my thoughts.

_I can't!_

"What," Kisame sighed, "you're crying now?"

"Dammit, Hinata…!"

_Just shut up…! J-just… just…!_

"Hmph," Kisame scoffed disdainfully. "The mighty Kurouga, was it? Fabled a living, breathing demon among shinobi. I could give you the benefit of the doubt, but I honestly don't care whether you're like this once a month or once a year. There really is no excuse … for being this _weak!_"

"Pup–!"

He didn't need to be particularly within my mind to sharply deliver a mental smack. I started with a squeakish yelp, and promptly enough gained sufficient consciousness of my surroundings to catch the gist of what was happening – and was halfway on my feet as Kisame swung, with all the cold, merry intent, it seemed, to maim if not kill.

Kurogiba crashed into me, having lunged so that his shoulder met my midriff in such a way as to shove me back as well as safely onto my feet.

Then the Samehada ran him through, gouged his side, and Kurogiba's eyes, those hard, glinting rubies studded with their splash of ether-piercing silver, eyes of an undead beast that in this walk of his existence was simply not often made to feel pain unless he was connected to me, and the aptitude for such a sensation useful only to the living thus made to bleed into him – stretched wide in genuine agony as he loosed a demonic, screeching, roaring cry.

_Ani…ue…_

I stumbled back only slightly as my feet met ground. The wolf cast aside, Kisame flung his sword, spinning, into the air as he moved toward me, hands flying through seals. My teeth clenched. Then I noticed something small under my foot and stepped off of it, looking down. _So this is where you pushed me…?_

CLAP!

Kisame reached up to catch his sword in one hand, high in the air, sharp teeth flashing in a grin.

My left hand rose.

_Fweeeeeen–!_

"That's getting old," Kisame said. His cheeks inflated, and he ducked his head to spew down a mass of clear blue water that rushed to flood the ground around us. _What's this–? !_

A swell of water surged up a few yards behind me, shaping and darkening and coloring into a Kisame clone. Sword in hand, it charged and swung.

I turned partially. My right foot kicked up.

_Fwwnnnn–!_

"So, you had those seals on your feet as well…?"

I heard behind me churning water, a forceful splash, and felt a light spray of mist on my back. Balancing precariously on one foot, I turned my head.

By the time I spotted the second water clone, the flat of its sword was smashing ruthlessly against my lower back.

"_GAHK–!_"

And my breath was lost, and pain, terrible pain shot through my thrown body, and a white-hot, needle-like prickling throbbed, fluttered in the back of my skull at the tremendous impact, shattering, as my vision unfocused well further than before, as iciness touched me–

And before my crippled soul could be allowed to slip out of my body, Kurogiba's presence forced itself into my mind – excruciating – and drove me back, rooting me, locking me in place, and when my vision refocused I was peering not spiritually at the back of my head but through my own physical eyes.

And I saw Kurogiba throw back his head and yowl as smoky darkness was flung, as if struck, so sharply from his fragmented body of dull black fire, before both his spirit and the lightening flames explosively dispelled.

I crashed to the ground with a grunt.

_A-Ani-ue… _"Uhn–!" I gasped, squeezing my eyes shut as pain clenched up in my back, my spine. When I coughed now it was an awful noise, wet and grating, and copper stung my throat, my mouth, my nostrils as I gasped and choked, shuddering all the while.

"Be grateful I didn't cut. I bet I could've torn you in half if I'd tried to."

Breathing shallow breaths, I could barely crack open a moist eye to look up at him as I lay where I was, prone and pitiful.

The Sharkskin blade was lifted off Kisame's shoulder, and I cringed as it swung heavily down and halted to rest an inch before my face.

"Get up."

_K-kuso! Kuso, kuso, kuso, kuso…!_

The threatening Samehada knocked my head roughly, with a sharp jerk of force that caused me to yelp. "You deaf? That wasn't all that much fun. Stand up. Do _something_. If not, I'll just hit you while you're still down."

_K-k-kuso… _I pressed my palms to the ground, one after the other. Teeth grinding, face hot, I pushed myself up a ways; an arm twitched back, helping my balance as I put more weight on my feet. My breath shook as I started to rise, gasped, tucked a hand behind my hurting back, and then I continued. With eyes held wide that hardly blinked, and a gaze that faltered, I looked, cringingly, to the Akatsuki man.

He smiled widely. "Good girl. Now show me your little stance, while you're at it."

My lip trembled; my knees shook.

_I hate this… I h-hate this…!_

I still didn't blink as my right arm eased further behind my back, as my left extended, palm-forward, before me, and my knees bent and shook and shook.

"Good, good…" Kisame stowed the Samehada on his back, and as he lowered his hand to shoulder height it clenched and popped into a solid fist.

"Now feel free to try and defend yourself…"

_I don't want to fight anymore!_

_

* * *

_

**Naruto ****ナルト**

When the cry met my ears, I couldn't help my shudder; my eyes dared flicker in her direction before swiftly returning to Uchiha Itachi.

_Kuso! _I thought, hands tightening on my naginata until my knuckles popped. _This guy… he's deliberately keeping me well out of range of them. I can't get at that Hoshigaki Kisame even with the Kageken…!_

"You seem distracted," the Uchiha observed.

I bristled. "Call him off," I said, my voice chilled.

The man blinked dispassionately.

"He'll listen to you, won't he? Call that brute off!" I demanded, and violet chakra lashed the air about me. My lip twitched as anger wrought upon mouth a snarl. "She's helpless, dammit! If the coward's that hungry for a fight, he can fight me!"

The Uchiha sighed subtly, shaking his head. "You know what my answer will be."

"Soon as I give up?" I growled. "Maybe I should just crush you and be done with it…"

"If you think you can…" He now nodded, slightly but pointedly, a reminder given not so much at his own inspiration as what he had realized earlier to be the present source of my limitation. My wild eyes cut in the direction indicated, to where Gaara stood and Shizune, sitting immobile, still toiled to seal Lee's grievous wound.

_Should it open and he lose any more blood, he'll… He can't be moved safely, the way he is now. I can't get away from here. And if I try to use that now, they'll all get caught up in the destruction…_

Glaring daggers at my foe, I slowly withdrew and as gradually relinquished a breath, settling the Kyuubi's chakra again.

"He won't kill her, you know…" Itachi was saying as the demonic power died down. "Keep in mind that Akatsuki fancies her powers. Once I defeat you, I'll get Kisame to leave the girl be. You and Gaara will, inevitably, die; if Hinata continues to refuse willing cooperation, she will be kept as our prisoner and forced to cooperate when needed until she so chooses to follow our command. But already broken as she is, once her dear friends are lost to her and never to return… the girl shouldn't be too difficult to coerce…"

"_You…!_" I growled.

"Look at her," he cut in uninterestedly, turning his head to watch his comrade crush mine. "Suffering, just for you…"

I winced, my glare wavering.

"Just think," he said, emotionless. "Hinata won't suffer; as our prisoner she would be not even confined behind bars, but strictly _chaperoned_, if you will, by Kisame and myself. If she behaves, the Akatsuki may choose to keep to its word despite her delayed compliance, assassinating Orochimaru and extending its nonaggression toward that village!"

Two things in this insistence sparked strangely upon my sharpened mind. The note almost resembling of fierceness in his voice was the first; the second, the wording of that last bit, had also caught me once before. Extending nonaggression… Nonaggression, as a quality or status that the Akatsuki could offer… or a state already adapted that might be 'extended' as in furthered…?

"Naruto," he said firmly, snapping me out of my thoughts. "You know as well as I do that the end result will be the same either way. While it is impressive you've lasted this long, you deplete your chakra while I do not. You _cannot_ defeat me. You can't even protect Hinata. You're just too weak…"

"Gr…!"

"So if it's the last decision you ever make…" He smiled darkly, extending his hand in offering. "Why not do the right thing? Cease this desperate resistance, and let end Hinata's suffering… Persuade the girl to do the Akatsuki's bidding, and in doing so you will guarantee the wellbeing of the Hidden Leaf you yearn so strongly to protect…"

My teeth ground.

"Well–?"

"So you're some kind of pacifist now?"

I lifted resolute eyes, and with a brief flash of violet chakra from my body I was joined by a ring of thirty clones slung into existence around the Uchiha rogue. With the slightest thoroughly unamused inclination of an eyebrow, his hand slowly fell.

"There are too many people here who're counting on me! And besides – sorry, pal, but I can't trust Hinata or the Leaf Village to your care!"

"That's … unfortunate." A kunai slipped from the sleeve of his cloak, and in a crisp motion was snatched up and clasped in his hand.

_Shizune-san – hurry!_

_And Hinata… just hang on!_

* * *

**Hinata ****ヒナタ**

The bowstring groaned as my shivering hand drew back, my teeth clenched and eyes wide; the man lunged swiftly forward and to the side, and I began to edge left, but then he rushed the twenty yards between us in a strong few steps, and I started to flinch back. One wrist and one forearm were engulfed in his hands as he halted at my side, and the arrow sailed off into the treetops.

"Hesitant, aren't you?" he grunted, pulling on my arms and–

WHOMP!

"_GUH–!_"

–throwing a vicious knee at my stomach.

"And now you drop your weapon…"

I wasn't really thinking about that as I was lifted off my feet, my eyes crossed, gagging as I bent over and landed, hands partially clutching before my middle, and with a confused stutter-step propelled myself to fall flat on my face. I trembled, mouth open with a bead of saliva falling from it, eyes bulging, lightheaded at the tight web of pain that spasmed hotly in my gut. I reached out with one arm, tried to crawl away, to get away while I was weakened so.

_Crick–!_

He stomped on my bare foot, and I yowled. The man only snickered. "That other one keeps looking over here – the raccoon lad, too, actually. I think they're getting angry at me! Jinchuuriki, no less! Come on – give 'em a good scream this time, will you–?"

Awkwardly splayed on my front though I was, I threw a kick back at him; missing the intended target by a good couple of feet, I jammed my heel up into his kneecap.

"Sh– You little brat!" He grabbed my ankle and flipped me over, roughly so that I crashed to the ground on my back, and – I really shouldn't have closed my eyes – I crossed my arms in defense of my face as he stepped forward, and slammed his shoe down into contact with my lower ribs.

My body stiffened and shuddered, head thrown back on the ground and mouth flung agape on my contorted face as the ground crackled sharply, a crash of force in one brutal stroke devastating the earth for a good few meters' radius from my body. What breath I caught subsequently was cast forth in a high sob as my arms moved shakily inward, hands resting near as they could to the throbbing pain that blazed most fiercely under the area still covered by his foot.

"You can't take a hit worth crap, either…" Kisame observed. "But… What's this?" I stiffened again, clenched teeth parting as he pressed down with a good deal of if not all his strength and ground his foot into the pain. He whistled, an utterance in itself a note of sarcasm. "They just won't give. The demon's flesh is wrought of steel, and her bones forged of adamant, huh? You're lucky your body's stronger than you are." He chuckled, amused to no end.

All I could do was groan out through my teeth. Brows quivering, I cracked my eyes open to a blurred and faded sky; splotchy wisps of flickering darkness tossed and rolled about like fiery embers, clustered at the edges of my vision.

"It looks like your will to fight's just about dried up," he noted. "And here after all that tough talk… all the fearless declarations of 'I won't betray my friends,' all the boasting yourself above association with criminals… Suddenly all I can see in your eyes is 'I'm afraid of this man. I don't want him to hurt me. I don't want more pain'…"

_I'm… blacking out…_

"And you know why? Because you're _weak!_"

STOMP!

"_Oh–!_"

The strange darkness blared out, rapid waves of it swelling and billowing tumultuously, engulfing my eyes…

…

_Huh…?_

_Could it be that…_

_Without his weight pressing into my ribs, I've stopped losing consciousness? _I thought, blinking as I found myself staring frowningly into Kisame's eyes, dangling by the neck of my jacket.

_Kuso…!_

"You're weak," he repeated. "But the _Akatsuki_… can _make_ you strong."

"I d-desire no strength attained from the l-likes of–,"

He punched me in the face. Hanging by his grasp, I could do nothing save gasp and blink in shock, turning my head a little. Blood dribbled from my nose.

"You must think your present level of ability is really something, then," he scoffed. "You can try to hide it from me if you want, but you know you can't deny it – your hunger for power, that is."

"I d-don't–!" I coughed. "I don't kn-know… what you're _talking_ about…!"

I flinched as he hollered with laughter. "So you don't? You, who would stoop so low as to train yourself in the pursuit of mastering Orochimaru's mark, and scrape up the use you could get out of a dark curse granted by your sworn enemy? _You_, who sought to bind yourself by pact to a clan of demons, in exchange for the powers to be gained from it?"

I grunted.

"Did I strike a nerve?" he chuckled. "I can read it all in those eyes of yours. For all you play the innocent and righteous fighter, the truth is that at heart you're a person who is willing to cheat along her path whenever an opportunity arises. At one point or another you found you didn't like being weak and took a liking to power; and ever since you've been in a hurry to amass it. And that's why you leapt headstrong, without glancing back, at the chance to be warped for all time into a monster!"

I clenched my teeth, eyes shut.

"Come on, you can tell me! That's why you did it, right? To get your hands on a shred of the Gobi's power, you agreed to be changed into something atrocious and foul – a freak neither man nor beast. Well? Are you trying to tell me such a person cares about the form in which power presents itself? !"

"…You're right," I ground out. "I did it… to b-become stronger…

"_But_…"

I scowled sharply, and my hands tightened on his arm.

Hoshigaki Kisame's mouth fell open, his eyes widening on a painful throb of surprise, as his body shuddered from the Juuken kick that had lashed below his underarm, lodged solidly into the side of his ribs.

"Guh–!"

With a slight partial transformation, I turned my foot and dug clawed toes into his side, using the leverage to swing my right foot back, around, and up; with the turning of my body I flipped my shirtneck free and poised both hands lightly atop his still outstretched arm, leaving myself facing outward from him with one knee bent, sole resting on the side of his ribcage as claws unhooked from it, and the other foot upraised high in the air.

"Don't you _dare_–_!_"

In a single swift stroke of ferocity, my foot lurched down in an angled sweep, connecting and driving through as heel impacted the back of his skull.

Chakra shattered the first barrier within my right forearm. I landed, and he staggered away, rough hands cradling his head.

"To pretend for a _second_–_!_"

Cutting to his side, I pivoted, whirled sharply in place, and slammed a lateral kick into his tough abdomen. Withholding a grunt, he stepped back at the strike; and before he could react I planted that foot on the ground, spun, and buried a Juuken heel strike in precisely the same place. He stepped back again, and I planted my foot again, turned, and kicked, turned, and kicked, each swift blow connecting with a sharp crash of force that pushed him in recoil another step away.

Moving in front of him, I spun strongly once more, right arm back. "That the likes of _you–!_"

WHAM! !

And my blazing Byakugan were narrowed and icy as I relished in the feel of my fist sinking forcefully into his abdominals.

The fourth scar was overcome with a shockwave of nameless force.

As Kisame jerked double I surged skyward. Knee met jaw with driving force, throwing his head back again.

"Could even _begin_ to understand–!"

A pair of cold, silver-white eyes flickered across my mind.

Two light kicks flurried out from midair, right foot then left pumping my chakra into his chest, and at a third shot I pushed up, spun my body in the air, swept a heel before his face – and smashed the successive kick of the Konoha Sempuu square into his head.

I landed in a crouch, tapping two fingers to right wrist, and shoved forward in one mighty bound. Outstretched before me was the palm which headed the spear of frenzying, ultra-pressurized chakra locked within my right arm.

"–_My reason for seeking strength!_"

_Shippurendan–!_

Tmp.

"…Th-this is… the technique that wounded Itachi, isn't it?"

These words that ran from Kisame's bloody mouth were spoken not with fear of impending doom but rather curiosity, as he peered at the palm he'd caught by wrist an inch before his chest.

Eyes wide, I tried to force the distance to no avail; his grip was iron, and his chortling began anew at my attempts.

"If that's so, once this palm touches its target there's only one way you can free it…"

_M-my arm! _Grimacing, I prepared to force the chakra free; even without direct contact, such a blast at this range would still–!

I couldn't stop him. Even if I'd foreseen it coming, it's not like I had the strength.

Such was the suddenness of his move that I was being pushed off my feet, some reflexive gut reaction having already saved me from certain death, by the time I realized just what had happened. When the aforementioned realization arrived, my heart seemed to crash down into my stomach, and perhaps throb there, a slow, heavy, pounding drum. My feet met ground first, but I was too stunned to think to try to catch balance and retain my footing.

So I toppled to the ground, eyes huge, a barely withheld Chakra Concussion Blast screaming in my arm, as I lay with my right palm stuck fast to my own forehead.

"You _almost_ had me there…"

I whimpered, rolling onto my side with a grimace to clasp a shaky hand at my searing arm.

The man laughed. "So, you don't want the Akatsuki's power, huh? Suit yourself – you'll be joining us whether you agree to it or not. Of course, if the slug witch won't heal Itachi we'll be forced to take her along as well … but maybe it would serve nicely as an incentive if she's not allowed to heal _you_ until she's treated him… That should be a good way to keep her from betraying us, don't you think?"

"Y-you bastard," I whispered, even as my eyes moistened again.

* * *

**Naruto ****ナルト**

I yelled out as my back met the tree in an explosion of pain. The cold hand that had slammed me here shifted deftly, and the arm pressed into my trachea with just the precise measure of restraint not to crush it then and there.

I drilled all the fierceness I could muster into the man's unfeeling, steady glare, but lost force as my sight began to weaken, and my scowl to falter. Wordlessly Uchiha Itachi released me, already striding away by the time I, as he'd known I would, toppled to the ground.

"A shame, really…" he murmured as he walked. "A few more years, and you might have been able to give me a decent challenge…"

Grunting weakly, I turned my head. I saw the man blur, and in seemingly the same moment that sand sprang up behind Gaara in automatic defense he was before him with a sharp thump – a sandal in the redhead's gut. Gaara's body shuddered once, and his head, halfway turned back at the disturbance behind him, shakily began to turn itself forward again before, large eyes unfocused, the boy embraced himself and crumpled with a breath of pain.

My teeth clenched in panic. "Stay away from them!" I yelled, trying to push myself up, but as soon as I had pain gripped me, and I coughed up a thick glob of blood and fell again.

"Pathetic," Itachi spat darkly. "One who cannot so much as touch me… One who cannot even do a thing to defend his beloved comrades… Who would trust _you_ to protect that village?"

"Ch…!"

Itachi set his eyes on Tsunade. Shizune had formed all of one handseal when the man blurred to seize her wrists in one hand and knock her head against the tree behind her with the other.

"Tsunade," the man said, looking down at the shivering sannin. "Snap out of it; I need you to heal me."

The woman lifted her gaze at his voice; her face was pale, mouth open and eyes large and pitiable.

"If you won't do it, I'll cut you and let you see your own blood run…"

Her shaking gaze remained on him, her whipped-puppy expression unchanged.

_Kuso…! You reduce Hinata to a broken state, you lure us to the enemies' den… and now, the strongest of all of us, and you won't even fight – won't even stand up for yourself? After all the bravado and belligerence you enjoyed showing off before…_

"Look around; there's no one left to protect you. It would be meaningless to resist any longer."

My eyes quivered. _This is… the legendary medical genius?_

When Itachi touched her arm, she flailed and yelped and slapped his hand away, eyes clamped shut in distress.

Itachi frowned. "You… You sorry excuse for a sannin!" he growled, voice low but tone fierce, as he brought his fist harshly across her shocked face. Crimson peppered the earth at her side, and my hand clenched as I spotted the darkness clouding on her cheek.

She uttered a gasp of pain as he caught her again with the backfist, a wicked crack of force that snapped her head to the side. He lifted his foot and stamped her shoulder into the tree she leaned against, and then drew back and repeated a second time, a third; he rubbed his heel into her forehead, speckling it with dirt; he kicked her terribly hard in the side, and I shook with each blow. She sat there and took it all, whimpering and sobbing her only reaction.

Itachi's hand flashed to her face, and even as she recoiled in anticipation he cupped her cheek, roughly gripped her hair in his fingers, and forced her to meet his eyes. "Are you awake yet?" he hissed in her bloodied face, making the woman cower from intimidation. He spoke very slowly. "I need you to restore me, and you'll do it. Do you understand?"

Teeth chattering, Tsunade winced with watery eyes and turned her head away. Itachi released her with a light shove and contemptuous snort, and then drew himself again to full height. "Useless…" the man hissed.

His fist pulled back.

Tsunade shut her eyes.

_WHAM!_

A note of resounding force broke into the air as Itachi's knuckles impacted the Leaf emblem upon my forehead. I felt wetness run down between my glowering eyes, stream to one side of my nose, fall over the cool frown on my lips, and drip steadily from my chin.

"Honestly… Don't you have anything better to do than beat up old ladies, Uchiha Itachi?"

"N… Naruto…" Tsunade whispered behind me.

"I can't have anything happening to you, Granny," I said. "Once all this is over, you're holding your end of the bargain. We still need you to come with us … and rescue Master Jiraiya!"

Itachi tried to push me with a sudden spike of force, but I held firm. "Hn," he murmured, "Recruit Tsunade to your cause, free Jiraiya, free the jounin… a nice theory, but what if it should shatter in practice? Look at you," he hissed, "Any fool can spew words and declarations; yet the second someone like _me_ comes along your merry path here you are, doomed to failure…"

"It ain't over 'til it's over, pal," I snarled. "I will protect the Hidden Leaf without fail! All of us will! And we'll be as strong as we have to be to crush anything that decides to get in the way!" I shoved his fist from my forehead, and struck out with my own.

"Fool," he reiterated, catching my fist in his hand. "That's _no_ solution. Do you truly believe it? That you – you _children_ – can save the village?"

"I do!"

"How much faith have you bestowed… in these weak fists?"

Before I could begin to wonder what he meant, my hand began to shatter in the strength of his grip. My body stiffened, and my mind blazed through a listing of bones, punctuated with an obscenity apiece, as Uchiha Itachi so easily broke them. Teeth bared, I withheld the noise that wanted so badly to come shrieking up my throat.

"Naïve yet… You don't quite seem to grasp the magnitude…"

_Cr-Cra-CRACK!_

"…Of what you're entrusting to your own two hands! At some point no matter how hard you fight or how determined you are, you will _not_ be able to succeed."

My breath hissed through my teeth, and I glowered steadily as sweat rolled down my face. "D-didn't I already warn you I'd crush anything that got in the way? You'd better w-watch out, Uchiha, otherwise you'll be crushed for c-certain…!"

"As if you could…"

I grunted audibly as he squeezed harder, but still refused to cry out. "I know full well what I'm talking about here – my home, the Village Hidden in the Leaves, and every last soul inside it! Not that I'd expect you to understand–!"

Force cracked blindingly into the side of my jaw, setting my tongue lolling, my footing uncertain, one eye snapping shut.

When I saw the man's other fist nearing my face, I knew somehow that this time I wouldn't be waking up for a while.

_Smat!_

"H–huh? !" I gasped.

Itachi's punch had been blocked. His fist was clasped securely in the manicured hand of an arm resting casually over my right shoulder. The woman's other hand laid on my left arm, steadying me from falling over.

Itachi's eyes were wide. "Wh–? !"

His teeth clenched, muffling a short yell as a sharp crunch issued from his captured fist. Then Tsunade curtly flicked him back by the hand she held, sending him crashing to and skidding a good several meters along the ground. The man sat up with a grunt, shooting a poisonous scowl our way.

"Granny… You…?"

She patted my shoulder as I looked up at her. "You did good, Naruto," she said, eyes sharp, bruised face and bloody mouth set in an expression cold and fierce. "Go ahead and let us grown-ups handle this… Well, I would say that, but I might need you to back me up here."

Itachi stood, straightening his cloak and patting dust out of its folds. "You've overcome your fear, then…"

"I have," she said, "and I've decided – by the time _I'm_ through with you, you won't be needing a doctor anymore…"

He shut his eyes and chuckled lightly from the throat, his mouth closed. "You seem to suggest you could kill me, Tsunade. But from our brief exchange earlier, I know you've realized that I hold the upper hand. We simply don't match up. And yet you still intend to fight…?"

"Give me a break," she snorted. "Anything can happen once the battle's in motion; you know that and I know that. In the end all we can do is see what happens."

"A game of chance, is it?" he scoffed. "But why? When you could so simply heal me and be done with us… For so many years you've put your village out of mind and wandered the lands a drifting vagabond, following your heart's whims, appeasing your own needs, always living in, existing for the moment. So why would you, one of the renowned sannin, risk it all for the likes of these brats…?"

She looked down as she chose her words. "These kids… these lowly little brats… have something in them that I'd long lost and forgotten. Courage. Guts. Ambition. Determination." She looked up. "And they, even more than I or anyone else, have what it takes to protect that place!"

Itachi stared on, unreadable. "And so you aid them? You hope to make amends for what you've done today by destroying the peril you've brought on them, even if it should cost you your life?"

Tsunade grinned dangerously. "Me, die? Not gonna happen today, kid. After all, I just remembered something…"

Itachi's eyes narrowed. I gulped. Tsunade lifted her head proudly and raised her voice for all to hear.

"I am, now and forever, a ninja of the Village Hidden in the Leaves! !"

_Tsunade's fighting spirit has been reignited? !_

_

* * *

_

**Hinata ****ヒナタ**

"Eat this!"

"_Eeek!_"

He repeatedly slammed his sword to the ground, and where it struck a water shark missile was called forth and unleashed, sent spiraling and hurtling toward me with vicious jaws spread wide. Kisame screeched with laughter as I ran awkwardly and frantically for my life, jumping as each projectile crashed down at my heels. After five such evasions, I realized the next shark bomb was shooting along a trajectory to pass in front of me – and I was about to run straight into it.

But I didn't direct chakra to my feet to sharpen my pivot, and I didn't call upon the Hakkeshou Kaiten. It was the most I could do to try to dig down with my heels, stumblingly stopping the forward momentum magnified by a clumsy lack of balance owed to the arm that hung in front of me, and lean away as the water shark lanced by and exploded in front of me.

Flung by the force, I landed on my upper back and bounced to slide to a stop on my front, right arm tucked awkwardly under me. With a scowl I laid down my left palm and tried to push up, glaring from the corner of an eye that fought not to spill over.

Kisame couldn't seem to stop chortling, that swaggering, superior grin carved into his face. "It's getting almost comical. I don't see why you keep resisting…"

"Kuso!" I panted, falling onto my side to cradle my right arm once more, face hot. _The crude Gentle Ferocity Blast that wounded Itachi was an incomplete technique… The fool says he needs me alive… but the Chakra Concussion Blast, the deathblow that concludes the Hurricane Barrage, is many times more powerful…!_

_And… _I bit my lip.

_If I try to manipulate any chakra at all … if some stray ripple happens to disturb and accidentally fire off this blast… Not to say it won't probably break my arm _and_ snap my neck…_

_Even though it _is_ my own chakra… if such a force disrupts the chakra flow of my brain…!_

Growling, I shoved, clumsily, to my feet. I took care not to stumble around too much.

"_Baka_," I spat, glaring furiously around my wrist. "For how much weaker you are than Itachi, you have all the more arrogance! What's funny… is that even though overconfidence could be a man like Itachi's undoing – a shrimp like you doesn't quite seem to realize it can be his own!"

"What's that?" Kisame growled, face darkening as its amusement vanished with a snarl. "You've got a fast mouth – for an idiot running around with a hand accidentally glued to her face!"

I gasped in alarm, stepping back as he leapt toward me. I couldn't reach a weapon quickly enough with my left hand; it was all I could do to turn my head, and to catch the brunt of the Samehada's blow, intended for my side, with my forearm.

_Slash!_

I screamed, hard. My eyes were bulging as blood gushed from the wounds; I stepped away, but as soon as I had a hand flashed out, gripping me by the neck, while another struck into my stomach. I wheezed in pain, dazed as I was lifted off my feet and held in the air by his hold on my neck.

"Tch. That's the problem with weak people. So insolent…"

Gasping brokenly, as blood ran from my open mouth and water freely from my dull eyes, and crimson dripped heavily off my elbow, I could not respond.

"You're gonna call someone a fool, with such a stupid face?" Reaching past my limp, bloodied arm with his free hand, he pressed a large, rough thumb and forefinger to my cheeks, squeezed them, pushed them up, forcing me to show him a silly face.

I didn't try to fight or resist, and continued to hang there, gazing near lifelessly into his eyes.

"Cheer up! I'm not going to kill you. You'll come to acknowledge your superiors in time; all that's left to you now is to accept def–."

_Splikt!_

My mouth moved.

"A-arrogant…"

"Wh… A-_ah_… _AAAAAAHHH–!_"

"_HYEEAAA!_"

When my clawed right thumb had pierced his eye, Kisame had dropped me.

When my feet hit the ground, I leapt to throw all my weight into the forearm I wrenched into his collarbone.

The high strike took him off his feet. Straddling his chest, teeth gritted, fingers gripping the side of his head for leverage as I struggled intently to push my thumb just a little further, I drew back my left hand as he began to resist.

_When you slashed me with that sword just now – it devoured all the chakra sitting in my right arm!_

I yelled again as I brought my fist down against his face. I kept my hold on his eye, and the man spasmed and kicked under me at the pain of it, screaming, unable to react as I pounded him. My mouth hung slightly open, and there was perhaps a furrow in my brow. Eyes wide, with an almost possessed intensity, I drew far back and smashed knuckles with shuddering force now to his cheek, his nose, his cheek, his cheek, his right eye, his mouth, his cheek, his nose again, sharp and hard, each time heaving my weight into it, marveling without marveling at the crimson that dusted the ground, glazed my knuckles, spattered warmly to my face. At some point his left hand clutched my right but faltered as I dug, able only to stop me from gouging further. I punched him in the neck; then, on a spur of insight, my claws slid to cradle his windpipe.

I guess it was at that moment, though, that he got a hold of himself or found either the strength or the urgency to do so – and pried my right hand away as he rolled and retaliated with and angry fist bludgeoned across my face.

I grunted as my side met earth, and I rolled blindly, my eyes long shut. My mouth opened, and crimson was sharply expelled after I'd come to a stop.

"M-my _eye_…! Damn you…!"

"I-itai…" _His strength…! _I tried to push myself up, but could hardly muster the power to lift my face from the dirt before my arm gave out, an elbow touching ground under me. _My right arm… is pretty messed up…_

I found I needed to pop my neck, and whimpered as I did so; distressed as I was from so brief a stab of sickening pain, I grimaced faintly as I shed a fresh round of tears.

"You sniveling piece of…" Kisame rose to his feet, a hulking form in his cloud-patterned, bloodstained black cloak. His battered face (which in itself held a strange enough visage) was further contorted with rage, and the blood that streamed from his nose and from his open mouth, but most profusely of all from one eye tightly shut under a twitching lid, seemed to grant him the guise of a seething monster. "You think you're pretty smart now, _huh__? !"_

I would've probably screeched that I most definitely didn't, provided the time. Kisame was already stalking toward me, a hand creeping toward the hilt of his blade, his step menacingly slow and measured. As soon as I began to get to my feet, however, he burst into a sprint. Rage burned in his eye as he gripped the hilt in both hands, readying his strike with a wordless yell, and it occurred to me he may have forgotten he was meant to take me in alive.

_No!_

_Fweeeeeeenn–!_

He blinked in surprise from the other side of the wall; then he looked down to spot the two lucky pebbles, and his scowl turned into a rough, snarly grin. "This again? Then you _must_ be out of tricks."

"Wh-what's happening?" I gasped as chakra blazed from the mark on my palm at an alarming rate. The shield began to bend. _My barrier is…!_

"Eat up her chakra, Samehada!" Kisame bellowed, a malicious grin, eager for calamity, carved upon his features as he drew back and slashed again. Flaring scales caught, lodged briefly in the translucent blue triangle. Then with a jerk of force the man wrenched the rough sharkskin across the shield.

Eyes wide in a panic, I could only stare as my chakra was accordingly stripped to the barrier's integrity.

With lightning speed he struck again. In a screaming burst of sensation I felt the jarring force slam upon my being, phantom but still rattling, and my teeth were further bared as pain sliced into my furiously shuddering hand, and veins stood out on it, and an ache began to claw at my abdomen, where the heart of my keirakukei struggled with the output–

When he hit the still-rippling shield a third time, his sword smashed a dent into it.

And then, on the shimmering wall of light, always strong and flexible and never brittle, appeared a crack.

_He's consuming my chakra faster than I physically release–!_

With a sharp crack the barrier ruptured under the blade, casting out a few sparkling flecks of crystalline blue.

Force throbbed in the air. The broken triangle pulsed and shifted to a violent white in color, and as the Samehada sank slowly through the rend some confused force in the turmoil, the tangle of disrupted barrier workings, began to pull me bodily forward, a soft, weightless gravitation that lifted my heels from the earth and seemed soon to tug up my toes–

When all at once the seal shattered upon my palm, and the stone charms vaporized to dust, and I was thrown backwards with frightening velocity.

I think the first thing I hit, aside from the ground, was a tree, with such speed that I could just barely glimpse, in rapid succession, a stretch of broken earth – pain! – a tree that seemed suspended a few feet over the ground, its impossibly short, smoking stump careening on an upturned chunk of dirt – and at that point, by no means anywhere near done, I lost track. The entire trip, seconds in duration, was both deafening and agonizing, with each of these aspects frequently flaring and exploding with staggering intensity, crushing me.

Finally, after I'd transitioned mercifully from shooting through the earth to on it, my tumbling form sailed over some sort of ledge, skipped on water, and collided back-first with the edge of the opposite bank. With no breath to lose, I loosed a convulsive upheaval of blood at the impact; the crimson splattered down into clear blue. My hurting body slid, stunned, down toward the water.

_All my jutsu … are kicking my butt today, huh… _I groggily blinked already half-shut eyes; when they opened, my shaky gaze fixed itself on an upside-down image above me. Clad in soft white and dark reddish brown, staring back down at me from where she stood atop the highest of a cluster of boulders…

_Wolf…?_

I blinked, and she was gone. Fingers that had been absently gripping the bank loosened. My eyes slid shut, and I fell into the river.

When my eyes opened again I was not submerged but on solid ground. I blinked and took note of the rough, wet strokes that had perhaps roused me, and as my vision cleared I saw her, swiftly washing the gash at my temple that had rolled a thick swathe of crimson down my face.

I found a smile on my face as she set herself intently upon lapping a rough laceration on my hip. I tried to speak. "Th… Thank you, sister…" I managed, and winced momentarily as she moved on to the broken skin at my lower ribs. "What are you doing … all alone out here?" I wondered.

I reached up, so weakly, and gently nestled my fingers into the fur of the side of her strong neck as she worked. "I'm sorry… us humans, with our silly bickering, have … b-been making so much noise, haven't we…?" I turned my head, laying my eyes on the trail of devastation that freshly scarred the earth and the trees, easily seventy meters long. "In this nice forest where you live…"

I chuckled, though the action pained me.

"What am I thinking? You can't understand me, can you? Look at me – after all, I'm nothing but a wolf without a tail…!"

When the tear fell, she wistfully lapped it away.

I paused and turned my head toward her, and she whimpered and trilled in concern, ears down. She pawed tentatively at my face and then lowered her head to prod my cheek with her nose, genuine worry glinting in intelligent eyes.

With new strength I found the will to sit up, biting back a grunt of pain.

"S-sister – might I ask you to show me a paw?"

She cocked her head in confusion. Then she lifted her right forepaw from the ground, held it out a bit, and lowered it again.

For all it hurt to, I almost laughed aloud. Crouched on my toes, though with caution not to raise myself above her, I touched her shoulders and nuzzled her neck enthusiastically, and then got to my feet.

* * *

**Gaara ****ガアラ**

–"_It looks kind of … like a collar…"_

"_Ah – gomennasai. But a seal like this works best with a choker…"–_

"What's with that look? You wanna go next, one-tail?"

His grating laughter met me like a barrage of flaming razor blades, jabbing and piercing and stoking a mounting conflagration of white-hot rage. I had seen enough.

–"_It may tickle, but try not to squirm for a minute. I'm going to need to write a bit on you."_

"_Hai…"–_

"_How dare you…? !" _My fists shook; my breath was slow and ragged. Back hunched, I took a step toward him, and snarl-bared teeth parted for hot breath to hiss out in a beast's growl.

–"_There! Wasn't too bad, right?"–_

"How DARE you do this to Hyuuga-san? ! !"

He grinned, apparently amused. "You think you're gonna do something about it, small fry?"

–"_Gaara-kun – Listen to me."_

"_What is it…?"–_

My rage surged beyond words. Suddenly I knew nothing more profoundly than the blazing intensity in my chest that screamed madly for release. I would annihilate his filthy life, would wreak on his body all the punishment he had forced her to endure…!

–"_Bar when I'm with you to help you practice … until I trust you've gained firm enough a degree of control over your tenant…"–_

My fingers met, brushed under the edge of the square pendant that hung on the necklace I wore.

–"_You are, under no circumstances, to remove that suppression charm."–_

I shut my eyes.

–"_I understand."–_

My hand closed.

_Smat!_

"H-huh?"

The one who stood before me exuded an aura of pure, bright warrior spirit unlike anything I had sensed before. Encompassed in the Hyuuga's white eyes, her proud features, and in the stern frown she wore was a well lot more calm power than she had possessed at any time in last several days – and possibly more than I'd ever once seen in the short time I had known her. Having arrived with astonishing speed at my side, she clasped my hand firmly in the gentle strength of her own, preventing me from tearing the necklace away.

"Hinata…?"

She shut one eye. "A few broken bones, but I'm fine." The girl smiled back at me. "But what do you think you're doing, Gaara-kun?"

My face flushed as I averted my gaze, and I allowed her to unfold my hand and guide it from the charm.

"You don't need to be worrying yourself about protecting me just yet, Gaara-kun – and the power of the Shukaku isn't a shortcut I want you taking."

"But – you can't…" I bit my lip. "You're taking risks, aren't you? Your broken spirit–!"

"What about it?" As she spoke to me, she turned her cool glower and smirk on Kisame. "While in human form I still remain Hyuuga Hinata, a sister of the Wolves! If my spirit's been broken, I'll take heart and make strength out of what I've been left – the power of me, and the power in a mind strong enough to hold firm and will demonic power under its control!"

"Wait!" I cried as she took off toward her foe. "What're you doing? !"

"Isn't it obvious? I'm going…"

* * *

**Hinata ****ヒナタ**

"…To take this guy _down!_"

With a crash, my wild backfist was arrested beside Kisame's head. Our locked forearms shook as the man's one round eye was fixed on my two Byakugan, and one glistening bead of sweat, weighted in accumulation, peeked down the side of his face.

I drew away – and attacked.

Every moment held a certain degree of savagery to it as I danced about him, light and fierce, playing on his unaccustomed blindspot as we struck a trade of blows. The exchange was brief but vehement, rapt with the fervor of weary foes who find strength for the sole purpose of setting so intently upon one another; we engaged in a thrashing of fists, a bellowing of blows, and neither seemed able to miss a step in evasion.

Then – my raging palm bored into the arm drawn swiftly before his chest.

I leaned sharply back at the waist. The Samehada slashed out, a surge of blue that carved a wide lateral arc and shredded the air, tousled my bangs against my forehead.

My eyes' apparent gaze trained directly ahead – above – and supreme vision caught at the same time the faint wisp of shorn, blue hair that fluttered before my eyes, and the boot thrown alongside the motion of the sword's slash as it impacted my fully unguarded stomach.

The force sent my back screeching into a tree, and I jolted and collapsed with a groan at its base. My already tested body was giving out, failing me. My face paled out as I clasped at my heart and panted for air, still trying to shake away stars.

"Huh…" With a slight hunch about his posture, Kisame's breath was labored as well; sword planted on the ground for support, he cocked a wide grin. "That was the kind of bout I needed…" He shortly licked a bit of his own blood that trailed from the corner of his mouth. He heaved with a shove of vigor to full height and pointed with the sword, looking down it's blade at me. "Doesn't really matter if it was short; after a battle like that, I can kill you with a bit less regret over not getting a taste of the Black Wolf Fang's fury. Heck – you could almost die without so much regret … wouldn't you agree?"

"_Hinata!" _Gaara cried as the man rushed to end it.

_Mada mada! _I lifted the back of my hand to parted lips, and upon contact the other thumb plunged itself into the palm. A piercing, bloodied claw broke through, and even as I sharply drew inward, in one swift slurp, my head snapped back against the tree behind me as my eyes lost focus in pain.

_A sacrifice – the power of blood!_

The sword swung. I lowered my head, hands moving away.

_Youkai Hou: Howling Beast! ! _

With my yell came a blast of monstrous proportion; a wave of angry black energy exploded from my mouth, and for the seconds of its duration my howl, contorted in a thick filter of darkness, rose up to ring loud and unreal, demonic and resounding from deep in my throat.

I was left panting after the blast died out and ended. For a wide range that extended outward in front of me, the ground was charred and pockmarked in a ripple pattern; the trees directly across the clearing had been bowled down, and others in their vicinity sported broken branches and lost leaves. And as the smoke continued to clear I spotted, ten yards before me, a still figure crouched down in a low stance. His feet were spread, his sandals having cut a pair of skid tracks into the dirt, starting only a short few feet from where I sat.

His cloak was in tatters, and his sword planted in the earth poised at angle in front of his torso and face. Kisame shivered momentarily. Then his good eye edged from behind the Samehada, focusing intently on me.

A breath of a laugh ghosted past my lips as my body shivered with fatigue, and I felt the glower slip from my eyes as I slumped back against the tree again. _I g-guess human blood … isn't all that powerful…_

Kisame read it in my face. "Your last move?" he remarked, with little uncertainty.

I gave him a feeble, almost embarrassed smile in defeat. _I have… no chakra left…_

He smiled back and began to walk toward me, sword hoisted on his shoulder.

_So… This is it…?_

I drew a sharp intake of breath as three burning black rings sprang hungrily upon the whitened flesh of each ankle and wrist.

"Wh…What? !" I cried, mouth twisting into a gaping scowl as I felt teeth pointing, and observed the clawed nails lengthening at my fingertips. I clutched my wrist sharply, growling in fury and terror as the fourth ring tried to brand itself on it. _I-it's – it's out of control! !_

A wild thrill throbbed in my chest as the ring furthered its encroachment, beginning to take shape, and with it I tasted a flutter of darkness in my heart, an energy so raw and strong that my grimace flew into a monstrous grin, and I began to laugh. Third ring – unstable – was trying to jump to the fourth – shoot! – not the fourth, the second! Better, none at all! Go _back_! Why wasn't it listening? ! As if I'd forgotten how to command it…! _Stop – no! _

But – but I was about to die, maybe! What was I supposed to…?

'_Why do you hesitate, my Koinu? !'_

_O-Okaa-sama, what–? !_

My eyes stretched wide as the ring fought and pushed forward again at the extent I'd ground it back, forcibly granting me another surge of strong, clean, filthy darkness.

With a grunt I halted the curse's advance. Even I couldn't fully release my youki for fear of corruption – and that current youki release limit was no more powerful than the third ring of the curse.

But the mark – I'd long since gained control over it, so…!

'_Why do you hesitate? ! !' _the Five-tails demanded again.

I yelled, wordless and furious, in reply. Hesitate – I was always hesitating, wasn't I? ! The stupid woman who'd done this to me – if I hadn't faltered so long, if I had just unleashed myself at the start– No! What was wrong with me? !

'_To protect your village you mustn't waver, Hinata; crush the ones who stand in your way! Crush those who threaten you!'_

"_No…!_" I growled, clenching my teeth as the mark seared with pain.

"That's your true power, then?" Kisame observed. "If it is, stop hiding it already–!"

"NO!" I barked harshly as he stepped toward me. "Get _over here – _stay a-away from me! I'm serious! Don't come any closer, or I – _I'll crack your skull, I'll feast on your flesh and savor your innards–!"_

I broke my own hand in my grip, grounding myself. Tears fell as I painfully granted myself a few moments of clarity.

_Chikushou…! Why is this…?_

_Th-the part of the seal that's been secured under the sway of Okaa-sama… doesn't necessarily have to be evil … but it does have the propensity to be. Demonic energy … is not an easy thing for a human to control…_

Crack–

_Still, it's nothing but cheap, imitation youki … but it's so _powerful_…!_

"_Grrrrr…_"

_This mark… This–_

Crack!

–_F-filthy corruption of the strength of the Ookami… bears the cursed function of invoking the guise of a full youkai at any time, in even mere humans and han'you… This is stolen power…!_

My eyes were screwed shut. Perspiration matted my bangs to my brow.

_I know all this is true, so why… Why am I losing control of it _now_? !_

My eyes opened.

_The mark… which is tempting even on a regular new moon…_

…_So, today… with no more spiritual or physical energies left to stand on … my fragmented mind doesn't have the strength to resist it… …?_

Something was overridden. The fourth ring branded itself deep into my flesh. Looking down at my broken hand, I didn't blink as my mouth fell open, as I began faintly to laugh.

_Kuso… No… It's not supposed to happen like this…!_

My sight glistened with moisture as I lifted my head and now smiled miserably, torn.

"I'm s-sorry… Naruto… My will was too w-weak…"

Hate really was a frightening thing. It didn't matter, suddenly, the _reason_ that I hated Hoshigaki Kisame and Uchiha Itachi, that they were standing in my way, that they were hurting my friends, that they were cruel and insensitive and vicious. What was truly amazing was that as soon as the curse took a hold of my hatred, sank its fangs in nice and deep, I stopped thinking – entirely – about two dozen orphans eagerly awaiting the happy stories of exciting adventures and rescues and saving the village. I forgot about wanting to keep my head, in front of Gaara-kun who looked up to me for my very ability to do so. I forgot about the people I needed to protect; I lost sight of flimsy goals suddenly pale and insignificant. The very things that defined me, the very things for which I was fighting at that moment, the very things that kept me going and that pushed me to such extremes, were washed away, swept clean in an instant by a single-minded driving force – a boiling desire to hurt these two, to spill blood, to reap anguish and relish in their pain. The pressures, the confusing emotions, the anxieties were fast-fading into something simple, lucidly clear. And if I were to give myself to this madness, I knew all the doubt and trepidation that troubled me like plague would as swiftly disappear.

I would use my power – all of it – and then – and _then_ – my enemies would be crushed.

Hatred… It really was _incredible!_

_

* * *

_

_I found myself amid light – standing in a singular path of darkness. Slowly I blinked my eyes. As I took a step my feet sloshed through the smooth, clean black liquid that flooded the ground of the dark trail. I reached curiously toward the edge, the brink, but before I could bring myself to touch the thin, watery light outside, the grainy expanse of burning light at some time so familiar to me, I shied away – retreated, sloshed warily back into the column of black._

_Maybe… maybe there was a lot more light, and it might be easier to see if I ventured to step out, or in, or over there, but, but… I liked it here…_

_Here… alone… with nothing and no one to plague or inhibit me._

_A beckoning call from afar reached my ears, and reverberated with my heart – my soul. With a shuddering gasp I clutched my chest, as if dealt a blow of solid force; even so my pale face was flushing hot, and some strange allure washed over me as I stared down the path. Brow drawing wrinkled and eyes half-shut, frail hand over frail heart, I whimpered and took off through the blackness, toward the call. I felt I possessed no power to stop myself should I have tried to or wanted to turn away; every drilling throb of my pulse drove my feet one and another splashing step through the water, forward, forward, forward…_

_When I saw her, I was frozen._

_I halted when her figure appeared out of the thick blackness, seeming almost to emerge from the surroundings, to materialize before me, and for a moment I could only stare in wonder, beyond words, beyond thought. I noticed with a start the band of black that connected us – perhaps drawn thin with our earlier distance, but now, with our scarce few strides of separation, tangible – strong – faintly visible even in the encumbrance of darkness around us, flowing from her and seeping through the trembling hand that clutched fiercely at a chest that still quaked for breath._

_In an awestricken daze, I looked up again. My mouth opened, dry. "You're…"_

_She uttered a sound – a husky growl of laughter to my lowly, furtive hiss. "_Come over here…_"_

_My soul askew was lulled by her firm voice, even as it was sliced and belittled by its gruff sharpness, a tearing quality my own voice didn't have. I was filled with an eagerness, a need to appease her command, but merely splashed one slogging step forward and faltered._

_Something was burning under the eyes that remained so inexplicably white, some black thing that writhed and twisted in perversion, with a poison so potent as to seem to lash and inflict itself upon me by way of our conjoined gaze. Fickle human that I was, I could discern not even in plain sight the nature of the fantastic being that had presented herself before me, and even now graced my watery, weak white eyes, if she be some ghost of my imagination or some manifestation upon my psyche. This fiendish figure, clad only in her brilliant down of snow, embellished with a nightmarish beast's wild striping of obsidian, this predator of the dark that feasted on the weak with no remorse and yet smiled at _me_ in lazy euphoria, this unstoppable menace that boasted deadly fangs and claws well harder than steel and sharper than razor blades, and wielded them with no doubt or uncertainty present to be found; this demon that exuded so foul and corrugated an energy that, bared to my frail human soul as it was, proved enticing even whilst arousing in every fibre of my being a respect and sound fear for something so great and terrible – such was the massive power now proffered before me! That I could assume such a shape, that so vast a power throbbed and pounded at the edge of my disposal – seized in the throes of a passionate fit of yearning, I was overcome with desire, enchanted by this marvelous creature that I felt could nigh impossibly be me! _

"Come here…_" _

_The energy, the tie that bound us at the heart, began to spread and envelop me. As I stepped forward I could tell no longer even if her true nature was belied in the silken white purity of her fur, or just possibly emblematized rather in her ominous emblazoning of obsidian. She was a murderer swathed in the guise of a child, and some peculiar aspect to her features, perchance recognized in her face, her indeed yet tiny form, that thing identifiably and incontrovertibly childlike whether it be observed in girl or pup or young beast, seemed to cocoon about the sprite a fiendish and oh, so delicate innocence._

_So affected was I that I should readily have flung myself to the lupine warrior's slender feet and groveled should she have fancied it; alas, she spoke no more as I approached. Once I stood, tame and inferior before her eyes but not quite near enough to touch, I took my hand from my heart and made as if to cup her face in awe. I wanted badly to touch her, and when I faltered now it was not because of the look in her eye – which I could no longer seem to find issue with – but for shrinking hesitance, for abashment under the wild one's coolly admonishing gaze, for who was _I_ to press my hand to this glorious creature's face?_

_Her black smile glimmered, shone darkly upon me, capable fangs displayed in a grin, and to me she opened her arms in welcome. _

_My lips quivered. "Y-you… can complete me, c-can't you…? !"_

_Something monstrous gleamed on her nymphlike face as her grin curled wider still. "_Yes… I _can_…"

_And that was why my longing fragment of soul had been drawn here with so rife and ardent a passion, and why, enraptured as I was, hollow and sallow-faced and gasping with weakness, I now stepped toward the demon. Hesitating no longer, I approached her._

_Moved to tears, I, with a plaintive whimper and watery smile, beheld her! And then I embraced my companion and my power!_

_In moments my hand, of its own volition or mine I could not hope to ascertain, began to travel up from where it rested at the small of her back. Her hand snaked under the back of my shirt, and as we moved, our movements one, I felt her light fingers trail up my back, over my shoulder, brush over to my neck._

_My index and middle fingers pulled back, and then tapped against her mark. And as they did, two sturdy claws longer than were my nails, as if by my own prod of force, crashed through mine._

_As the demonic one's claws pierced me I felt a rush, a writhing thrust of convolution go shooting throughout my body – my soul. I gasped._

The curse… Why… I'm unsealing the curse… _my mind stammered, eyes huge as my scrabbling fingers turned slowly and pointlessly against her fur, and her claws carved haltingly, screechingly through the mark._

_I could have stopped it, just then, I realized at the pain. But with the raw pain came the assault of a pleasure so glorious and impassioning I was helpless to resist it._

"After you've come here and embraced me … you consider casting me away?" _the dark one purred pleasantly in my ear, voice a hypnotic trill, as her claws creaked further along – moving to encircle the seal, engrave about it a ring of blood._

"_No," I breathed, holding her tight so that she held me tighter, and perhaps it was I willing both our hands onward. I endured it, whining under the onslaught of sickening pain and wondrous power._

"That's it… I'll … make everything better, for you…"

_My eyes began to shut._

If I give myself to this madness…

_In this state… In this wretched, empty, pitiable state… can you really blame me for doing what felt _good_?_

…Will all the pain go away…?

* * *

**Naruto ****ナルト**

I gagged, struggling where I lay to mend the largely shattered left side of my ribcage. One eye wide open, I coughed up blood.

_Me – okay. But he's _this_ much stronger than Tsunade? !_

The sannin was on the ground, shuddering, a hand pressed to her freshest injury, a stab wound in her side. It had taken the man minutes to trounce us both, and grandma seemed to be at her limit.

"Why you…" the sannin wheezed, glaring up at him.

Uchiha Itachi spoke, indifferent. "You can move with astounding speed in one direction by the very strength and precise application of chakra control with which you push from the ground. This imitation of speed, however… as any illusion, my Sharingan has shattered it…"

"Cocky brat … you think it's over?"

"If you try to fight in your condition, you'll die…"

Incredibly, Tsunade grinned. "Is that so?" she said, rising with remarkable ease to her feet. Her hands formed a seal.

"Wait! Lady Tsunade!" Shizune cried. "If you use that jutsu–!"

"Reserve Seal: Release!"

_What's she planning to do? !_

"Ninja Art–!"

Ice blasted down my spine. All the blood seemed to flee my face. And I laid wide eyes upon the source of a roar of bloodlust that surely sent a tremor into the heavens as a familiar, evil energy rocked my soul.

As the roar died out, I heard Kisame's scream. The man staggered, crimson gushing vividly from beneath the hand he pressed between shoulder and neck. Standing behind him, facing away, Hinata grinned as her claws blazed with streaming blood.

_She hasn't transformed yet, but why – that look in her eye…! _"Hinata!" I yelled, pushing to my feet.

I couldn't believe how quickly it happened. But the moment my call and perhaps too-sudden movement caught the attention of the figure some forty meters away, she vanished – and just as suddenly I gasped, incredulous, as two pale arms snaked roughly across my torso from behind. One hand planted itself beneath my jaw, leaving the firm, clawed fingers that framed it to twitch unnervingly against my cheeks as the hand of her other arm, draped up from my side, dug its claws painfully into my chest; and I could sense in her arms the hard strength to crush me where I stood. I dared not blink or even breathe as the girl held me, and for several perilous seconds there was silence.

Warm breath rolled over my neck as her nose thrust itself behind my ear, trailed down the backmost curve of my jaw. Her movements were slow, deliberate but lilting, as she breathed me in and murmured sensually.

"_Naruto…_" she whispered against me, some unhinged wildness shadowing her voice. She shook with restraint as she forced out more words. "_Don't l-let me… take too much…_"

And she buried her fangs in my neck.

Initially I cried out; soon enough, though, that silken curtain of wonder began to drift over and enfold me. My gaze drifted upward, and my eyes may have moistened; I bit my lip, hard, shivering as Hinata drank hungrily and sated herself on me. Her unrestrained fervor I had never before experienced, and it made it all the more irresistibly exhilarating. I tried to force myself to frown, to grimace, but soon enough I could withhold no longer a relaxed, airy sigh of elation. My eyes slipped shut, unable to focus, blinking up at the heavens above.

_The Demon's B-Bite…_

_Milking vitality off another… deriving power from the essence of death…_

_Suckling another's pain, and thriving off of it…_

_It should be vile and revolting, but … I just can't help it…!_

_When Hinata feeds from me, it feels t-too _good_…!_

Floating helplessly, uplifted as I was on my bubbly haze of happiness, I could hardly comprehend when her fangs left me, and, by her grip on my jaw, she cast my limp body aside – to spin, turn, crash hard against the solid earth.

* * *

**Hinata ****ヒナタ**

I licked my lips, grinning in an ecstatic high as I jerked a clawed finger in the direction of the nearest enemy.

"_Get ready to die."_

The cold man said nothing, merely gazing dispassionately into my eyes. Breathing heavily, I laughed, first quietly, but at last harshly bellowing aloud at the thought of making his boring face twist and scream with pain. The boy had been the last spur I needed; new moon or no, I couldn't be stopped from transforming now.

From embracing perfection.

"_I haven't forgotten it – the taste of your blood,_" I snarled past bared teeth, in a throaty growl, eyes wide and intent as I shuddered in excitement. I ducked my head, flexing my claws before me as my fiery mist of aura intensified, and the glorious darkness whipped up my hair, battered and churned and clamored eagerly in the air about me. "_I'll make sure… I'll be sure every last drop of your blood runs free–!_"

_SHLIGK!_

"_Uh…!_"

My deranged eyes stretched wide, my jaw flung down, shut, falling agape again.

He twisted and wrenched, slashing it free of my strong back in a brutally precise motion. Blood was streaked upon the ground.

And I fell.

_What? Nani?_

Ka-thud…

_I've been stabbed…_

Short, shallow breaths seized up in my chest as the man strode past me again.

_His knife… That was my kidney, wasn't it?_

I wanted to flail and scream. I whimpered, loosing a small, bloody screech as my awesome power slipped away, sifted right through my twitching fingers.

_I'm bleeding to death…_

The scent of cool grass and damp earth mingled in my nostrils with that of my own surely spilling life.

_No…_

My prone frame trembled as I turned my face in the dirt.

_What's he _done_ to me…? !_

I wheezed as water trickled from unblinking eyes.

_Heal… I've got to heal it…!_

My eyebrows pulled inward.

_W-Why…? Wait!_

I didn't have any strength to heal with.

_Wait, stop … please…!_

_I c-can't…_

_It can't… Now…?_

_Now…_

A painful sob wracked me.

_I'm dying…?_

A breath of a gasp brushed my lips as I felt his hands upon my back. For a few moments, the world froze.

"Bakayarou." He spat the word sharply into silence, and I flinched. "Hinata no bakayarou…

"Even surrounded by people waiting to help you…"

His soft voice was calm and steady as he worked, but I felt as light, cool droplets sprinkled down onto my back.

"You keep trying to dig more and more out of yourself when there's just nothing left. What'd you think would happen?"

His hands continued to mend me. To take the pain away.

"But, y'know… I did break my promise, after all. I'm sorry for that." He almost chuckled, emptily. "I gave you my word that no matter what came up, I wouldn't let anyone lay a hand on you, and now look at all that's happened and all you've had to go through. Look at me – hardly more than a boy, I've already failed you as a man!"

Tears fell from my eyes. "N-no, you haven't. It's okay. I-it's not–!"

"No, see – that's where you're off. I'm making it my concern whether you like it or not. You don't have to sacrifice your soul to darkness, Hinata – not while I'm around."

"N-Naruto-kun…" I sniffed. "I d-don't – I just don't _know_ anymore…! Wh-what… should I…?"

His hand slipped under my arm, and he turned me over to impress his lips upon my cheek.

He pulled away, and I stared up in awe at the gentle grin the blonde gave me even as two silent, glistening streams of silver ran from his shut eyes. "I don't know, either … but if anyone should be facing so much suffering on their own… if anyone's gotta go it alone and destroy himself… Well, I'm thinking that ought to be the guy's job, y'know?"

My lips parted, speechless.

He carefully laid me down and stood up, walking around and past me. "So, if ever you've done all you can and don't know what else to do – have faith in me. Just put all your suffering on my shoulders. And I'll see if I can't take it, ne?" Standing in front of me, facing Uchiha Itachi, Naruto planted the blunt end of his naginata on the ground at his side.

The Uchiha sighed in something near exasperation, tossing his hair slightly and glaring the young man down. "Are you finished?"

Naruto's voice was still pleasant. I could hear it, even as I gazed into his back – could hear his light, urbane smile. "Ah – Uchiha Itachi. You don't quite seem to realize the magnitude of your mistake just now. You see, you tried to kill my Hinata-chan. You made me see her in pain."

"Uzumaki Naruto… No matter how long you babble, the gap remains too great. You _cannot_ defeat me. _Nothing_ has changed since the last time we crossed paths…"

"Seven months ago, was it? Funny you'd mention it, actually, since the last time was in fact _when_ Uzumaki Naruto became…

"_MURASAKI KITSUNE!_"

Flashes of violet light spiraled rapidly about his form; then a roiling shock jarred the air, and the earth buckled at his feet. His nails grew pointed and clawlike, and the splash of purple in his hair splayed wild violet across his blond spikes.

_It's like… howling, _I thought, staring as a light vortex of wind thrashed where he stood, lashing up messy hair, rippling his neat attire, and emanating a low, echoing hum – pouring a beast's disembodied cry subtly into the air.

Itachi watched, unimpressed.

I shook my head. No – he was amping up the intensity of his fox chakra, but – but this was crazy! He couldn't beat the Akatsuki–!

Hoshigaki Kisame sailed toward him from behind.

"Stupid amateur!"

The boy turned his head, and the great sword crashed down with a roar of contempt. Smoke was thrown into the air. I began to cry out.

"Where?" Naruto inquired, his back facing Kisame's.

"Wh–? !" Kisame flinched in surprise – and wrenched the blade around. Naruto whirled as he did, and as Kisame slashed abruptly empty air Naruto's staff impacted his back with a sharp crunch.

"Your movements are … just a little too slow," Naruto said.

Kisame cringed, and with a gurgling grunt blood fell from his mouth. Shaking in rage, he spun aside so that the boy stumbled. With a yell he heaved the Samehada down toward his back.

_WHAM!_

The two slid several meters together; Naruto's feet tore, crackling, through the earth beneath him. Then they came to a stop, Naruto's head down, naginata poised on one end against the ground and braced above his shoulders in his hands, as his strong stance held off the mighty sword.

"Y-you blocked…?"

"You think that's enough strength … to break my staff? !" Naruto cried, shoving upward on the spear. He thrust the sword away with such force that one of Kisame's feet began to leave the earth.

The boy vanished – and the man choked, doubling up around a dent that jumped into his stomach. A second invisible blow, thrown from without the victim's sight, kicked his jaw up high, straightening him out again, as the man was lifted onto his toes.

_If he strikes with his real body hidden – he cuts the opponent's ability to anticipate the blows…!_

"A-aah…!" Kisame croaked out, eyes shut, head turning slowly as blood fell from his mouth.

And Naruto was before him with a crash of force, naginata held to the ground for support as his two feet plowed solidly into Kisame's chest. After a moment of stillness the man shot backwards, eye wide as his back connected with a tree trunk.

"I-Itach–!" Naruto landed from his pole vault kick, and the man hurriedly jumped away from a staff strike as the wraith materialized at his side, violet eyes blazing cold, like some vengeful spirit.

My eyes widened as the man slid back from his leap, sight intent on the one before him.

"Itachi, help–!"

A second Naruto tapped two fingers to his back, and with a thunderous crack a fine shaft of wind lanced from his chest. The other Naruto went up in smoke.

Crimson shot from his mouth as he fell. When his hand touched ground he stumbled away, one eye distraught as he toppled and fell.

"So you shifted enough to save your heart. Nice reflexes," Naruto observed simply, walking up behind him.

"W-wait – hold on!" Kisame pleaded. Then he lashed the blade toward his foe. Naruto's teeth showed very slightly as he ducked away from the strike, holding the staff over himself at a slant; as he deflected the blow, the Samehada popped from the swordsman's hand and returned to existence clattering to the ground, skittering and bouncing – twenty yards away.

Naruto resumed full height as the Akatsuki man stared up at him past an upraised, sweaty, empty hand.

Face blank, Naruto nodded to the side. "Go get it."

Kisame's teeth ground. He pushed from the earth and sprinted desperately for his blade.

Three yards from it, he lurched to a halt.

His hands gripped Naruto's weapon in front of him, catching it in the midst of a downward swing.

Breath fast, Hoshigaki Kisame blinked at the wrapped blade so easily secured in his fingers. He looked up, meeting Naruto's eyes.

"Fool, this weapon–!"

Crimson rained from his mouth and hands alike as a scythe of wind jutted forth as a lance, at once shredding the naginata's wrap and cleanly spearing Kisame's heart.

His hands slipped from the blade as he fell to his knees, and his eyes were blank and stained mouth agape as with a heavy thud he fell to the ground.

"You killed … Kisame…" Uchiha Itachi remarked from where he observed.

"You're next," Naruto stated, his voice equally, frighteningly toneless.

"N-Naruto-kun…!"

"Hinata!" he called. "I told you – just believe in me!"

"Hn," Itachi sneered in dark amusement. "Look at you, setting up to break the poor girl's heart…"

"Whatever you're going on about – sorry, but I stick with what I say!" Slit, bright eyes grew wilder, and whisker marks thickened and defined like war paint upon his face as his fangs developed further. Snarling, he slammed a hand crushingly to the earth as his aura violently intensified. The naginata's bared, acute blade glinted silver with a violet sheen.

"_SAN!" _Naruto barked.

He was now blazing with raw chakra as liquid energy boiled to the surface of his belly and expanded, wrapping about his torso, enshrouding his arms, his legs, his face, and then jutting independently in the shape of kitsune ears from his head, and projecting from about the base of his spine. A low growl blared from his throat as the flying winds that gnashed about him cast upon the world a great, spectral howl.

Uchiha Itachi raised his head. "The prime form of the one called the Yellow Flash reborn… a mere three tails of power?"

Head down, Naruto's breath steamed past his teeth as he glared evenly through fierce, black-rimmed eyes. He was cloaked in a light vulpine shroud of raging red-violet, and three tails of energy danced behind him.

"I can fight as well!" Tsunade cried from where she stood. "Together, we can–!"

"_No,_" Naruto said simply, his voice leaden with chilling power. "_You'll be in the way._"

"What are you saying? !"

"_It's no use, Grandma. Even if you weren't wounded, you don't have the speed…_"

She frowned, biting her lip.

He grinned. "_But… how about taking me up on a bet? To beat you in any way possible… Let's see if I can beat you at beating this guy, who was too much for you._

"_Gaara!_" he called. "_I need you to get everyone far away from here!_"

"Right!" The redhead's hands flew through a string of several seals. "Hidden Jutsu…!"

Sand sprang forth, streaming to Tsunade, Lee, and Shizune. It spiraled about them, hiding them from view, and then compressed impossibly and funneled back into the gourd.

Then the boy flickered to my side and lifted me in his arms. "I can only manage to store three…"

I shook my head, gripping his shirt as I gazed off at Naruto, eyes wide. "No! We can't leave him to fight alone–!"

"Hinata!" Gaara said. "Even I – even I can tell. Shouldn't you know better than I that we'd only be hindering Naruto-san in this state?"

I didn't answer.

"_Now GO!_" Naruto urged.

"Hai!"

"Ichibi…!" Itachi growled, passing Naruto in a flash of speed as Gaara began to turn. Teeth clenched, Gaara held me close as the black-cloaked man raced toward us.

Itachi flung his arms before his face. And was bowled over backwards by the ferocious kick Naruto slammed toward his head.

The ex-Leaf-nin hit the ground hard and rolled onto his feet, sliding dozens of meters with a low hand brushing over the earth.

Gaara nodded, and turned and ran.

"Naruto – Naruto, don't you lose to this guy! !" I screeched back at him.

"_I don't plan to!_"

I lost sight of him as Gaara charged into the trees.

_Naruto-kun is fighting… Uchiha Itachi…_

"Hinata," Gaara caught my attention. I looked up.

"Just… trust in him, like he says. There's something we have to do…"

* * *

**Naruto ****ナルト**

My foe stood patiently while I waited a bit for them to get their distance. Made sense enough; despite the exceptional immunity my body had to the damage that could be inflicted by even this intensity of fox chakra, it wasn't like I could keep this state forever. The more time that passed before we kicked this off, the better for Uchiha Itachi. In other words, I had the first move.

'_Say … fox?' _I shifted slowly, in a smooth action suspending my naginata in both hands to my side.

'_Hmm?'_

I turned the spear end over end at an easy pace, so that the curved blade sliced upward through the air before me, downward behind. _'If I lose … we're both dead meat. I mean, it is _you_ they're after.'_

'_I realize this, gaki…"_

'_So you're with me?'_

'_How to say this… I'm not opposed to ridding this world of a bearer of those accursed eyes…'_

Said eyes narrowed on my smirk as my hands deftly continued their unhurried maneuver, rolling the naginata's weight in a rhythmic lilt at my side. My arms rose and fell, rose and fell in a circular pitch, pivoting at the shoulders as it continued to revolve; then a burst of air, as if a practice shot, was fired off of the gently curved blade as it passed forward above the ground, pushing some force into the successive spin so that the spear twirled thrice more with one of the smooth circlings of my arms. _'I guess that's an answer I can work with.'_

My breath was steady and deliberate as a well-timed flare of chakra spiked the spearhead away from the earth again – three rotations, one revolution, the naginata deceptively light, practically afloat in my hands. A misstep here would've sent it careening.

I rooted my feet and braced my arms, and in now blinding succession the spinning spear at my side was kicked into rotation twice more whilst loosing two buffeting gusts of wind. Then, as it neared the earth a third time I seized the shaft in my hands, right over, left under, without breaking or so much as opposing its momentum – and with a mighty heave shoved my chakra down into the blade, where it imbued the cutting edge with cutting wind and blasted forward a shrieking explosion of gale force.

"_Howling Kitsune Slice! !"_

Had I not planted my feet with chakra, I would probably have been sent tumbling back with recoil. My spear pointed skyward in my hands as I glared coolly at the Uchiha. He had escaped the blast, but an edge of his loose cloak had not; the scrap laid in the grass a few yards from him, on the other side of a straight slit in the earth that ran well into the trees.

Calmly he undid snaps and cast the ruined cloak aside with a sigh. "Like so many Jinchuuriki, you seem to feel you can muscle your way out of this…"

I sneered. "_A wind's only as sharp as the mind that wields it, y'know. See, it won't stand for being tossed about just any which way."_

Itachi looked up as a sharp, wooden crack sounded behind him. A large tree branch fell to the ground, and many more followed.

"_If I wanted brute force, I'd show you the fifth tail. This technique–,"_

Another crack, and a tree, with seeming spontaneity, was split cleanly a tad aside of its center. It groaned and tipped, and fell apart.

"–_Is about precision!"_

A roar of noise assailed our ears as wreckage rained down, revealing the straight scar that carved a slender kilometer through the forest.

"Impressive…"

"_Needless to say, if you're hit by this you won't get by in one piece._"

* * *

**Hinata ****ヒナタ**

How Gaara had known it I couldn't begin to imagine, but as I twined four fresh talismans about the arrows I decided now wasn't the time for speculation. I needed to focus. The odd fellow in the ground _did_ have an Akatsuki cloak. To my surprise, he also had youki.

It was of neither the brand nor the concentration that distinguished a powerful offensive type; even so, we didn't know what sort of special abilities he possessed. Despite having just crunched a soldier pill, I could barely spare the meager chakra to do this once. We couldn't mess up here.

Byakugan fixed on the plant demon, I drew back.

_TNNG – Thok-thok-thok-thok!_

Four arrows studded the earth, and a two yard square of energy lit along the ground between them. I tipped back from the branch I was perched on, flipping to land in a crouch. The youkai had started in surprise, and his body and chakra slipped strangely about within the earth, prodding furiously for an escape only to find himself closed in. The four seals had been set to extend their parameters in the direction of gravity and enclose beneath as well, forming a two yard cube of barrier space.

My left hand flicked up in a half-Tora, and my right smacked to the ground. "_Purification! _Ensnare the light, expel the darkness!"

I watched as, with a terrible, screeching shrill, the dark half of the youkai was torn from the light and sprang upward, its mouth wide open, its body twisted, thrown deranged and furious into the open air.

_Now, Ga–!_

My jaw dropped as I was frozen stiff by a crushing wall of murderous intent. An unnatural roar, a monstrous manifestation of the sublime thrill of a frenzied predator upon prey bore down on my ears and rattled in my skull; the dark creature was swallowed in a cloud of sand and thence obliterated in one fleet and ruthless stroke of savagery. An explosion of crimson dusted in spatters the earth, the trees, my face, my clothes, and I sighted across from me the bellower of the triumphant scream grinning vilely, his eyes wild with psychotic excitement.

Then the malicious intensity slipped from his face. Gaara blinked, perplexed.

"G-G-Gaara-kun, what–? !"

"I don't kn–!"

At my distraction the white half of the plant demon broke free of the snare and shot from the earth, lunging toward me. His outstretched hand snapped through a bow held up in defense.

_Kuso–!_

"_HAAAAAAAAAA! !"_

His hand was centimeters from my face when he was scooped up in a speeding clot of sand. It arced swiftly skyward, and a slew of rather horrendous noises cracked and crunched from the furiously twisting mass of sand before it slammed tremendously back to the earth. Splatterpaint.

A shaky whimper squeaked out of my throat.

Gaara's head hung down. His fingers twitched with rigid awkwardness; his crooked stance swayed with a brief shudder.

_Pull yourself together…! _Unblinking, I reached into my tool pouch. A drop of sweat rolled down my face. _The Shukaku…_

Gaara looked up, teal eyes big and startled.

My mouth opened and closed mutely. It opened a second time, but I caught myself and shut it again as I realized I was about to shout something at him. I tried again. "…Gaara-kun?"

"Hai…?"

"What … was that?"

Brow furrowed, he laid a palm on his belly. "I'm … not really sure."

"Ah…"

The ground shook, and we both looked to spot the columns of smoke rising in the distance. My heart panged with a dizzy mixture of faith and horror.

A hand clapped into my own.

"Come on," Gaara said. "We're not far enough, are we…?"

My lip trembled, and I shut my eyes as another faint tremor rumbled beneath us. "Right."

* * *

**Nineteen, Part Three: Kazegami**

**Naruto ****ナルト**

"_HA!_"

My spear swept laterally before me. A couple dozen yards away, Uchiha Itachi poised two kunai before him.

His upper half vanished from view, and two cleanly cut kunai clattered to the earth. Feet rose as he flipped from his backbend and slid into a crouch, and the trees a ways behind him at once split with a jump and were felled.

The man rushed forward, and I phased from existence; he lunged toward me where I reappeared, and gently I threw myself back, deftly maneuvered the staff to catch a series of knife and taijutsu strikes before light feet returned to the earth – and I slashed, hacking out a sudden wind slice in sharp retaliation. My foe ducked aside, evading with certainty the fine diagonal plane of cutting force that diced the grass and scarred the soil.

I jumped upward and away as he kicked for my ankles, backflipping sharply in the air. One foot and both hands were on the staff as I tumbled through space, and when I was nearly upside-down, blade pointed earthward, I fired a curt blast from the curved spearhead. Itachi hopped quickly back, and as my flip was kicked with acceleration I loosed two more rapid, well-timed waves that were similarly avoided.

Flung further airborne by this maneuver, I adhered briefly to a tree trunk as my feet met it. With the spear pointed forward before me, held firm in my hands, I built up the intense fox chakra and shoved strongly from the tree to launch myself straight toward my foe.

He sidestepped. I sailed past. And when I reappeared in front of him, blade centimeters from his belly, hurtling force and breakneck speed hardly expended, his subsequent evasion was just a little less nonchalant.

This repeated twice more, I swapping back to attack from the same initial lunge as he leapt aside. Then with a greater effort I changed my direction, swapping to fly toward him _from_ his left as he lunged. To his left.

He spun, dodging narrowly; the strong blade was lodged in the earth under me. And as we'd slipped past each other I'd caught sight of the motions of his hands.

Force of chakra blasted as wind down the spear, flicking me into the air and above a dangerous ball of rushing flame. The staff spun thrice in my hands before wind erupted from it as it was poised – slamming its blade back to the ground under me with deadly sharpness.

He'd dodged. I lifted the staff, catching Itachi's kick above me as he plummeted from behind; his foot balanced atop it as the other hooked behind it, and with an artful spin he struck back with a heel to force my weapon from my grasp and knock it aside.

I turned as he landed, just barely diverting his punch with my left forearm. My right hand was up and back, as if prepared to slap him.

A spiked iron mace materialized in my grasp.

_Shadow Matter…_

WHAM! ! !

The morning star promptly vanished with a pop; Uchiha Itachi broke away from the dust cloud in a great leap. I warped to catch my naginata as it was hitting the ground, and leapt after him. He flipped and turned and spun with stunning grace, escaping whirling strike after slice after jab from my spear as we sailed through the air together.

I whirled and slammed down as we landed, unleashing a great Howling Slice – chopping a log in two. I turned my head, eyes widening on a rapidly nearing mass of flame.

I slid my feet back and planted the naginata in the earth at angle away from the missile, crouching down behind it. My hands swept forward at the ground, brushing either side of the flat of the blade as my sight was filled with orange.

_Wedge!_

Roaring fire met cutting wind – and two great, shooting blasts of flame flashed intensely past at my sides. I cocked my head a tad, eyes locking with my foe's as we panted lightly for air.

His hands flashed fluidly through seals. I substituted aside as a compact sphere of flame was spat my way – and then I charged forward. He continued to fire, and I swapped left, right, right, left again, dodging unpredictably, my weapon shifting and twirling fluently through the air as I ran. When I was five yards away and directly in front of him I whirled, and he fired once more.

I sprang from my spin, flowing into the air above the projectile – my hands spreading apart on the staff above my head to catch and halt its twirl, my body cartwheeling laterally over the earth.

Wind kicked precisely from the blade, bucking the vicious edge in an arc toward my enemy's neck. Uchiha Itachi began to lean away. His bangs were trimmed, and I wheeled over him.

My feet met the ground, and I turned. My blade was thrust in a Shadow Strike. The man jerked aside – and grunted, eyes wide and disbelieving as crimson jumped from a shallow cut on his arm.

He whirled, flinging shuriken. I dodged, releasing a wind slice. We ran at parallels; my feet danced over the earth as I maneuvered my staff at great speed, dodging and deflecting and diverting precise projectiles even while throwing rapid wind slashes that were all expertly avoided and sent trees tumbling down in his wake.

I threw a vertical slice, eyes focused calculatingly. _Wall._

Nine combo-transformed clones materialized in the Uchiha's path at the very last moment. Watching me, he bumped into the Shadow Wall of brick – and shoved from it again, spinning away just as the wind blade flashed by the vanishing obstacle and clipped off into the trees.

The man blurred toward me, and I hastily blocked a kick with the upright staff before boosting myself on it to launch a kick of my own for Itachi's head. He ducked away with ease, reversing his kick to now hack from under me the staff I was balanced on. I fell, and a harsh burst of chakra, cast from my hand the moment I met ground, flicked me from the path of his following heel attack. Spinning in the air, I fired down from close range another slash of gale force. He leapt aside with blinding agility, feet sliding over the ground as he landed in a crouch and I fell to the earth again.

I drew in a controlled breath, shifting in stance and holding the staff horizontally in front of me. I exhaled, and the cloak of power wrapped about me shrank and compressed, streamlining, thinning and further flattening itself against my skin.

"You're … not bad," Uchiha Itachi stated lightly.

The air rustled around me as I began rotating the staff in place. "_I'm finishing this."_

"You're not _that_ good."

I smirked. "_Maybe not. Let's find out._"

I didn't watch the staff as I spun it; I didn't need to. It picked up speed, and I now twirled it at my left, my right, above my head, finding a rhythm, moving faster, faster…

Suddenly I began vanishing and appearing, swapping over and over again, in swiftest possible succession, always at the same radius of distance from the man, circling randomly around him. In this state shadow clones could be maintained for perhaps at most half a second, with enough concentration, and only a small few at any one moment. These two factors, however, limiting as they were, were sufficient for me to do what I was now – forming the clones, replacing, dispelling, reaching eight locations every second, nine, ten… eleven…

The staff still spun, light and furious.

_Focus. Focus… _Clone, switch, control the spear. _Focus… mess up once and you'll send it flying, or give yourself a concussion, or slice your shin open._

The air was churning, whirring loosely around the man. I teleported at great speed, solitary and surrounding, hands furiously active all the while.

Then, I began to run. Dozens of afterimages danced madly in a circle around him, some on the ground, some in the air; I was in any one place for so miniscule a fraction of a moment, my inertia had no time to begin to fall. He was surrounded; I could be anywhere, in an instant.

…_Haku-san…_

The Uchiha was unruffled. "Your courage is impressive … but no matter what you do–,"

"_Uchiha – you're about to die._" My voice was scattered on the wind, phantasmal, every fraction of a syllable thrown from a different direction.

The man sighed, and it became apparent he no longer found himself inclined to answer.

"_My attacks can't be blocked – your kunai tested that out already. So, you can only dodge._"

_Faster, faster…_

"_But unlike a kunai knife or other projectile, the Slice covers two dimensions, and to such a range that it's effectively irrelevant to consider escaping outside it. Two dimensions of fatality leave you one dimension to dodge in, y'know? If it's horizontal, you dodge above or below. If it's vertical, you dodge left or right."_

He gasped.

"_And if it's from dozens of directions and angles at once, you get boxed in and chopped to pieces._"

"It's unavoidable…!"

"_Correct. Goodbye._"

_Wrathful Kitsune Claw!_

Two seconds, forty attacks. Then I ran for cover – or rather, swapped to the designated safe place I'd left myself in the air. My trained eyes remained on the man all the while, struggling to track instant after instant. Ducking, left – trying to stay on the ground – up, twisting right – forced into the air – leaning, turning, shifting– trapped.

Then black fluttered in the air, and he landed with a grunt, touching his hand to a single spilling but shallow cut on his cheek.

_What? ! _I thought, landing on my feet as trees scattered in all directions were hacked and felled. It was – how… It was a solutionless maze, so how had he escaped it? Or what had he broken it with?

Teeth clenched, I Shadow Kicked. And I nailed Uchiha Itachi in the face.

I … hadn't been expecting to, admittedly. Either way he went sailing, and then caught himself on a hand to spring to his feet, focus regained.

_Kuso! I can't drag this out…! _My hands wove through seals.

"_Bunta, I need you!_"

I surged skyward atop the great toad as he appeared under me. Gamabunta was recalcitrant by nature, yes, but perhaps upon sensing the present state of my chakra and spotting the Akatsuki man staring on far below, he recognized the urgency of the situation.

"_The ultimate Flame Bomb, Chief!_"

"_Alright!_" he boomed, leaping upward, rearing back his head, and spewing a torrential mess of oil from his mouth.

'_Fox!'_

'_I know, fool!'_

Our roar was a cannon of chakra and chaotic force. The oil bomb exploded into a deluge of flame.

_Not yet…! _I thought, lashing the naginata around.

The flames blossomed with strength in a grand hellish swell – a fanning mass of white-hot incineration that accelerated, smashing cataclysmically into the ground and surging onward a great distance.

The punished earth quailed as Bunta crashed down again.

…_Did we do it…?_

"_Watch where you're swinging that thing, gaki!_"

"_What? You know I wouldn't've hit you, Chief!_"

"_You came pretty darn close!_"

"_No way–!_"

My blood iced over. _What…_

A huge, skeletal phantom of blue light stood before us in the weakening blaze; it cradled the man in a ribcage that sat at the ground, and held a great, translucent round shield before itself in defense. Enshrouded in this monstrous apparition, amid a blazing forest, Uchiha Itachi stood panting but unharmed.

"_What… What in the world _is_ that?_"

He lifted hands propped on his knees, straightening his back. I flinched, but it was neither at the cool composure on his face nor the tears of striking crimson that rolled slowly down his cheeks.

_Those eyes? !_

His hand drifted calmly into the air, extending toward me.

'_Not good!' "Bunta, get out of here!"_

"_What?"_

I dispelled the summoned beast myself, and was consequently left falling through the air just as an ominous, impure black flower of flame lashed into existence and razed the air overhead.

_T-too close…_

I landed strongly, the power of the kitsune cloak protecting me as my feet at last crashed to solid ground. I glowered at my foe, and faltered – stroked by some keen, fleeting and mind-boggling sense that this man possessed powers of a scope beyond the realm of–

His guardian specter dissolved into the air, and Uchiha Itachi selected a familiar handseal and kicked out in front of him.

I yelled as a great deal of force impacted my face, hurling me off my feet.

_I just got … Shadow Kicked…?_

Crimson eyes shone vivid and strange in flickering, rocking sight. He was in front of me.

My stomach – awareness of pain.

The light was blasted, and my world went dark.

* * *

**Hinata ****ヒナタ**

_Na…ni…?_

_I'm asleep…? Or something…_

_But… Why would I be sleeping now?_

_Something was going on…_

_What's … happened…_

I sank back into the abyss, submerged in the soft, chill embrace of ignorance.

* * *

**Naruto ****ナルト**

In one of my dreams, people were talking. Sometimes mere voices filtering through the misted veil of a black, inexpressive backdrop, sometimes to random dream-images, nonsense conjured to accompany them in my mind.

"_That's… I can't… I'm not sure I can believe that…"_

"_Oh? That we're sitting here now and talking like this– isn't that to some extent proof in itself?"_

"_Hm…"_

My drifting spirit lost buoyancy, fluttered, lapsed down under nothingness once more.

* * *

"_Then at the very least, Hinata…? The pact of nonaggression…"_

"_That's not going to work out…"_

"_She would be well-cared for…"_

"_Just like your last partner?"_

"_You already know that was different…"_

_

* * *

_

"_The way you speak… You seem familiar with her…"_

"_Hn… I suppose…"_

"_Childhood friends?"_

"_You could say that… If, back then, things had by some impossibility been able to go any other way… we would probably by now have been betrothed by our clans to marriage…"_

* * *

"_I would do it myself if I could, but I have a duty of my own… Now, Tsunade… I would strongly prefer not to threaten you, but…"_

"_You won't need to. I've already decided…"_

_

* * *

_

"_Very well, then. Thank you for this."_

"_Wait. When the time does come… will you fight with us as well…?"_

"_That will in all likelihood be impossible… After all, I'm a traitor and a fugitive. For the time being I must remain as I am and continue to watch the Akatsuki… And you must lead them, and reclaim the village."_

"_Not 'lead' them."_

"_What…?"_

"_These kids … are hardly in need of a leader. Left to their own devices, they would find the path, well more easily than a worn out gloomer like me, to act in accordance with nothing short of the very best way to save that place. I'll lend them my strength … but there's something in this bunch of brats that makes them a force anyone could rally behind."_

"_I see… Hn. So that's why you wouldn't turn them over to me, even now…?"_

"_Yes. Perhaps the Akatsuki could end Orochimaru without fail … and perhaps you could look after Hinata, at least… but these three combined have what it takes to defend our home, and just as much a right as you, or I, or anyone else to do it. That's what I feel now…"_

"_Hm…" Subtlest note of smooth laughter. "I suppose so. To think, a few more years' experience … and I might actually have fallen here…_

"_Either way, it's time I move on – before someone or another hears too much."_

"_What…?"_

"_The best of luck to you all, then…"_

* * *

"Uuuhh…"

"Naruto? Hey – are you awake?"

"Wh… Baa-chan…? And…" I blinked slowly. "Shizune-san…?" I groaned. "Man… I had … the weirdest drea–,"

My eyes grew. I started to bolt upright, cringed and fell, propped myself somewhat on an elbow. I couldn't remember the last time I'd been so low on chakra; my raw keirakukei ached cuttingly. "Wh-what…!" I was breathing too fast; I coughed, and then looked again to the slug sannin's calm face. "Uchiha Itachi – where is he? !" I glanced over our surroundings, a clearing in the butchered forest, a pot of soup simmering over fire, as if the rogue might be seated nearby, hidden amid our very circle of comrades, poised to attack. "I – I lost – how… How are we all…?" I looked to Gaara's inquisitive teals, to the prone and dozing Lee's tranquil expression, to Hinata's pale, resting face. "Itachi … didn't kill you," I stated dumbly. "Or capture us…"

Tsunade smiled, the gesture surprisingly gentle. "You mean you don't remember? You did a number on him…" she remarked, eyes lazily taking in the near-battle site around us.

"I… did?"

She nodded. "Apparently he was forced to retreat… Gaara was left unconscious by delayed effect of another Akatsuki member's attacks; he woke just a few minutes ago. Hinata fainted with fatigue after irritating the healing you managed to quickly impart on her before, but I fixed it up more thoroughly. I found you not far from here–," she waved at the devastation, "–passed out, from exertion…"

"Huh…" I muttered, brow furrowed as I carefully sat up. I started.

"What is it now?"

I chuckled, eyes shut. "I did it, didn't I? I drove off the awesome ninja you could barely lay a finger on, Granny! In other words, I beat you!" I declared, pointing.

"Oh, please!" she snapped with a blush, and I yelped as she smacked my hand down. "You know as well as I do that that wager expired days ago…"

I crossed my arms irately in a huff. "Well still, I mean…"

"N-Naruto…kun…?"

I gasped. "Hinata…"

The girl stared at me, eyes big, lips parted as if in awe. Water trickled lightly down her cheeks, glistened on her pale, bruised face. "You did it…"

I patted a fist to my chest, grinning. "Said I would, didn't I?"

A whimper caught in her throat as she shut her eyes a moment, nipping her lip, the faintest color spared to her cheeks. "I knew you could… Naruto – I'm so glad y-you're okay!"

"I need to stay by your side, after all…" I quickly wiped a hand over the moisture that snuck from my own eye. "I'm glad you're okay, too. Gaara … kept you safe, didn't he?" I noted, meeting the redhead's eye to give him a smile.

"Y-yes, he did…" she said, as he nodded blushingly. The girl pressed feeble hands to the ground, trying to sit up.

"Hold it!" Tsunade ordered, putting a hand on her arm to discourage the girl's rising. "You've already aggravated that injury once – a _fatal_ one, I should add. You shouldn't be trying to move around yet!"

"No…" Hinata shook her head, eyes shut; trembling slightly, she gradually began to sit up, gripping the woman's wrist for support. "There's something … I need to do…"

_SLAP!_

Tsunade touched a hand to the stung red mark on her cheek, dumbstruck. For a moment she stared at Hinata, who stared back coolly, her hand still extended from the sudden backslap. Then the woman grabbed the injured girl by the neck of her jacket, lifting her a bit and shaking an angry fist. "You smart little–!"

Hinata held up one erudite pointer finger by her calm face. "You changed that wager and its terms, but when you did you neglected to clarify any specific timeframe. You never _did_ get me to give up, after all… and now, I've landed one solid blow."

Tsunade grimaced with a sound of surprise, angry color hot on her face. Then her shaking fist lowered, and she slumped, defeated; I sighed in relief as female animosity reluctantly left the air, and she released her. "Cheeky brat…"

"Oi, you two both seem to be forgetting what Tsunade-sama said before." Lee noted this quietly, his voice weak but steady; he declined to open his eyes as he spoke. "Before we left the inn earlier – she _did_ promise that if we followed her out here, she would afterward come with us to free Jiraiya-sama, did she not?"

I patted a fist to an open palm as remembrance clicked. "You're right, Bushy Brow!"

"Three… strikes…?" Gaara reflected at faint monotone.

"Lady Tsunade …" Shizune said.

The woman sighed, rubbing her forehead. "_Alright_, I give already!"

"Yatta!" I cried animatedly. "Finally! Ero-sennin, Konoha – here we come!"

"Naruto-kun…"

"Huh?" I met Shizune-san's almost troubled eyes. She averted her gaze to spend a moment taking in the battered landscape, the sparsity of ragged trees, the distant blackened area left charred and cold.

"You … did all this, didn't you?"

My expression sobered. I nodded in confirmation.

"Your – your offensive capability is practically off the charts! Someone like this… someone capable of this…" She paused. "What is it that impelled you to learn medical ninjutsu?"

"That… eh?"

My eyes fell on Hinata. My heart folded with sorrow.

"I wanted … just to be able to help my friends some way, in the beginning … but also…"

My eyes drifted upward, into the cold, prim expanse of pale blue sky.

"A lot of good can be done with medical ninjutsu… And I think that someday, if I might save more lives than I've destroyed…"

I trailed off. The wind stirred softly, rustling the grass, scampering over my hair.

My eyes refocused as Tsunade fastened the clasp behind my neck, and I felt the cool blue gem come to rest against my chest.

The sannin knelt in front of me took my chin lightly in her hand, and she bent to touch her lips to my forehead.

* * *

**Nineteen, Part Four: Reason for Being**

**Neji ****ネジ**

The heart monitor's rhythm twinged, its beep frayed with an erratic fitfulness I gasped raggedly, voice tight, almost whimpering for the air that creaked up and down my dry throat. Frigid sweat oozed from my skin, and the liquid heat that wept thickly from my left eye down the side of my face and into a splayed mess of uncombed, sweat-speckled hair was coating my already dubious vision of the dim room a screen of scarlet. Muffled thunder roared down from distantly above, rattled against quailing beakers and test tubes, rumbled in the iron shackles that bolted my wrists, waist, and ankles to the laboratory table.

"We can't go on…"

"Wh-what?" I wheezed, breathless. My distraught eyes twitched about the two faces above me.

"If we keep this up, your life will be in jeopardy, Neji-kun," Lord Orochimaru explained. "I can't have that. You're in agony, aren't you…?"

"B-but–!" I coughed, gratingly; the sputum and whatever else may have chanced up my throat was swept away, a trail of watery red in one of the two thin, clear tubes that led into my mouth. "Then – then how f-_far_…? !"

Yakushi Kabuto prodded his glasses upward, boredly detached as his lenses glinted intermittently under the light of the monitor screen. "So near that at the next session, we can _probably_ accomplish it without any trouble at all. We've learned quite a bit; the method's been just about perfected, and it seems the formula is nearly complete. But at your insistence we've already pushed things further than we ought to have in a single day; to be blunt, your body won't be able to take this much longer."

"_Th-then_… then please–! If you might just continue a bit l-longer … if you might perfect it _today_…!" I shuddered involuntarily in my constraints, teeth locking.

"No. We will try again, another day–,"

"Th-then for h-h-how many _weeks_ will we have to wait as I recover from th–!"

I yelled aloud, body becoming rigid and thrashing what little it could; the table shook beneath me. A few thick strings of saliva spanned my gaping mouth. Vibrating fingers spread and stretched and twisted themselves to nearly unnatural postures, and I tossed my head and howled again over the heart monitor's insanely skewered rhythm as my forehead blazed with pain.

"Kabuto, void the unsealing circle – quickly!"

"Alright–!"

"_NO!_"

By some violent convulsion of my will, my right hand then broke from the metal brace about the wrist to lash out and seize the bespectacled medic's forearm.

"Neji-kun…?"

The visiting Otokage's arm was held firm in my clammy grip as I gasped, as the monitor to some minor extent normalized. My glazed sight focused as intensely as it was able to on my Lord Hokage as he glared, teeth clenched in something akin to concern. He spoke.

"Not only adamant that we conduct the tests on you alone … but now, so unlike you, in an emotional rush to see the technique's perfection. Do you not fear death…?"

"No!" My searing head shook numbly as I fought for air, halfway to sitting up, still clinging to Kabuto with unconscious fury. Words were flung from my mouth. "Discontent – dissent – I c-can see it spreading, taking root – little by little, they l-lose faith in m-_me_–!" I ducked my head and hacked out a sharp cough. "Y-you promised me, and I promised it to them, and they're d-drifting away from me!" I screeched out, shuddering. "A leader – a leader must be s-someone who strikes hope and vigor in the h-hearts of his followers – you see! – I c-cannot let them wait anymore – I cannot let them grow dispirited and lose sight of it all _now_!"

I hardly heard Kabuto's grunt of discomfort.

My voice was an intent, enfeebled yowl.

"This accursed symbol of eternal i-inferiority … this iron brand of subjugation that scars us all like a p-plague of days past … until this scourge of injustice is e-e-eradicated…!" I stumbled, wheezing past phlegm, reclaiming my breath – meeting his eyes determinedly again and forging roughly on, haggard and pained, nearly screaming in desperation. "The clan's power _is_ important – but even more so, my family cannot be allowed to fall apart! W-we must stand as one if we are to crush our oppressors! !"

"…Very well…"

Kabuto wrenched his arm free. "But, milord…!"

"Kabuto – do _not_ let him die."

"Sir."

My eyes watered; were I not in pain I would have truly smiled. "Oroch-chimaru-s-sama…!"

"With you in this condition, I won't be able to anesthetize you any longer…" His thin hand hovered over my forehead. "You'll just have to endure it."

"Th-this _pain_ is nothing!"

_Not when it's the p-price of liberation…!_

My teeth ground together.

_I … can taste freedom…_

Fisted hands shook at my sides.

_I _can_…_

And I felt with stunning clarity that it was rightfully mine – that it was mine and I needed nothing more direly than to feel it, to experience its full sweet brilliance and share it with all the others – and cursed with all my soul the foul, twisted creatures who would and had for centuries denied it.

_I won't die… not yet… There are still things that I must do…_

_

* * *

_

**Naruto ****ナルト**

I sighed quietly as I relieved myself in the bushes. Just as I was finishing up, a small sound caught my ear; startled, I turned and could barely spot some small figure skulking by, twenty feet away, in the obscurity of the trees and moonless night. Brow furrowed, I headed silently after it. It had traveled only a short way before emerging from the tree cover into the dim company of the starlight, and promptly seating itself almost expectantly at the foot of clear water.

_A … wolf? _I realized, blinking at the russet canine from where I stood by a tree trunk. My bewilderment deepened as I recognized with awed trepidation the several dark forms dotted and huddled mysteriously along the large lake's banks, all waiting patiently for something surreal to take place.

All, gazing calmly toward the slight and motionless figure that stood fully unclothed not on, but in thigh-deep water at the heart of the pristine lake. She was facing mostly away from me, her head down, her delicate frame quite intimately relaxed in posture without being slouched or slack. The small girl stood perfectly unmoving, as if in a slumber, suspended in place where she was, a clean, smooth sculpture of ethereal quality and grace. Her bare shoulders and back shone softly, a luminous, marble tone that drew the eye from the predawn realm of darkness around her. The glossed surface of the lucid water in which she stood lay completely tranquil, untroubled by any external force, as if daring not disturb the maiden's serene vigil.

The water quaked about her as she shuddered once, her head inclined skyward. A spell was unraveled. I observed, entranced, as a single slender chip of white, the shy edge of the disc for which she waited, grew at length discernable in the night sky above.

The girl gasped, a sharp, inward drawing of cool air. Silvery white lined her silhouette and radiated from her lithe form, as if ladled so graciously down upon her by the waking celestial body despite its present lack of splendor. The light trickled down, showered, hastened, and with it her stunning luminescence intensified until at last nothing could be seen of her for the brilliant glow that cast a radial powder dust of gentle, ephemeral white upon all it touched.

As the glow declined, I found I had been left the sole human in the vicinity.

Vibrant silver lingered still in her skin as she expelled her first breath – a howl of piercing intensity, long, smooth and passionate, fired beautifully into the sky.

As the note faded, another rose up from a separate orator. A number more, from the far bank, followed, and russet one near me was not far behind. Soon countless lupine voices were pouring into the night, at this moment undivided by any apparent boundary of their packs as they sang together. Their sister had rejoined them.

It occurred with a pang that I was an intruder here. Could I have possessed the right to be here, to witness this occasion – this moment they shared, united in this place under the mythical banner of one strong clan? Of what did the ookami sing? What were they communicating? Was it welcome – a greeting? Acknowledgment, praise, sheer rejoice? Or sorrow that she had ever left them? I didn't know. I didn't know.

_Why…_

An inexplicable drop of water fell from my chin. Eyes wide, mouth slightly ajar, I stared on in silent awe.

_Hinata… You can't be a normal girl anymore, can you? A human … happy, in the sunlight._

_Is this your way … of defying destiny…?_

* * *

**Lee ****リー**

_Somehow… Somehow, we have made it through yet another crisis._

My eyes were calmly shut as measured breath flowed slowly in, held a moment, and filtered out once more. Immobile though I was, my face and arms alike dripped; my bare upper body was slicked with perspiration.

_Those two kids … those cute little rookies… It remains nothing short of amazing how far they have progressed._

I shook briefly at a sudden stab of pain in my torso, nearly stumbling before I snapped determinedly to focus, persevering in my meditation. My teeth clenched.

"Lee-kun! What're you…? !"

"Ah – Shizune-san," I greeted easily, recognizing the voice a ways behind me.

"You – you'll hurt yourself–!"

"The first time the three of us faced the Akatsuki … that time as well, I was the first to be taken out of the battle."

My foot shifted very slightly.

"Why is that, I wonder? I simply want … to protect my friends–,"

I grunted as the wound tore partially under my body's strain. The still-fresh scar that stretched from shoulder to hip throbbed along with my heart.

"Your injuries…"

Blood plitted to the lush grass already well showered in sweat.

"I … do not have fangs or claws, or awesome jutsu. My flesh and bones … w-will never restore themselves at astonishing rates… I can neither regenerate limbs nor take fatal blows in stride…"

My fingers curled slightly but with a sharp vigor to them, and forcefully I shoved upward, heaving from the low, strong stance in which I was crouched – and hurled ten meters upward the veritable boulder balanced atop my shoulders.

"Lee–!"

I turned sharply in place, sinking, rising, striking upward with one foot.

_Crk_–BOOM.

I felt as the great stone shattered on contact, landing in several fragments around me. My bare foot returned to the grass. Turning my head, I tugged down on my blindfold and grinned back at Shizune-san's shocked face, my eyes shut.

"All I have is my youth, my willpower, and this one body … and I will make it as strong as it may possibly be!" I declared brightly, my hand popping as I clenched a fist and then flicked up a thumb.

"Lee-kun…"

"Guhf…"

I coughed, blanching and slapping a hand over my midriff as a fair bit of crimson jumped from the wound.

"O-oh…" I murmured, vision swimming and muddying as I looked down at my red hand and collapsed with hearty exhaustion.

* * *

**Naruto ****ナルト**

_Chk._

"Twenty-two meters, sixty-one centimeters, eight millimeters," I declared. The shadow clone at my side let fly another senbon.

"Sixteen meters, eighty-two centimeters, one millimeter," I enumerated promptly as it landed.

_Chk._

"Fourteen point nine forty-one."

_Chnk._

"Twenty point three seventy-two."

_Chk._

"Twenty-eight point two eighty-four meters."

"The angle?"

"Sixteen degrees left," I replied without hesitation, my right hand extending above a neat line in the dirt before where I sat. I poised forefinger against thumb, and steadily, without moving wrist or arm, flicked over the needles in the order in which they'd landed. For this reason, senbon rather than kunai – it was considerably more difficult to strike a senbon squarely with the nail of one finger from twenty meters away.

_Precision. I need greater precision. Sheer power is wasted without efficiency._

–"_Who would trust _you_ to protect the village?"–_

The fifth one, furthest away – glanced at the side, it tipped without falling.

I blinked twice, shook my head. _Focus._

"Twenty-eight point two eighty three meters at … sixteen point two degrees, perhaps?" I muttered, knocking down the needle.

I needed to hone my eyes, my mind, my jutsu.

"Next," I said, gazing ahead as my doppelganger scattered five new senbon on the littered terrain.

_I need to make myself strong enough … to protect them, even from enemies like Uchiha Itachi._

"Ga-a-ra," I sang in greeting, flicking more needles.

"Naruto-san," he responded, walking up behind me. "Shizune-san sent me to find you…"

* * *

**Hinata ****ヒナタ**

Kurogiba and I roared as we hurled ourselves toward each other. Shoulder met shoulder with staggering force, and we broke apart, I stumbling a bit as we landed. He lunged furiously, and I lifted my arm from harm's way as powerful jaws snapped savagely shut.

I drove my elbow down into his muzzle, and he snorted. Kurogiba dodged from a following kick and reared to slash with burning obsidian claws, clipping my side as I narrowly evaded. A few more blows were traded before suddenly his strong tail hacked my ankles from behind; I kept on my feet, but he pounced while I was unbalanced, paws striking my shoulders, fangs going for my throat. My hands whipped up, struggled to hold him off as he snapped and snarled. My left gripped his lower jaw from below with fingers folded safely into his mouth between the points of the teeth, and my right latched similarly above his muzzle as I growled and pushed to remove my neck from his range – and punch him hard in the nose.

My back met ground, and I rolled and drove both feet into Kurogiba's belly, throwing him off of me. I twisted to land on all fours, already springing as the wolf was halted against a tree. He shifted aside. My solid fist shot a clean crack through the trunk.

I dodged hastily as a beam of red-hot flames surged by. Agile in spite of size, Kurogiba sprang to the trunk of the tipping tree and shoved away from it, powerful hind legs thrusting it toward me as the wolf broke from it in a spinning leap. I thrust my hands out in front of me, breaking the force, stepping forward to catch it in my hands above me, and lobbing the tree with a yell toward Kurogiba.

He rolled nimbly under the crashing trunk before it hit ground, and with his shoulder down whipped his body around to lash nipping hind claws back across my belly. Finding his feet, he rose and slashed, reared and slashed, and twice was swiftly evaded; then he hopped in place and slammed hind paws blindingly into my upper chest. The fierce kick knocked my breath out and shot me into the ground as he backflipped curtly to his four feet.

I sprang with my bounce, flipping into the air and lashing around claws swiftly bloodied on my shoulder – and the grand ookami blurred from the path of five rushing waves of darkness.

He cut toward me again, ramming his head into my gut. I yelped and planted left palm at the base of his neck, and he ducked as I swung with claws.

Ducked, and darted by. And chomped down hard on my flicking tail.

A tight grunt, as if a protest, was all that could be manifested of my throat as my soul screeched, and my gut clenched, and my heart clenched. One eye screwed shut, a stiffening of the body, a sharp, high grunt of utmost displeasure – and a ferociously severe growl blazed into the air as my teeth snapped together and my eyes clamped shut and I shuddered and wrenched back to send a tremendous surge of force all at once straight into Kurogiba's face.

Right fist extended behind me, I watched a flash of black jet to the treeline and fire a grand plume of dust into the air with an enormous crash.

_I-it … actually worked…_

I coughed and gasped lightly; gingerly embracing my midriff, I panted for breath, drained.

He came hurtling from the dust cloud with a demonic shriek, a burning clot of amorphous black from which burst the form of a head and gaping maw. Eyes wide, I stepped back and raised my arms in defense. Five meters before me the flaming wraith dematerialized with a crackling pop, dissolving once more into a great mess of black as it corkscrewed aside in a screeching, tumbling flare of speed, swept from low along the ground to my right side, and carried me from the earth. As I rose the flame that gripped me shaped once more into the grand ookami, and I yelled as the demon bit down into my flesh, dug crushing fangs mercilessly into my lower ribs and abdomen.

Then he, balanced so upon his hind legs, drove my shoulder blades down into contact with the earth.

The wolf growled lowly against me, and I choked, breathless, as he continued to hold me this way. Pinned down in his vice-like jaws, I lay with arms splayed out and immovable, legs limp, feet dangling uselessly above me.

He entered my mind. _'Better give up…'_

'_Not gonna happen…!'_

I whimpered quietly, eyes shut, face reddening as he pressed harder and my back popped most unhappily. I endured several seconds more, until I grimaced and blood spurted from my mouth, and he released me. I flopped flat, gasping.

"What the heck are y'all doing? !"

I sat up slowly as I saw Naruto running toward us, Tsunade walking not far behind.

"Is he rabid? !" the boy cried, pointing angrily at Kurogiba. The wolf snorted.

"Yeah, blame the _wolf_…" he muttered.

"He makes a valid point," Tsunade said. She looked me evenly in the eye. "Are you rabid?"

"Tch…" I looked away, glaring weakly at the ground and rubbing the base of my neck.

"Kurogiba," Naruto said seriously. "You two have hardly given yourselves any time to recover from the other day. What are you doing here? Trying to kill each other?"

"I need to get stronger," I said, meeting his eyes sharply. "We both do."

"Not to mention," Kurogiba added, "now's a fair opportunity – a period of sensitivity, if you will – to instill and build up the pup's tail offense retaliation reflex. After lacking her tail for the last week, she's highly receptive to the training. You've seen its effect…" He looked off toward the settling dust and debris, and then shut his eyes and coughed. "Hopefully we'll be able to avoid any more … _mishaps_, in the future."

Tsunade blushed as she scowled down at the wolf.

"Hinata," Naruto said. Hesitating a moment, I looked to him again and gasped as the blond knelt and softly embraced me. His smooth voice was a playful caress to my ear.

"A little training's fine, as long as you're not overdoing it. You told me you'd take care of yourself, didn't you?"

"Naruto…"

"And that means no beating yourself up, right?"

"Naruto…!"

"Don't go forgetting what I said." His embrace tightened, firm but gentle, always gentle. "I'm here for you, Hinata – always, just for you. I don't want you worrying yourself to death. You're one of the strongest people I know… And the weakest you can become is when you hate yourself and start forgetting who you are. Back there, in desperation … you almost became something terrible. I _never_…" Voice low, he held me close, fingers of one hand nestling into my hair. "I never want to see you pushed that far … to see you try to do that to yourself, ever again."

Soundless, I hid my eyes against his shoulder.

"I failed you before, but I'll become stronger … and my strength will become yours. So – can you find it in you to forgive me, and have faith in this failure?"

"I-I can!"

He smiled, patting my back. "Arigatou."

Tsunade let out a cough.

"Aha – there you are!"

Warning-cough. Naruto smoothly stood up in front of me so I could dry my eyes as Lee, Shizune, and Gaara emerged into the open. "Yep – found her! Just had to patch up a little injury, you know?"

I got up. "What's going on…?"

Naruto absolutely beamed. "Rounding up the group. It's about time we got moving, y'know?"

"Yosh!" Lee said, his hands clapping on mine and Naruto's shoulders. "We have places to be, and people to save! Are you ready, Hinata-san?"

I nodded. "Yes!"

"That is the SPIRIT! Then let us be off – to find our adventure, charge into every sunset, and scour the ends of the earth!"

"Oi, Bushy Brow – do you even know which way you're going?"

"Is he always like this…?"

"I wonder… Eek! Lee-kun – if you irritate the wounds I just closed again–!" Shizune reprimanded, running off after him with Tonton complaining at her heels.

"Here we go," Naruto sighed. "Let's not fall behind, ne?"

He handed me my backpack as it appeared in his hand, and I smiled as he took off after the others. I pulled my regular pants quickly up over my training shorts, and stuck my hands through the sleeves of my shirt, slipping it on over a cropped tank top and already starting to follow.

"Hyuuga-san…"

I looked inquisitively to Gaara, and he shut his eyes to give me a smile – his brightest, in fact, that grin so uniquely perplexed and flustered and timid yet most of all giddy – before he, too, ran off.

At my side Tsunade smirked, a hand on her hip. "What a lot you've got around you, wolf-girl," she sighed, shaking her head with a wry smile. "Just what've I gotten myself into, I wonder…?" She tossed her hair, and flickered after them.

_What a lot, indeed! _The corners of my mouth tugged the slightest way upward as I slung my bag's strap onto one arm. _How could I have not seen it before? It's true… I'm not alone. I have great friends … all around me–!_

I was lifted up by the back of my shirt – and flung unceremoniously forward. I yelped, stumbling, striding once on all fours, and rising to shrug my bag's other strap onto the appropriate arm. Kurogiba nudged me from behind, urging me to hasten as we ran.

"Wh-wh-why are we sprinting?" I asked as the wolf drew to my side.

"As much as I'm sure you'd love to sit and daydream, first thing first – how about catching up to inform them that east would be the _other_ way?"

"Hai!"

* * *

**Hanabi ****ハナビ**

With one open eye Hikujaku peeked unobtrusively over my shoulder, rocking on his heels, arms crossed. Hitaka read curiously from my other side. Harumi pursed her lips but declined to speak.

My brow furrowed. I looked up from the half-sheet of paper in my hand to Uncle's calm white eyes, blinking in annoyance as I found some calculating glint to be assessing, sizing me up. He nodded subtly to himself.

"Hiryuu-oji-san, this is…?"

He nodded simply. "New Konoha's Chuunin Examination – and you, my lady, are entering."

* * *

**ナルト ****/ ****リー ****/ ****ヒナタ ****\ ****ハナビ ****\ ****ネジ**

**End Chapter Nineteen**

**Naruto:** Celestial Paintbrush: Power Slash!

**Lee:** Naruto-kun… thinks he is an Okami-fied sun goddess…?

**Naruto: **Galestorm! Galestorm, Galestorm–!

_(–static–)_

**Hinata:** This is Hinata!

**Hanabi:** And this is Hanabi!

**Hinata:** Proud to assure you that no trees were harmed in the making of thi… Dang it!

_(–static–)_

**Hanabi: **What? ! What do you mean you signed me up for the Chuunin Exam? Don't I have to sign a release form first or something?

**Hiryuu: **Well, we're calling it a Chuunin Exam, but being New Konoha's own unofficial competition of promotion there's obviously no _killing_ permitted.

**Hanabi:** I don't even care about making chuunin! Just let me focus on my training–!

**Hiryuu:** As your sensei I urge you to consider this a part of your training! Win this contest and bring honor to your name!

**Hanabi:** 'Win'? !

**Kiba:** Hey! I heard you're entering the competition! Well, don't think you'll be able to beat me just yet!

**Chouji:** I'll say – I could've made chuunin _ages_ ago!

**Sakura:** Huh? ! I don't want to fight against Hanabi-chan!

**Konohamaru:** Hanabi!

**Hanabi:** Oh, _no_, don't tell me…!

**Konohamaru: **Get ready to lose, cause there's no way you'll top me!

**Hinata: **(chuckles) Next time, **Chapter Twenty: The Champion**!

Phew… Yep, this chapter might have been better off in halves. …Each half would be as long as Chapter Seven. O_o

Gosh, this thing is ugly… or as a friend of mine might say, a hot mess. Stupidly long battle there – sorry. I hope the chapter was at least somewhat enjoyable.

'Perchance'? 'Thus'? 'Thence'? I have no idea. Well, I do actually – I'd just read The Scarlet Letter, (awesome book, which came a bit of a surprise since it was a summer assignment) and accidentally started getting a little … archaic-y.

On another note – yeesh! Sorry, okay – I'm _sorry_ I made Naruto such an effeminate wuss, who uses wimpy twirling staff tricks, and possesses unmanly finesse, and is apparently weaker than Hinata! Sorry for demoting the main character to the type of whipped, emasculate loser who would pass up an opportunity for sex! Blasphemy! How dare I? (Sarcasm) -.- First of all – there are a million 'look at Naruto being awesome' stories out there, but more importantly – we have three slash five main characters. It has to focus somewhere. And everyone can't get the spotlight every single chapter. Since the story started it's been going back and forth – why is Lee stronger than the other two, but now why is Naruto lightyears ahead, now why is Hinata so beast – they _take turns_. I get where you're coming from – with long chapters and infrequent updates, if one character or another takes the spotlight for a couple of chapters, it probably seems like they're suddenly the strongest, but I'm _probably _not just flat-out neglecting the characters. An important chapter like thirteen is balanced; Hinata gets the spotlight against Gaara; Naruto was due for his shining moment here all along. If I tried to make three people constantly shine the brightest and each be the one who saves every day – well, does that even make sense? I'm not talking to anyone specifec here, just wanted to say.

Moving on, what'd you think of the ridiculous battle? The surprise twist? The beginning of the chapter ought to have answered questions of why Tsunade betrayed them; the Shizune with them at the end of last chapter (the one that burst into smoke after being hit by Kurogiba's attack while trying to kill Lee) was Itachi's transformed clone. Lee didn't get to do too much this time around, but it should say something that he pushed Kisame… Hinata versus Kisame? Note that vulnerable, tailless Hinata is prone to fighting underhanded and/or like a psychopath. Remember, she was not only weakened by losing her demonic power but also by her spirit being fragmented (which the Akatsuki didn't know about). Any thoughts on her chat with the wild wolf? Her trip to the dark side? Or the later transformation back to han'you? Was the NaruHina tidbit okay? Oh – yep, I gave Kisame a pretty crappy death (and, well, I started writing this before we learned more about him, so instead of changing it I just left him the belligerent, mercenary-type character), so if you're fans, sorry! Same with Zetsu (about whom we still don't know all that much), who I decided to make a demon XD Gaara's scenes? Sort of an exception here, but I really don't intend to make his a frequent POV. Naruto versus Itachi – I'd been looking forward to writing that one for a while. How was their fight, and their overall interaction throughout? Naruto's full power? I'd really like to know if Itachi was well done – his lines, his actions, whatever. How about that mysterious conversation in Naruto's 'dreams' ;) ? Anything you liked, anything you didn't like... you get the idea!

I know I kind of failed last time, but the goal this time is to reply to every single review – because each one is appreciated! And I think I can do it, if I can just get myself to reply to reviews when I receive them. Questions, comments, complaints – feel free give feedback, about anything at all!

Thanks for staying with me! I'll try to have the next chapter out more quickly than this one was, anyways ^^' See ya!

:o)Hinata0321:o)


	20. The Champion

J3F\\\ Journey of the Three Failures

Chapter Twenty

BACK IN ACTION!

I won't say much, just that I've been through some crazy stuff and I'm hopefully on the way to recovery.

Note that there is just about a less than 1 percent chance I would discontinue this story. For seriously. And if I were to discontinue it, which is immensely unlikely after I've gotten this far, I wouldn't just not tell you. …Huh? What about that Kurau Unleashed? I do plan to continue it! Just because it's shorter, I decided for that one I won't post more chapters until I finish writing it. Still, you definitely don't have to worry that J3F will ever have such a long hiatus as that one, because, well… this is my fic! No matter what sh1t people say about it, this is one of my proudest creations and I'm not going to let this adventure go unfinished. ^_^

A HUGE thanks to **Kamigawa Minato**, **Heavenhawk**, **Omega the darkness**, **crusader 5643**, **Zarcade**, **KoreanGal5**, **kurokazeryuu**, **No- I'm not on facebook.**, **Andreasfr**, **ShadowFaux**, **Yaki532**, **Fan of the Fall**, **naruhinaramen**, **lil ramen lover**, **Shizuka Taiyou**, **Universal Hope**, **U. May**, **Kethatril**, **Crimson Maelstrom**, **NarutoFanBoy4Life**, **PhoenixRe** (You made me cry happy tears! :') ), **Oroburos69**, **stellacisem**, **Naybi**, **Piffsheep**, **Shiko Ishimaru**, **SrgntDrew**,** Ig1514**, and anons who signed _hysterikku_, _Danielle_, _renee8725_, _D-MAN_, _somethings bugging me_, _Night Warrior Shadow_, and _Dan _for all your comments and constructive criticism! You anons who leave actual reviews are the only reason I don't block anonymous reviews. :)

_D-MAN _asked what'll happen to the Samehada. To answer, I won't be giving it to Naruto or Hinata, mainly because they already have their own weapons, we now know the Samehada is freaking strange (XD) and complicated, and it'll make a nice gift to the Mist, which will be supporting them (as revealed around the end of 18).

Also, for any confused by Hinata's little trip to the dark side last chapter - basically, filled with despair, she retreated into her mind and sought out the twisted manifestation of the evil side of the Blood Seal. This dark side was represented by herself in the full moon state but completely fallen, corrupted and devious; though because of her pure spirit the curse normally doesn't have the power to overturn Hinata's control, as Naruto said, she was trying to dig more out of herself when there was just nothing left - the result being the psychological manifestation of Hinata's own twisted reflection, and the encounter in which she yielded to her dark power and allowed herself to fall to the curse. This is meant in part to show again that the curse in and of itself cannot control her; only indirectly, by inflaming the darkness in her own heart can it tempt her, and though she never once loses the power to control it, upon giving in to hopelessness and rage she cannot bring herself to resist it. In short, in that scene Hinata is talking to herself, and the beast's tempting voice is her own, intoxicated by the power she knows she can possess. Torn in two, she wars with herself before finally losing herself to what she knows full well to be 'madness.' Then, of course, Itachi and Naruto save her, so it's all good! XD

There's a little more artwork up now, links on my profile. **A**L**s**_O_! (attention catcher) Be sure to check my profile for a link to the **J3F handmade mock-AMV thing!** It's not complete, but it's about a minute and 20 seconds now. I'm pretty proud of it!

Finally, The first chapter of Gaiden of the Three Failures will be posted immediately after this is up. Kicks off with the first part to Akane and Midori's backstory, so if you're interested, check it out!

**Disclaimer: **I don't own NARUTO.

* * *

**Journey of the Three Failures**

**Twenty: The Champion**

**Part One: Trial**

**Hinata ****ヒナタ**

"Alrighty then, I accept your challenge! One condition – if I win, you've got to teach me that Fuuton you ambushed us with!"

"Hah! I severely doubt that'll be happening, blondie!"

"Is this … okay?" Shizune asked. Gaara shook his head. Lee yawned where he sat at my side, Tonton the pig sprawled lazily in his lap. Tsunade observed with a thin eyebrow quirked, apparently more concerned at the waste of time in this unanticipated detour than anything. The nukenin wanted a shot at the Violet Phantom, so we sat back as did his traveling companions.

"I'd almost feel bad about clobbering a brat too quickly. Since you're a kid, I'll go ahead and give ya' the first move."

"Are you _sure_ you want to do that?"

"Haha! You're a funny one, kid!"

_Though we do want to get to Lord Jiraiya as quickly as possible, the fact is Lee-kun and Shizune-san both need a little more time to fully recuperate._

"Okay, then…" Naruto pulled a light kunai. "As the generously awarded first move of this battle, I'm going to throw some kunai knives at you. Fair enough, ne?"

_Tsunade-sama… even chastised Naruto-kun for not knowing and judging his comrades' limits better._

"'Some'? That's _one_, brat."

"If you say so."

"Holy–!"

Lee chuckled amusedly as Naruto let fly his knife and four more, from nowhere, sailed with it from various directions.

_As the sole "team" medic for so long, Naruto-kun ought to have recognized Lee-kun's fatigue before she did, apparently. And 'Lee and Hinata are tough' didn't exactly sit too well with her…_

The man shifted to avoid them all, and hurled his own knife Naruto's way. The moment his body was struck, it seemed, Naruto appeared behind his foe.

_We've already covered a good portion of the distance just getting into Fire. Now we're headed for the nearest town, where we'll break a couple of days to let them recover – not to mention plan our strategy._

The rogue wheeled and stumbled and jumped away, starting to get a little more than nervous.

_I suppose it makes enough sense; we need to move, not rush. Either way, it's not like all of us couldn't use some rest._

"For my second move, I'm going to punch you."

"From way over there?"

"Fear the Shadow Fist."

POW!

* * *

**Hanabi ****ハナビ**

"What do you _mean_ we're not training today?"

Hiryuu blinked, his face calm. "Excuse me, m'lady, but I mean by it just that. We're not training today."

Face blushing hot, I turned from him and paced back and forth, head low, arms crossed. This was – argh! I'd already had my training cut for the last two days, and out of nowhere this…! I bit my thumbnail.

Hikujaku started, wiping lighthearted amusement off his face as I rounded on him. He'd never stand a chance at getting the flicker out of his eye, though.

"Onii-san, spar with me!"

Unable to fully stifle a smile, he lifted his hands sheepishly. "Apologies, milady, but I'm under orders."

"Orders?" I echoed, blinking. My eyes snapped to Hiryuu. The jounin shut his eyes and nodded, sighing patiently on the bench where he sat. I hated to pull this card, but it was the strongest in my hand, so I used it. "You said you would do everything within your power to make me stronger! I don't have time to waste on trying to become a chuunin! This is _mutiny_ – you four have no right to refuse me training!"

"You're right – we don't," Hiryuu conceded evenly, "But in this mock-chuunin exam you, Lady Hanabi, will be the youngest competitor."

"…Huh?"

"The large majority of the entrants are in the age range of Chouji-san, Sakura-san, or even older genin. You might face shinobi more than twice your age, and before them you will be small, weak, and vastly inexperienced. However… I can tell m'lady with certainty that not a single one of them will compare to Neji."

I gasped, and my heart seemed to quake in one firm throb as his meaning clicked.

"You see? Diversify the range of your fighting experience, yes… and consider this an opportunity to measure your progress. Your ability well exceeds that of a genin… but if you cannot win this competition, you cannot defeat Neji."

I gulped quietly. With an ounce of hesitance Hiryuu reached out and patted me on the head.

"Your enthusiasm to train is encouraging, nonetheless. Rest yourself today, Hanabi-sama … and tomorrow, put your training to the test. If you wish…" he added, bowing his head.

The line of my mouth wrinkled briefly. Fists clenched at my sides, I nodded.

* * *

**Lee ****リー**

They had not stopped since we began eating.

That had been when the sun hung low in the sky, and by now the night had set in. They seemed aware exclusively of each other; if I was staring, they did not notice, or if they did notice, they did not care. But in twenty minutes, the little lovebirds had let surely not fifteen silent seconds pass consecutively between them.

It was not the content of their conversation that drew my attention. In fact, they spoke just softly enough that only light traces of their words could be occasionally ascertained, whether intentionally or not, always at that delicate border where the sound of speech was made apparent while remaining to all others incoherent. As the light, conversational tones grew… for lack of a better word, _mushier_, my eyes edged again toward the log where they sat.

Naruto, on his last bite of stew, lifted in his chopsticks the piece of meat he had apparently saved, and murmured something with playful eyes. Face a soft pink, the han'you tentatively accepted the bite offered as he guided it to her mouth. He slipped an arm behind her back and spoke again, his voice quieter still and barely detectable; she whispered back, an eyebrow lifted cutely, a hand drifting to his shoulder. He smoothly batted eyes that seemed now a bit more than playful as he responded faintly, ducking his head and touching a finger to the tip of her nose; she giggled at his words, blushing with a sidelong glance as her mouth moved, paused momentarily, and continued as she leaned in closer, her small finger tracing the edge of his collarbone, circling at the center of his chest. He said something brief, sharp but relaxed eyes flickering as he cupped her cheek in his palm; her mouth moved subtly in reply as she teased her thumb up along the vein of his neck, over his jawline, delicately across his bottom lip. He pecked her thumb, and his fingers nestled up into her hair, pinched her lupine ears, as he whispered, soundless; she nuzzled his cheek with her nose and perhaps let out a breath against him, mouth moving slowly. He drew back an inch and let a quick sentence dance out to her; she lowered her head slightly and looked up at him, and with her response traced the edge of his ear before her hand came to rest in his blond locks. Eyes barely open, he leaned closer to her; lips parting, she mirrored his action.

Their noses touched, and her finger pressed against his lips. He opened his eyes and spoke quickly and quietly against the extremity, and she nodded. They stood.

"Excuse us a minute," Naruto pardoned. Eyes bright, the two headed, hand in hand, off into the trees.

For fifteen seconds there was silence. Then, when I was certain they were out of earshot: "…Thank the _gods_."

Eyes round, Shizune's mouth flapped as her arm gestured wildly. "Wh-wh-wh-wh-_wha_–? !"

"What the hell are they doing?" Tsunade demanded flatly.

"Ah…" With a twig I prodded the roasting firewood at the heart of our camp, and pitched the stick in shortly. "They enjoy… _experimenting_ with their youthful impulses."

Shizune blanched.

"They're making out…" Gaara clarified absently as I picked up another stick.

Tsunade crossed her arms in speculation. "Or so they tell you."

The stick snapped in my hand as I shuddered. From the cold.

"I mean, think about it," the woman continued indifferently. "You _saw_ the look in their eyes, didn't you…?"

"I trust them," I maintained firmly, head down. "Actually, I do not believe that they even so much as… _touch_ each other." Should it really have mattered to me whether they did? I prodded my temple. "I said 'experimenting,' but to be honest, hormonal kids or not, it seems they truly are special to on another… Still, they would not do anything reckless…"

"Hm." Tsunade stood up with a groan. "You trust them, and that's all fine and well … but what if you're overestimating their self-control?"

I opened my mouth, and shut it, teeth clenching. Her hand clapped against my shoulder.

"Best to be on the safe side. Don't worry about a thing, Lee. I'll be right back."

I blinked as the sannin walked off into the trees.

…_Huh._

_

* * *

_

**Naruto ****ナルト**

Her back met a tree, and she shivered from head to tail as I worked her ears, ran my tongue against the roof of her mouth. She murmured and prodded back, and her arms around my waist squeezed tightly before one of her hands slipped under my shirt, warm fingers grazing the skin of my back dreamily before pressing and massaging fiercely, pushing me up against her. Our mouths worked hotly together, and our passions meshed between us–

"Alright, break it up!"

"Sh–!" The two of us snapped apart in shock, and I glared in wide-eyed confusion at the intruder. I blinked, panting, and hurriedly waved my hand through a string of saliva that hung between us. "Tsu-Tsunade-baa-chan, what's wrong?"

"Sit down," the woman said coldly.

The two of us swiftly obliged.

Tsunade walked up to me, and she swiped a finger over my damp forehead. "I see I've interrupted something hot and sweaty," she said, flicking her hand disdainfully at the air.

"We were just kissing!" I protested.

"Maybe for now, you were." The woman's glare softened; she sighed. "We need to talk."

"About…?"

"Let's see…" Tsunade's eyes narrowed up as she apparently drew a blank; Hinata and I exchanged a look. She must have been searching for 'responsible adult mode' and only just realized its absence. The sannin stopped pacing, a finger at her chin. "Ah, okay. So you see, when a man and woman love each other very much–,"

"WHOA! No, just – no!" I sputtered.

"Just stop right there!" Hinata squeaked, hands waving.

Tsunade blinked. "Have you two already had … the talk?"

I gulped dryly, rubbing my neck and averting my eyes. "M-Matsuzuki-sempai…"

"Hiashi-sama," Hinata muttered with equal awkwardness.

Tsunade sighed in obvious relief. "Phew! Okay, then. Have fun. But keep your clothes on."

"Oi!" I shouted, hands covering Hinata's wolfy ears. I'd gotten to her quickly, but could still feel the steady heat radiating from her face. "We get it, we know!"

"Okay, okay, _relax_," Tsunade said, waving. She turned and headed back to camp.

I sighed, lowering my hands from Hinata's ears. She was almost in tears with embarrassment. "Okay…"

"If that kid turns up pregnant, I'll know who to castrate!"

I blanched dizzyingly – and Hinata flopped onto her back as if propelled by the violent spurt of crimson that erupted from her nose.

"Capisce?" Tsunade called.

"Just go!"

* * *

**Hanabi ****ハナビ**

"Hm…" I unfolded the paper slip in my hand. _Eleven?_

Beside me in line, Kiba drew his own paper slip from the box Iruka-sensei carried. He began to chuckle, and as I realized it probably wasn't at what I could presume to be a number, my cheeks lit up.

"What is it _now_?" I asked, glaring through narrowed eyes.

His hand thudding onto my head, the Inuzuka laughed aloud. "Little Hanabi-chan's going for chuunin, that's what!" he said in a coddling voice, mussing up my hair, utterly delighted with amusement.

"Oi!"

"I'll say – it's actually kind of adorable," Chouji chipped in good-naturedly at my other side.

"'Adorable'?" I repeated in protest, dismayed. Really!

"Come on, you can't deny it!" Kiba snickered, bending down a bit to drop his arm around my shoulders and pinch my check.

"Guys!" I whined, blushing red. "What am I, five? !"

When I tried to push him off he caught me in a headlock and noogied playfully. "You're close enough!"

"Ouch! Ah, my hair– Quit it! This is demeaning – _Ki_-ba-_kun_…!"

Directly behind us one of the chuunin who lined the walls cleared his throat pointedly. Kiba released me – thank the kami – and I straightened and patted down my hair as the boy tucked his hands behind him and grinned sheepishly back at the man.

"Now look what you've done," I muttered, scowling. "You're making us look like little kids!"

Kiba fought to stave off a smirk. "Um, no offense, Hanabi-chan, but _you_ – hey!" he complained as I threw a good kick discreetly at his shin. "Oh, come on – I'm sorry, okay? You know we're just messing around…"

I crossed my arms in a huff. "Hmph. You act as though just because you've been through one chuunin exam it makes you experts or something, and I'm sick of it! It's not like you're all that old either. Just go ahead and laugh it up while you can – you won't be when I hit you with the full power of the Hyuuga Clan!"

"Ha! I don't think I'm ready to lose to Hanabi-chan just yet! In fact, I ain't losing to anyone – because I've decided _I'm_ gonna win this thing!"

"Arrr, arf!" Akamaru seconded, tail wagging.

"Only if I don't squash you flat!" Chouji retorted. "I could've made chuunin _ages_ ago!"

"And here you go, arguing over my head like I'm not even here!" I fumed, simmering. "Don't count me out just yet! I've gotten loads stronger since the last time we sparred!"

"Oho! We shall see, then, won't we?"

Once all entrants had drawn a number, we were directed to call them out one at a time. This finished, the genin were sorted into teams.

_Random teams to test our abilities to strategize and coordinate ourselves effectively on the fly… It makes sense, and serves toward upping the difficulty since so many of us are familiar with each other. But still… I kind of hope I'm with someone I know._

I didn't have to wait too long to find out.

"Team Four!" Anko-sensei called. "Akimichi Chouji! Kumasa Inaho! And Hyuuga Hanabi!"

_Interesting… Chouji-kun and Inaho-san… _I smiled at the Akimichi, who chuckled and offered a small high-five.

A couple of minutes later found Anko-sensei shouting to finish up the team listing over the complaints, exclamations, and hushed chattering of many. "Shut the hell up, maggots! These are your assignments for the exam. If you've got a big enough problem with it, come see me to be disqualified. The rest of you have two hours to meet up with your teams. Use this time to get to know each other, plan your strategy, spar – do whatever the crap you want, just be back here on time for the first test!" She turned her head. "Anything to add, Hakage?"

Facing us at the head of the room, Shikamaru scratched his head and sighed, quiet a few moments. "Good luck. Prepare yourselves to fight with all the valor … the _courage_ it takes, to uphold and bring honor to the emblem you all wear, as Leaf shinobi. Put the results of your hard work and commitment to excellence on display, and let your performance in the coming days be one that would bring pride to the friends, family, teachers, and comrades who aren't here with us." He lifted his hand. "Dismissed."

"Hehe… Nice, Shikamaru," Chouji whispered to himself, beaming. I looked around, frowning as I tried to peer through the milling crowd, genin searching confusedly for people they may have never spoken a word to before. It really did stink to be short sometimes, but, luckily for me…

"Byaku– Oh, wait… Yeah, there she is. Inaho-san, over here!" I called, raising my hand.

The short haired woman approached us unhurriedly. Eyes narrowed in scrutiny, she propped her hands on her hips and frowned down at me. Her nose wrinkled. "Fantastic. I get to go through the exam on babysitting duty."

"What's that supposed to mean?" I said, holding my ground and glaring evenly.

"Do I need to spell it out for you? I don't know why they'd let little snots enter in the first place, but if you're here to mess around, I suggest you leave. I'm ready to make chuunin, and if protecting some five-year-old gets in the way…"

Oh, come on! "Hey!" I snapped. "Did you ever stop to consider that I'm here for the same reason you are? We both are New Leaf ninja." I clenched a fist in front of me. "And if you want to fight, I'll be happy to show you right now, in about ten seconds, which one of us will be doing the protecting."

Inaho laughed scornfully, chilly amusement creeping into her eyes.

"Okay, okay," Chouji said, "both of you need to cool it. Inaho-san – I mean, that wasn't very nice of you. And you, Hanabi-chan… We don't need to be incapacitating our teammates before the competition's gotten underway."

"Chouji-kun…"

"What're you…?" Inaho began, seriously ticked off.

The boy's big hand thumped onto my shoulder. "You have no idea how powerful this kid is, after all." His tone changed. "But then again, we don't really know much at all about each other. And that's what these two hours are for, isn't it?"

We nodded. Chouji sighed. A thought occurred to me.

"Inaho-san, how old are you?"

"Twenty-three."

_Holy – Th-th-that's three times my… How are you still a genin? !_

"What of it?"

"Huh? Nothing. I'm – eight. And Chouji-kun is thirteen. Getting to know each other, right?" I said, laughing awkwardly.

She shook her head. "Whatever. Let's find someplace less crowded and talk ninjutsu."

"Sure."

"Alright, team, let's go!"

_Team…?_

_Team Massive Age Difference, maybe._

* * *

**Hinata ****ヒナタ**

"Okay. Now, touch your toes."

Tsunade's voice was clinical, mechanical even. We'd barely reached our rooms in the inn when she'd called me over to a side room for this. Even if not in a long while, she'd probably conducted such examinations hundreds of times before, and I could sense the easy certainty and expertise in her every motion. I reached down and touched my toes, and she lifted my shirt and brushed a hand down my spine.

"No irregular curvature…" The unrivalled medical genius trailed off, though, and here she paused. The base of my spine.

My face grew hot. "Qu-quit gawking! I have a tail, okay! Get over it!"

"Sorry, sorry, it's just… wow." I grimaced momentarily as she lightly pinched it between two fingers and stroked its length. She straightened, snatching a pen from behind her ear and scribbling furiously against her clipboard.

"_So_… Can I–?"

"Oh, yeah, you can stand up now," she said without glancing up. "Alright. Now, crouch down like this – good. Without standing up, walk forward… Stop. Good. Wh– yes, you can stand up," she said, already busily jotting away. She nodded. "Okay, strip."

"Wait… what?"

"What, don't you have canine auditory capabilities? They're in the way of examination."

I shook my head; I'd just been thrown off a moment. "Okay, but – wait, what's that?"

"Hm?" she said, pulling as scroll from her coat. "Medic's kit. I have to carry my stuff somewhere." She unrolled it on the table behind her, revealing row upon row of seal markings. "Let's see, where did I put that…"

Shaking my head again, I started to remove my shirt. I looked up at a small 'pop' from the scroll, and saw Tsunade catch the summoned tool in her hand.

"Whoops, wrong… Hey, Hinata? What's wrong?"

Sweating bullets, my back pressed hard into the wall behind me, claws out, tail bolted straight down and ears lying flat, I stared white-faced at the instrument in her hand and gulped drily.

Tsunade blinked. "Oh – this. Don't worry; I just picked the wrong seal–,"

The stronger kunoichi stepped toward me, and I … panicked.

* * *

**Naruto ****ナルト**

"Thanks for joining us, Onee-chan," I said, serving the tea.

"Thank you for inviting me," she replied, smiling. She'd been invited from all of three steps across the hall, sure, but our rare enjoying of afternoon tea was refreshing to share, and we'd figured she'd be bored all alone while waiting for Tsunade.

"I wonder if they will be finishing up soon," Lee said as I knelt at the low table. "Before it becomes cold…"

Gaara blew lightly on his own cup. I shrugged. "Who knows…" I reached to pick up mine.

I jumped at a thud that sounded in the other room. The doorknob banged and shook frantically, and the door slammed open as Hinata burst into the room, tripped, strode once on all fours, and turned, rising, huge eyes intent on the main door. Which was right on the other side of our tea table.

Scared for her life, face white, shirt half off, she ran as if the devil were at her heels and screeched:

"She's got a SCALPEL–!"

A dark figure flickered up behind her with glinting eyes, seizing the girl's tail. The han'you went down with a surprised yelp, banging her head clean into the edge of the table in the process. Tea and glass went everywhere.

I blinked. "_Granny_!"

"Relax!" Tsunade said. "This is hardly enough to break it – not that _I_ should know." She released her tail and lifted the stunned and twitching han'you up by one furry ear, smiling daintily. "Excuse us, carry on!" she called cheerfully, waving as she dragged Hinata (who was sort of bleeding at the forehead) back into the other room and shut the door behind them. I stared a few moments.

"S-so… Not that I don't hold the utmost trust in her, but… Shizune-nee-san…?"

"Right," she sighed, standing and following after them.

* * *

**Hanabi ****ハナビ**

"Hana– _bwof_!"

Before my assailant could so much as spew his attack cry I had turned, grabbed his arm and outstretched fist, and flung him over my shoulder to direct his back cleanly into the stone ground.

"K– Konohamaru-baka! What are you doing trying to attack people an hour before they're up to take the chuunin exam? ! I mean – not like you could've hurt me, but still…"

Chouji blinked, and Inaho propped up a sour eyebrow as I gave the boy a hand up.

"Ita…!" he hissed, rubbing his neck. "Sharp and brutal as ever, Hyuuga – but that's why you're my–!"

"Skip it," I groaned. "And you're attacking people _why_? Don't tell me you don't know what's going on."

"Neither time nor place is of relevance: this is the greeting of sworn rivals!"

Cue facepalm.

"_Yarp!_"

"Huh? Akamaru-chan?" I muttered as the sizeable doggie trotted up to us, tail wagging happily.

"Oi, Hamaru!"

"St-stop calling me that!" the boy complained, flustered, as Kiba and another genin approached. The Inuzuka snorted, shutting one eye to toss a sidelong glance.

"Pfft – suit yourself, Kono. Your name's too darn long. Oh…? Heya there, Hanabi!"

I blinked in surprise. "I didn't realize you two knew each other so well."

"Eh? Well, we kinda hafta," Kiba said, "We did get put on the same team, after all."

"The same… What? !" I cried. "Konohamaru-kun, you're – _entering_ the–?"

"You betcha' I am!"

"You need to quit."

The midget cocked his head, one light brown eyebrow perked up. "What? Hey, you're not _that_ scared of me, are ya?"

He started as my hands met his shoulders. "I'm not joking around here! Even if it's unlikely anyone will be killed, you can still get hurt. I don't think you totally understand this."

"Hanabi…"

"This exam is no place for you – not yet. While there might still be time, you need to drop out!"

For a few moments his expression was sober; then he closed his eyes and grinned. "Wow, I dunno what to say. I'm real touched that you're all concerned."

"You…!"

His hand touched my own on his shoulder. "You're really feeling high and mighty, aren't you? Even though you're competing, you're just that convinced I can't hack it? You have no idea…"

"Konohamaru!" I began as he turned away and started for his team.

"I've been training like _crazy_ with Ebisu-sensei, you know? Anyways, good luck, Hanabi." He looked back, a fist clenched. "The next time we cross paths, I'll probably be blowing you away in the competition, whatever it may entail. Count on it!" With that he scampered off.

I reached out, mouth opening only to shut out a sigh. I shook my head. "Bakayarou…"

_I'm embarrassed for you already._

* * *

**Hinata ****ヒナタ**

Tsunade scratched her head, frowning exasperatedly. "Brat, could you _try_ to loosen up?"

"No," I spat, ears back as I glowered pointedly at a corner of the room. My arms were folded stiffly across my chest, my knees up to nearly touch my chin, and my tail tucked defensively against my rump.

Tsunade sighed. "Okay – look, why don't we just…"

A threatening growl surfaced in my throat as her hand neared my arm. The low rumble nearly abated when she paused, but jumped to peak in intensity as the hand drifted nearer again, way too close, raising the hairs on the back of my neck.

"Sheesh!" she cried, and the snarl of my lips relaxed slightly as she pulled back to jot, nonetheless, on her clipboard, annoying me to no end. I grunted though bared teeth.

"Sorry if I'm not all that comfortable stark naked in front of a person who's broken my tail _and_ kneed me in the…" I held my tongue, blushing.

"Cl–?"

"_Whoa_!" I protested, waving my arms – and as quickly wrapping up again, head low, face red.

"Come on!" Tsunade coaxed, "We're all girls here. Or…?" She put a speculative hand to her chin, and a sly smile spread across her face. "You don't want to hear a _dirty_ word?"

"Wh-wh-what if I don't?"

"Ah… Lady Tsunade, I don't believe you're making progress…" Shizune pointed out. She was ignored as the sannin laughed aloud.

"You're surprisingly innocent! Wouldn't have guessed it from the way you were all wrapped up around your boyfriend…"

I squeaked.

"Okay, okay," she soothed, chucklings aside. "Hinata, I'm a doctor and you're … _unique_. I want to examine the structure of your body, but I can promise it won't hurt a bit. I can understand your apprehension; we didn't get off on the best foot, and I regret that. We're comrades now, though, and if you can forgive me, I'll gladly leave it at that."

I lifted my head at the sincerity in her voice, and hesitantly I returned her bright smile. "Alright. Let's put the past behind us. But… Tsunade-sama…"

"Hm?"

"I would appreciate it if you got your hand off my shoulder while I'm naked."

"…Hinata, I'll need to touch you to examine you. Wait! Not like that – what're you doing _now_?"

"Nothing, nothing! Just putting on my underwear!"

* * *

**Hanabi ****ハナビ**

_Teams of three are given three flags to distribute among themselves. We enter the competition area – a fresh labyrinth extending beneath the main tunnels – from different starting points…_

_And from there, it's a free-for-all. You can hide flags away for future retrieval, form a base, stick together, split up, set traps, stake-outs, ambushes… but as soon as you want out, you exit through a trapdoor at the center…_

_That's… if we can find it. Or, after 48 hours, the test ends and the proctors'll round us up._

_The catch is, only the five teams that have accumulated the most flags will move onto the next test. In other words, it's anyone's guess how many will be needed to score in the top five; how are we to decide if and when to cut the chance of loss and seal our earnings? How can we even estimate how many flags remain for the taking?_

I gulped, thumb brushing across the green square of cloth that Tonbo-sensei handed to me. My hands shook. "This'll be no walk in the park, huh…?" I muttered.

"Huh – it's not much next to a _real_ chuunin exam," Inaho retorted as she folded and pocketed her own flag. "Instead of being nervous you should count yourself lucky."

I didn't look up. "Nervous? No… that's not what I meant…"

"Hey, are you saying something?"

_This… I think I'm… _My fist clenched. _I'm excited? _I could hardly comprehend it. Despite all my protests before, being here now, at the starting threshold, soon to charge into a maze and square off against others and put my power to the test… Just the thought of it was at once bringing chills skittering down my spine, and my blood to a boil.

"Give me your flag."

"What?" I looked up at Inaho, frowning. She held out her hand.

"Just hand it over. I'll hold onto it," she said simply.

"You think I can't protect it?" It was hardly a question.

"Whether you can or can't, I can protect it better."

We glared at each other for several moments. Chouji scratched his head uneasily. "Um…"

I took a deep breath. "Here."

She blinked, and took the flag offered.

"Hanabi-chan," Chouji began.

I shook my head. "You protect two of our flags, Inaho-san. I'll take point and handle our enemies, with Chouji-kun's backup."

"Pfah," she snorted quietly. "You really think you're up to it?"

"You don't think you can protect the flags _and_ me – or can you?"

She sighed in exasperation. "Little brat… Akimichi, make sure you watch out for her."

"Huh? Uh – yeah."

"If she's incapacitated, we won't qualify for the next round no matter how many flags we collect."

I forced a passable smile. "Just focus on your role, Inaho-san."

Tonbo cleared his throat, lifting his eye from the stopwatch he held. "Get ready."

This quieted us down. As we fell silent, nothing was heard but the ticking of the timer.

My Byakugan awakened.

Inaho stepped behind me.

Chouji took up the rear.

"This is it, huh?"

"…Yeah."

"Hm."

The timer trilled out its alarm, and a moment after the resounding roars of a gong rang through the tunnel walls, ascending rapidly from a low rumble to a resonating storm of noise that pounded in my head, my bones, my chest.

Tonbo stepped aside. It was Inaho who shouted.

"Go!"

And we were off.

* * *

**Hinata ****ヒナタ**

Strong hands and feet blazed over the earth, tearing out my path and shoving the forest floor out behind me. Over a decayed old log I went without breaking stride; I ghosted over damp leaves and grass, splashed through puddles, barreled through shrubs and brambles in my path as the trees flashed insanely past me, and were left behind. My eyes grew madly intent with excitement. Its smell – strong, stronger – close enough to taste.

_There!_

Fast – not nearly fast enough. I launched myself upon the wild boar, claws meeting a side and the other shoulder as fangs found the neck, and my weight, overbalancing, brought it snout-first to the ground.

The creature screamed and fought, and I growled as I kept my body from the range of flailing, kicking hooves. I kept my hold, barely able to keep it off its feet as it writhed strongly, bellowing its furious might. But I wrestled intently – and then – at last–

My arms found their way around the neck.

_CRACK!_

One insane, convulsive jerk of my body, and, cleanly, it was done. I snarled and tore into the beast, starting at the throat – tearing out before burying my mouth in the rich outpouring of hot, syrupy life. I drank, drew heavily inward, and in moments pulled away, gasping, and set about ravaging the supple flesh of my prize. Slicing fangs were feverish upon the fresh meat, digging, gripping, tearing eagerly with an untold and primal passion–

My ear twitched.

The tiniest prickle on my back, and I whirled, snarling aloud in outrage as my stained claws smashed through a stick.

…What?

The unfortunate twig's former wielder had leapt fifteen yards back. Snarling furiously, breathing at a wild pitch, I pressed threateningly raised claws to the ground and focused some of the frenzied heat and haze from my mind. With much effort I found, and controlled, my voice.

"_What the HELL, Tsunade-sama? !_"

"Warui, warui! I was curious…"

In a sudden movement I scratched my head agitatedly – kuso, boar blood in my hair! – and shook my head rapidly. I blinked a few times. My tongue darted to swipe up a morsel of blood tickling my upper lip. "I'm trying to eat here!"

"I know that, but–,"

"Don't 'but' me! You said you'd follow downwind, in the treetops, at a distance – and I wouldn't even know you're there – a-and–!"

"Not like I'm stopping you from eating! Am I really bothering you that much?"

"Yes! Please leave!"

The woman seemed to ponder something for a moment. Wheels turned behind her eyes, and I didn't like it. "So… what if I were to, say, step toward you, like this…?"

The back of my neck prickled with fine hairs standing up on end. My lupine ears shifted downward, and I fought to repress a steadily growing rumble in my throat as she walked toward me. "Stop that!" I barked. "I mean it–!"

Her foot touched the ground some eight yards away, and my body tensed – my lip curled to bare fangs – my ears pinned back – tail straight out behind me – as I growled a murderous warning, crouched protectively over my kill.

The woman blinked. I watched her take one step back. My prepared muscles relaxed; my growl fell back again. Tsunade smirked.

"Hey! This isn't funny–!" The words broke into a growl as she shifted her foot forward again.

"Okay, now seriously–," I began before I was interrupted again. Without touching it to the ground, she moved her foot forward and back again, listening as my growl rose and fell, rose and fell.

"Will you stop that–? !"

Tsunade flinched forward, and I snarled menacingly, bristling, clawing the dirt and snapping my teeth dangerously at the air in fury. She stood a moment, and stepped back to let me speak. Her brow furrowed. "…You _do_ realize I've got no reason to try to steal your food from you, right?"

"Well, _yeah_, I know tha– _Rrrrrrrr… _Stop, okay! Just stop!" I cried as she tested me again. This was getting humiliating!

"So even something you know as a fact can be overridden, and you feel your meal threatened… Hm… Then can wolf-demon instinct undermine a han'you's human intellect…?"

"It does not– _GRRRRR!– Son of a–!_"

My claws snapped into my shoulder, bit in, and blasted five waves of darkness toward the sannin.

"Alright, leaving!" she said, dodging and flickering from sight.

* * *

"Ah…" I yawned contentedly, lazily cleaning my claws. My feeding done, Tsunade was fine standing moderately close by.

"So tell me… why that outfit? The same clothes you train in, right?"

"What, this…?" I said, looking at my ragged and faded cropped tank and shorts. I shrugged. "Well… it's practical. If I'm hunting or training with Ani-ue, my regular clothes would get filthy or slashed to shreds in no time. These are easier to keep fairly clean – I mean, clean enough for what I need them for," I added, thumbing an old bloodstain and briefly wondering whether the offending staining agent belonged to me or to some prey.

Tsunade nodded, looking toward what remained of the kill. "So, what happens to that? You can devour some forty percent of your weight in meat… Problem is, that thing probably weighs… _weighed _more than you do. And if you won't eat again for another few days…"

"It won't go to waste!" I defended, appalled. I looked down. "Something like me … can find very few enemies among ookami."

"Hm?"

"I'll just see if I can't find … any Family in the area."

* * *

**Hanabi ****ハナビ**

_Incoming, three o'clock! _I signaled, altering our speed as we neared the end of a hall that forked perpendicularly in two directions. Our footfalls fell fully silent even as those of the team approaching rattled carelessly down the tunnels.

…_Now!_

I ran up and along the runnel wall at our left before leaping downwardly across, planting my hands on the right corner at the termination of our path, and swinging my body around before releasing so that my left foot sailed into a sprinting opponent's ankle.

Inaho fell back, and as Chouji rounded the corner the boy I'd tripped got a face-ful of the Akimichi's sharply inflating belly. Rising, I jabbed a fist, tiny though it was, quickly and precisely into an older girl's solar plexus, and smoothly I fell to the ground with the strike – just as the one I'd tripped bounced back, sailing over me and loudly knocking heads with her. The two dropped, and I sprang forward again. Just one left.

I slipped aside as he threw a punch, and chakra flared briefly from every tenketsu in my body. Strike diverted, he stumbled past as I spun swiftly behind his back, already channeling shocking energy down my arm as two fingers darted for a chakra point on his back.

_Sweet dreams–!_

It was then, however, that someone who was _supposed_ to be at the tail of our group threw a punch for the opponent – was blocked and held as a means of gathering staggered balance again – and was thrown toward me with great force.

"Guh–!" About twice my weight crashed into me, throwing me off my feet. Forget catching myself; I'd barely had enough time to focus on dousing my sparking fingers. I took the hit and tumbled backwards, stumbling onto my feet. Inaho, who'd managed not to fall, exchanged quick blows with the other genin.

I saw his kick coming – the problem being, _she_ didn't.

"_Inaho-san!_" I cried, hand alight with chakra as I flung two kunai forward as our opponent got the side of her knee.

She flinched, and as his fist neared her she blinked at the sight of the two electrified knives sailing by either side of her head.

"_Hibana Nagashi!_" I shouted as lightning jumped from my still outstretched hand to the two kunai and, in the blink of an eye, snapped to stretch between them.

The bar of lightning met the boy's chin and snapped as suddenly from existence as he keeled over, limp. Chouji yelped, jumping back as the lifeless pair of projectiles clattered to the earth at his feet.

I exhaled, wiping a gloss of sweat from my brow. Inaho shuddered and fell on her hurt knee, swearing at a mutter. Chouji tentatively spoke.

"He's…?"

"Unconscious," I answered. I had Sasuke's training to thank for that; only because of him did I have adequate control to use a handful of my Raiton without risk of lethality. There was a burn on his chin, but he'd survive that much.

I shook my head.

"Inaho-san."

I crossed my arms when she didn't answer and opted not to spare me a glance. Chouji muttered about checking for flags and turned his attention to our sleeping foes.

"Inaho-san," I repeated sternly after briefly calling to Chouji the locations of their flags. "I signaled for you to fall back. Your job is to protect our flags. Why… would you break formation?"

She didn't speak; after massaging her knee for a few moments, she got to her feet. At full height she turned to face me, glaring down her nose. "Maybe I didn't want to go on the shots called by someone too short to punch me in the face."

My Byakugan eyes narrowed. "Would you like me to prove that wrong?"

She sneered with a sound of contempt, turning away again. My kekkei genkai faded as she turned toward Chouji–

And whirled, throwing a fist for my face.

I spun aside in a flash of speed, hopped curtly upward and forward, and slammed her cheek with all my strength.

"Oi!" Chouji cried as I landed lightly and Inaho was thrown onto her back. My arms crossed again as I stood tall. The woman sat up and cringed, a hand darting to conceal the bruise on her face.

"Get it?" I warned, glaring coldly down at her. "A little height means nothing. _This… _is a difference in skill."

She scowled dangerously at me, face red.

Chouji cleared his throat. "Yeah… I got their flags…"

I nodded. "I'll hold onto these three."

"What?" Inaho snapped as he handed them to me. I loosened up and got to pocketing them.

"It's not so much that I don't trust you can do your part," I assured her, "But as you've shown us, people make assumptions. See… I figure very few we come across will expect the eight-year-old of the team to have been left to safeguarding any of its flags. As the oldest you're probably the primary target to begin with. Worst case scenario…" I nodded toward our victims for clarification. "The enemy loots your flags, assumes we only had our original three, and moves on without bothering to search me. All in all, we don't _look_ like a very powerful team; we can use that for a tactical edge."

Chouji blinked. "That… actually makes a lot of sense!"

I nodded again. "Anyways, how's your knee feeling?"

"Yeah, can you stand?" Chouji asked, offering her a hand up.

She scowled, glowering at us both as she backed to her feet.

"Careful!" I said, darting to help support her weight as she stumbled. She turned wide eyes on me and pushed away, staggering painfully into the wall's support. I frowned.

"Inaho-san…"

"What's wrong?" Chouji asked. "We're just trying to help."

"_Thanks_," she spat, "but I don't need it. Let's just get going–,"

"Sit down."

Inaho looked down at me. I gazed icily back.

She slid slowly down the wall until she sat on her rear.

"You have gauze in your bag, right?" I asked. Not like I hadn't already seen it. "We wrap this, and then we'll move."

"Hn…" She dug it out and handed it to me, force in every motion. "I can do this on my own, you know," she pointed out, rolling up her pants leg so I could set about quickly wrapping her knee.

"I do know. But for now, could you get some burn cream?"

"…_Why_?" she asked, an eyebrow raised as she dug a small packet from her bag regardless.

"Not for us…" I explained as she grudgingly handed it over. Finished with her knee, I walked to where Chouji had sat the other team of genin against the wall, and knelt to fold the packet of medication in a black-haired boy's hand. "It's not too severe, but it'll leave a scar on his chin if it's left alone. It doesn't look like they have any ointment on them, so…"

Unreadable, Inaho averted her eyes when I turned around. "Yeah, whatever." She rose to her feet. "I can move. Let's go."

"Right…"

"Yosh!"

* * *

**Hinata ****ヒナタ**

I parted greenery with one hand as I walked, nostrils fluttering tentatively. I'd known to roll in the dirt beforehand to sufficiently purge myself of Tsunade's scent; now all I smelled prominently around me was the forest, the earthy moisture, my own sweat, and the delicate, diverse plethora carried on the passing air. I moved with the boar's hind hooves in my grip, its weight supported on my back as I towed it along behind me.

Following my nose, I ducked under a branch and skulked into the open. I called out softly, making my presence known before I proceeded. Then, as dark forms gathered at the mouth of the cave, I paused.

A grey one slipped into the open with mild caution, flanked by two others. I let off a soft fluctuation of youki, a faint conveyance of myself as I stood unassumingly. Reassured, the leader lifted his head and approached, sniffing curiously as I offered my hand. I murmured my intent at a pleasant tone, and the brother consented with formal gratitude. I stepped back, laid the carcass down in front of me, and knelt to push it toward him.

He grunted, and three more trotted into the open. The alpha ate, and when he allowed them the others joined in. They stripped it bare in minutes. When invited I chewed the bones with them; I learned their names, and they learned mine. Playfully I wrestled with the young ones. When we said goodbye, I tucked the brothers and sisters into my heart, and went to meet Tsunade.

She blurred down from the trees when I said we were far enough away.

"So, what's next?" I asked.

"Huh?"

"Questions to be answered, tests to be run…"

She eyed me momentarily. "That's… enough examination for one day. Let's head back."

"Oh… okay."

* * *

**Naruto ****ナルト**

I stood unmoving atop the highest apex of the tallest tree I'd been able to find. My eyes were shut, my breath steady and measured, and one foot was poised delicately at the peak of the upward-pointing branch, a perfect balance, intuitive and pure, that suspended my weight above the fragile spire. I felt my mind working rapidly, racing and generating but wordless – thoughtless – burgeoning silently with the cool energy to hold me aloft. I felt the great tree supporting me; I felt the wind on my cheeks, my chest, my outstretched arms, and I felt it meet and sift and flow around me. I breathed. As the winds pitched and kicked, faded and stirred in and out again, I felt them. I breathed. I felt them, and I did not fall.

I shifted, gradually extending my arms before me until my naginata was held level in both hands. My arms shifted, one hand releasing as the other ascended with the spear, and my knee rose. Stretched to greatest height, from the tip of a toe to a hand that grasped at the invisible sky, I held for a moment, a precise duration, before letting the polearm fall. It turned once in my hand, and as it swung upward about the axis I caught it in my grip, allowing my arm to sway slightly and fluidly with the path of its motion, and I left my perch gently. It was the other foot's toe that sank back to the branch, and I let my arm continue to circle with the staff as my knee drew upward, and I leaned opposite the spear and extended the foot aside, sole out. At length I came to transfer the spear to the other hand, and to lower it against the crook of my arm to point it downward, outward, as my free hand extended, fingers uncurling into a palm that grazed the air. Dynamic. Yet not once did the axis of balance shift, or so much as stutter. Minute after minute I moved, motions smooth but slow, always so impossible slow, restricted but unbound, gradual and certain as the trickle of molasses down a gentle plane.

Seamless.

I was one with the wind, I was one with the spear, and I could not fall.

My eyes snapped open – balance faltered – the tip of the branch snapped under my weight. As suddenly I was collected, other foot falling to take up the perch as the naginata pointed down toward a particular tree among many forty meters away.

Gaara stepped from the shadows, walking out along the branch on which he stood.

"Did I disturb you, Naruto-san…?"

I shook my head as I lowered the weapon. "What's up?"

The redhead's fist clenched. He hesitated briefly before he looked up to meet and hold my eyes squarely with his own. "I'm of no use to you as I am now. I'm little more than a liability, correct?"

I frowned, surprised. "Why d'ya say that?"

"Admit it. You know it's true…"

"So you're not quite at the same level. Nonetheless, you are quite a ways from what I'd call 'useless' on the field of battle…" I paused in thought. "Gaara," I continued when he didn't answer. "What's this all about?"

He looked down, bitterness catching his tongue. "Back there, there was almost nothing I could do … to help Hyuuga-san, or any of you. I know that standing beside you I am weak… but I also know that once we free Lord Jiraiya, there will be no slowing down."

I rubbed my neck. "You're right there. As soon as we strike one prison, it's a race against time to bust out as many of our shinobi as possible before the Sound can get their feet under them and buff up their guard. There won't be many breaks. But…" At the look in his eye I finally understood. "You're right," I repeated, "As you are now, you're _not_ coming onto the front lines."

"Demo–!"

I held up my hand, eyes stern. "Things are gonna get dangerous. Your brother and sister … told us to take care of you, Gaara. We won't put you needlessly in harm's way."

The other boy's angered scowl wavered at this, and my expression softened as I pressed on.

"I know your heart's in the right place, and that's what's so painful about it, but… huh? You say something?"

"I want to get stronger!" he shouted up at me. "I want to wield my power the way you do – the way you, and Hyuuga-san, and Lee-san do – so that I can fight alongside you!" he cried, brow set in determination.

Myself unreadable, I held Gaara's gaze for several seconds more. He didn't show any sign of backing down.

A devilish smirk slid across my face. What could I say? I liked that look in his eyes.

"So you want to fight like us, do ya?" I called.

"Yes!"

"Then fight me…"

His eyes grew in bewilderment.

My foot touched down.

I hadn't Shadow Swapped.

"…Until you catch up," I finished simply, ankles crossed, one arm resting against the tree's trunk as I tapped the flat of a kunai against the back of Gaara's neck.

My palm pressed to the trunk, and neatly I stepped back and flung myself downward as he started away from me, as his absolute defense exploded forth in late retaliation to crash in convergence on the place I'd been standing an instant prior.

I landed on a lower branch, shot to another tree, and scurried up the trunk before launching myself back. My feet slipped in silence onto the branch on which Gaara stood as he looked at the clearing sand to just now find I had vanished. With a blunt mutter of "death" I jabbed his back lightly with the knob of the kunai's handle.

Gaara stiffened – and whirled, swinging his arm with a yell to fire a blast of sand just a bit after I'd tipped and swung to hang upside-down underneath the branch.

"Not quite," I said, and in the time it took his eyes to locate me and his hands to clap together, sending sand snapping together beneath the branch – I had done a quick backbend, brought my hands to the branch, swung my feet down and then up again above the limb behind him, and maneuvered myself to turn and hack a sharp shin cleanly into his ankles.

He grunted as his feet came from under him, and as I rose to full height I lifted my left knee to send a powerful, deliberate Shadow knee strike for his back.

A cushion of sand caught the blow.

And my upraised right hand was slammed down into Gaara's stomach, crushing him into the same wall of sand that had shielded and steadied him. He coughed blood.

The sand crumbled, and his body fell against the branch and slipped off, limp; I reached to catch his wrist in my hand.

"Catch yourself," I said flatly, swinging his weight and releasing so that he tumbled toward another tree. His feet narrowly found a branch and began to slip, and he flung his arms about the trunk and caught his balance, buckling at the waist, before he lurched, dropping to his knees and coughing out wetly. With a few shallow, audible breaths he clutched his stomach and curled, shivering in pain.

Inwardly I grimaced; I hadn't intended or expected to hurt him so badly. Outwardly my face remained objectively dispassionate.

"I am a Sound shinobi," I said, "tasked with guarding Jiraiya's prison and eliminating intruders. Will I stand here and watch you recover from my blows?"

Gaara's teeth clenched as he withheld a high groan.

"This is the situation you're asking me to let you be in three days from now. That's how long – all the time we've got before we move out. I'll ask you again: Are you up to this?"

He lifted a hand to the tree, and worked to his feet. His answer was clear as the blood on his mouth, and the resolve in his eyes. I nodded.

"If you're up against someone the sand can't keep up with, it's up to _you_ to keep yourself alive. You see?"

"I u-understand…"

"Since you're like me, you can push hard and recover fast. We have three days to teach you how to really fight – just three days to drill until it's hardwired into your flesh. We start now!"

"Hai!"

* * *

**Hinata ****ヒナタ**

I cringed as the crack of force, distant though it was, rang loud and clear in my ears. "Are you trying to kill him, Naruto-kun?" I muttered to myself.

"Who knows?" Tsunade said, arms crossed.

I shook my head as we continued to spy. It wasn't as much sparring as it was a beating. This was ruthless. "I've never seen him so vicious… not to a comrade…"

"There's training, and then there's plain recklessness. How far does he think they can get in a few days?"

"Wait," I said, touching her shoulder as the sannin started to step past me, into the open. "Let's not disturb them."

"You just said…"

"No… No," I said, shaking my head. "If Naruto hurts Gaara-kun, he can fix him up, after all. Just… trust him. He knows what he's doing."

Tsunade eyed me dubiously.

"It's… a lot like when we first set out…" I murmured. "It was the three of us then… and Naruto-kun and I fought our hardest to reach Lee-kun." But even so, it seemed possible that the present gap between the two Jinchuuriki was greater still than the one that had separated us from Lee all those months ago. "Let's go…"

I turned to head to the inn. Tsunade said nothing, but followed. I fought not to wince as my sensitive ears caught every thud, every crash, every sound or howl of pain.

_I can feel it, _I thought. _Every cruel, concussive blow of his fists… every bark of berating correction… is Naruto's will to push, to shove Gaara-kun to reach his goal!_

_You've set out to break his spirit… _because_ of your confidence it won't be broken, haven't you? That's … so unlike you…_

_But… If Gaara doesn't allow himself to be crushed, he can only succeed._

I clasped a hand over my heart as I walked, sighing and tipping my head back a bit. My eyes shut. "Good luck, Gaara-kun."

Tsunade gave a drawn-out groan. "So, what are we to do? Brat One and Brat Two are set on a crazy training routine, Older Brat and Shizune are resting up…"

I scowled, ears bristling. _After she said we were done for the day… If she asks to run more tests…_

"Wolf Brat – cook me a meal."

I tripped. Catching myself, I turned and sputtered. "But – wh-why don't…" I paused, blushing as I grew aware that this would sound fairly rude…

"'Why don't…'?"

"Why don't you … cook yourself a meal–?" I stumbled onto my backside, shrieking as she made as if to slap me. I frowned, thoroughly unamused, when she promptly burst out laughing.

"But seriously," she snapped suddenly, getting my attention. "Show a little respect for your elders, will you?"

"Y-yes, ma'am."

"Believe it or not, the rest of us actually need to eat a few times a day. Would it kill you to show a little consideration for your injured comrades as well?"

I stood up. "Yes – I mean, no, ma'am!" I said, bowing my head and readying a shunshin. "Feel free to get some rest as well while I prepare, ma'am. I know that people your age need their naps, after all."

I body flickered, and was leaping through the treetops when the BOOM of crackling earth sounded behind me. I smiled sheepishly to myself.

_Maaaybe that wasn't a great idea._

_

* * *

_

**Hanabi ****ハナビ**

Eight sharp, rapid thuds issued as my palms struck into his torso. With a yell I put a perfect fist in his gut as he began to stagger; as he jerked down to my level I readily seized the opportunity to uppercut his jaw.

I turned, breath steady and controlled even as my face ran with sweat. _The others…!_

Across the small room, Chouji was driving another genin to the wall with a powerful shoulder lunge. The boy grabbed his stunned adversary around the waist, and with a roar he hurled him into the opposite wall. As he slumped a wail cut the air; after scuffling briefly with the third one Inaho had decisively snagged and broken his arm, expert in her efficiency.

He staggered and toppled against a wall, glaring up at the kunoichi. "Dammit, Inaho!"

She shrugged. "Hand over your flags."

_Looks like… we did it… _My Byakugan vanished, and I blinked rapidly, rubbing my eyes. Scowling at a mounting headache, I started toward the others at a walk. _I need to conserve my chakra better…_

"Your team's down," Inaho was saying. "I know you have them. You can either fork them over or be knocked out – either one's fine with me."

My eyes snapped wide.

"Duck!" I yelled, leaping toward Inaho with all my strength. My arms slipped beneath her arm and around her neck, and the high collision took her off her feet. She turned her head, a glower of outrage entering her eyes – until my foot was caught by a shooting missile of lightning.

Of course it didn't exactly hurt me, but as my system absorbed the fierce influx of electricity, I thought in a split-second to freeze my chakra flow – halting it forcibly – and rooting the active power before Inaho could be fried via our contact.

_Another team–?_

Inaho landed on top of me. I'd intended such when I knocked her over, but had perhaps underestimated our difference in weight. She flattened me.

"Ch! Outta the way!" she barked, shoving my arms from her as she charged to engage an opponent. I rolled over on my front, wheezing. I hadn't hit my head…?

A shadow loomed over me.

"Sorry kid. I'll end this quickly."

The lightning user thought his jutsu had stunned me. "As if!" I grunted, scooting back to dodge his kick – and lunging to drive a forearm into the ankle of the foot supporting him. I was rising as he caught his balance, and turned to jam an elbow into a point on his back. "Chouji-kun!" I cried, whirling sharply once to unleash the Hakkeshou Kaiten.

"Roger that!" The Akimichi swung underhand, and a monstrous palm caught the launched genin and smacked him to the ceiling in a blow that shook the room. I turned.

_Shoot…!_

I shouted too late. The first genin, the one with the broken arm, lunged from behind as Inaho broke from combat with one of the new opponents, and he captured her right arm between a strong elbow and knee.

"Eye for an eye!" he growled as a _CRACK!_ broke the air, and Inaho yelled.

Chouji launched himself and briefly expanded, and his body blow flung the other boy to the wall with a crash.

I was in front of the staggered woman, teeth clenched, to narrowly catch in both hands the huge fist of the enemy she'd been facing. In a flash his foot left the ground – and sank heavily into my gut. My eyes lost focus, and before I could react a stinging heel landed at the center of my collarbone.

I thought that I would crash into Inaho. But as I sailed, I promptly found that she'd…

…_Ducked…?_

The impact with the stone wall made my ears ring. I crumpled, barely catching myself on wobbly arms as I hunched and coughed, desperately fighting to blink the darkness from my eyes.

If not for Hiryuu-oji-san's training, I would surely have fainted there; instead I curled up and breathed out hard, shaking and defenseless but for the most part conscious, until Chouji came and put a hand on my back. By how hard it was to breathe, not much time could've passed.

"Th-they…?"

"We took care of 'em," Chouji affirmed. "Are you alright?"

"Think so," I said, accepting the hand offered and clambering to my feet. I loosed one more cough as my breath normalized, and looked to see Inaho using her teeth and good hand to tie off a crude sling. I frowned a moment, but took a steadying breath and suppressed my thoughts. We were… teammates. "Oi…"

"We've made too much noise here," she said without facing us. "Let's grab their flags and get moving."

I couldn't argue; the flags took priority here. We gathered up only three – the ambushing team had apparently already tangled with misfortune – but brought our total to a solid twelve regardless. The moment this was done, Inaho set off for one of the paths from the room.

"You're breaking formation," I pointed out.

"Then hurry up," was her rebuttal.

"Inaho-san… Are you alright?"

"What do you think?"

My jaw locked. I strode up to her. "Okay, seriously! I'm tired of this! If you have something to say to me, come out and say it– _unh!_" I grabbed her wrist – and loosed a tiny yelp as her hand flashed sharply across my cheek.

"You ran here from a clan of traitors and cowards! What, do you expect us all to kiss the ground you walk on because a Hyuuga has graced the resistance with her presence?"

"Wh-what?" I gasped, startled.

"You people make me sick! The Leaf's great clan, the mighty Hyuuga – took all of three days to roll over like a dog, and turn its power against us real shinobi!"

"What's that got to do with me? ! I'm _on_ your side!"

"You're all the same! Since the snake's invasion, do you know how many brave lives your treacherous blood has taken? !"

"I'm not the same as them!" I persisted. "I haven't ki–!"

–"_Four…"–_

I paused an instant, and she tore on without mercy – without anything, but hatred and rage.

She pointed her finger at me.

"You call yourself their leader? As far as I care, as much of our blood is on your hands as theirs."

"It's not!" I screeched, shaking my head. "What the Branch has done – i-it was Neji who… who…!"

"So you blame your Branch family? Convenient, isn't it? You're the pure and just, and they a lot of crooked scoundrels – that what you're telling me?"

"No!" I protested with a shudder, training wide eyes on the dirt floor. "N-Nee-chan… Nee-chan wouldn't blame them," I whispered. "It can't… it's not … their … fault that all this happened!"

"Then if they're not to blame, who the hell _is_? !"

"The…!" My knees gave out, thumped to the earth. "The customs… the ways of the Head Household – they did this to Neji, to all of them…! It's not right… But all the same, I can't forgive them…! What they've done… I can't forgive that man for the Hell he's put me through!"

"So, then…" She walked up to my shivering form. "As their great leader, how do _you_ plan to redeem them?"

"I don't know!" I yowled, eyes shut. "I didn't choose to be born who I am, dammit! I never asked to be a leader!"

"Well you are! So _tell_ me – how will you atone for the weight of their crimes – atrocities your own damned noble blood brought about? !"

"I can't!"

"Then how do you plan to rectify this situation? ! How are _you_ going to put things in order? !"

"I'm here, getting stronger, right? ! I'm going to fight Neji! I'm going to defeat him and take my clan back – I'll fight the traitor, and I-I'll–!"

"And you'll _what_–? !"

"_I'll kill him!_"

* * *

**Hinata ****ヒナタ**

Tsunade lifted a spoonful of stew and drew a slow, cautious breath. Delicately she sipped the broth, and moments later at last took a bite, slowly chewed ten times, and swallowed. For several seconds she did not move.

"…You can cook."

My eyebrow twitched. "What, did you think I'd serve raw meat to humans?"

"_Well_…"

"I'm insulted!" I cried, ears flattening.

"_YOOOOSH!_" Lee exclaimed, lifting his bowl high. "You truly have outdone yourself, Hinata-san! I can practically FEEL my strength returning to me!" he shouted, flexing and arm before throwing out an enthusiastic thumbs-up.

"I'm glad!" I said, blushing.

"Yes, it really is delicious," Shizune said happily, "much better than anything Tsunade-sama could whip up…"

"You're too kind," I said, ducking my head and chuckling as Tsunade protested in mock indignation.

"But it's amazing…" Tsunade began after a few more bites. "A human who became han'you… and hardly left subhuman with the tradeoff, the traits of man and wolf coexist in one body and mind, adapting to enable a unique but fluent lifestyle and various social interactions…"

"I kind of wish you'd stop talking about me like the discovery of the week… And what do you mean by 'subhuman'? Ninety-nine percent of the time I _am_ mostly–,"

"Say – could you… scratch your ear for me?"

I blinked. Oh, no, I hadn't been saying anything. I lifted my hand. "Okay, but what does that have to do with – AH! Did you expect me to do it like this? !"

"Oh my gosh–!"

"What? ! I-I'm flexible, okay!" Glowing red, I lowered my foot, crossed my arms sourly, and leaned back in a huff to rest my head on my bag behind me.

As the heat left my face, I became suddenly aware of my heart beating at an abnormally fast resting pace. I laid a hand on my chest in wonder.

"…Imouto-chan…"

"Hinata-san? Did you say something?"

In answer I shook my head, shutting my eyes briefly as they began to bud with moisture.

_Why are you weeping … Hanabi-chan?_

I frowned, gazing into the blank ceiling above.

_Why are you crying … angry and confused…?_

* * *

**Hanabi ****ハナビ**

"Byakugan."

We'd secured twelve flags. I'd sought and discovered the labyrinth's exit within the range of my sight. Once we got out, I could more than likely kiss this team goodbye; needless to say, I'd miss one teammate an astronomically greater deal than the other. But first, we needed to get out of here.

I could see the exit. I could also see numerous genin hidden in the shadows of the paths leading to it and branching off of them.

Collectors, the others called them. They were lying in wait to ambush those teams confident enough in their winnings to make for an exit route. And surely enough, as Chouji and Inaho had predicted none carried flags on them, having already hidden them safely elsewhere in precaution.

Chouji's big hand enveloped my shoulder with an encouraging pat. I met questioning eyes and nodded.

My hand fell, and the three of us raced around the corner, Chouji in the lead, heading for the exit. Chouji and I both swept through our own handseals, and held them.

"Four shuriken," I warned at a grunt, and when the stars flashed out from the shadows Inaho, making use of height difference, threw some of her own over mine and Chouji's heads. With a ring eight shuriken collided a way in front of Chouji, and as the figures of attempted ambushers began to take form from the shadows, the Akimichi sprang into action.

"We're coming through! _Nikudan Sensha! !_"

Two surprised male screams cut out promptly, and the human juggernaut barreled forward, Inaho and I running close behind. Attacks from the front – taken care of.

But attacks from the side…

_Two on the left, one on the right! _I signaled quickly to Inaho behind me. "Hibana!"

As we reached an intersecting corridor I thrust my arms out. Flaring electricity danced through a storm of shuriken; the concentration of energy was strong enough to conduct, but weak enough to only briefly stun.

I darted to the left, two palms flashing into two older genin's abdomens. Unflinching, I put swift knuckles in a stomach and a heel kick in another, and as I turned back saw Inaho, holding the sign of the ox, unleash Suiton: Foam Blast upon another stunned adversary, bowling him over with a water bomb to the face.

_Fitting, _I mused bitterly, _that such a person fights by vomiting at her opponents…_

We swept back into the main path without breaking stride or formation, catching up to stick close to Chouji again. Without incident we rolled past another offshoot passage; focusing up ahead, I signaled two at three o'clock, one at nine.

"But they're further away!" I snapped, and as Chouji barreled past it and I emerged in the intersection, I launched into the Hakkeshou Kaiten.

Projectiles from many hands and trip lines alike were deflected, but one of them–

_A flash bomb–!_

A moment after my all-seeing eyes were dazzled, I glimpsed Inaho leaping above my Rotation, spewing a Foam Blast down to the right. I managed to keep spinning a moment longer as I realized in quick succession that she hadn't jumped hard enough to go clean over me, and that she hadn't intended to.

I had to admit, she couldn't have done it better. Even as the water blast went crashing into two of our foes, her left shoulder touched down just beside the topmost vertex of the whirling dome of chakra. The result was that she was spun around above me, in front, to the other side – across her back and onto her other shoulder – at which point she loosed a consecutive blast dead into the chest of the lone shinobi on the left.

The Rotation broke, and I staggered dizzily, blinking stars from my eyes as my Byakugan failed. She may or may not have staggered a tad as well, but a moment after I heard her sandals tap to the ground beside me (and I bumped into her), I felt the neck of my shirt tighten as she lifted me and flung me forward.

"Hurry it up!"

Granted, I would never have so quickly determined which of the four ways to go otherwise. I stumbled and ran forward half-blindly, tripped with dizziness, caught myself, heard Inaho swear–

"You're too slow!"

"Oi!" I cried as she grabbed me around the waist, tucking me under one arm like a package, and took off sprinting. Resisting the urge to complain, I tried to clear my head. "I think we're almost there!"

"I can't see past Akimichi – what kind of almost are we talking about? They're gaining from behind!"

I formed a string of seals, and then grabbed Inaho's right hand in my own. "Throw me at them!"

"What? !"

"And put some spin on it! Do it, now!"

Inaho skidded to a halt.

She turned, and her arm under me uncurled, and my arm uncurled, and she released.

A rain of metal flashed toward me.

A tremendous boom shook the earth itself as Chouji crashed square into the wall.

Inaho fell.

Three enemies tripped.

But I was in the air, spinning. _Projectile defense…!_

"Sparkstorm Rotation!" I cried, and shoved out what chakra I had left.

The energy leaped out with the deflected weapons, lighting up the hall. I landed, spun to a halt to see three electrified genin staggering and toppling, and fell onto my rear, gasping for breath.

"You out of your mind?"

I was lifted like a kitten once more, dragged a ways, and flung upward by the back of my shirt.

Being short came in handy in the most demeaning ways.

"Whoa!" I crashed into a soft cushion of flesh, and Chouji's big arms folded around me. "Wha– where are we?" I asked as Inaho blurred into existence in a crouch beside us.

"As of now, you three are safe. The members of Team Four, hereby accounted for – you've completed the first test!"

I looked up. "Iruka-sensei!"

The chuunin chuckled back at me.

* * *

**Hinata ****ヒナタ**

–"_Tsunade-sama… There's something else I wanted to ask of you…"–_

I spewed a mess of red down into the grass.

It was a lot like last time, I reflected with a grimace as I fell. The difference being, this time she didn't need to be careful not to make me bleed.

"We about done for the day?"

I grunted, pushing myself up again. "If it's okay with you, I'd like to continue a bit longer…"

"It's fine with me, but _you_, on the other hand…"

I cracked a grin. "I b-believe wholeheartedly that fighting tougher opponents is a surefire way to get stronger… maybe as much at first a surefire way to wind up beat, but since I'm pretty tough I can handle it…!"

I lunged toward her again, and my claws were dodged. Already I was reacting well to the sannin's moves, dipping and dodging from the paths of fists that rattled the air; I diverted by the forearm, punching for her face. When she dodged I wrapped my left arm around the one I'd diverted, locking my right arm over it and kneeing for her gut. She caught my knee in a palm and flipped over me, wrenching my arms and turning the hold against me to punch me sharply in the face – and knee me in the gut. I shut one eye with a hiss, and she grabbed my shoulder to hurl me back behind her. Upside-down, my back impacted a tree.

"Ita-ta-ta-ta-ta…!" I hissed, rolling onto my front.

"Didn't anyone ever tell you not to grapple riskily with an opponent who's physically stronger?" She shook her head. "I already know your body's tougher than the average mutt's, but still…"

"This is nothing," I panted. "Actually, it kind of reminds me of when I fought Lord Shodai and Lord Nidaime…"

"You couldn't…"

"Youkai no Kokudo is a mysterious place. Their spirits were called back, and their forms channeled through their familiars. Nonetheless they retained all their powers…"

"And _you_ fought them?" she snorted.

I smirked. "The last of my trials was the longest and most terrible. It was preceded by a day of rest, and a great hunt in which I feasted with many upon the fearsome beasts of the wild land; then I prayed long to the Ookami for strength, and from the night of the new moon until that of the full moon, fourteen nights and fourteen days, I fought – alone. At first it seemed my supplication was all for naught… but as I at last abolished my fear and cast off all traits and thoughts of the cowardly, I felt the strength of the Ookami, rising up inside me. As the moon waxed it only grew stronger, and I along with it; if I hadn't kept up – had fallen inferior to it – I would have been overwhelmed and corrupted by its might. When the full moon rose and I'd survived, I _became_ a sister of the Wolves…" I lifted my hand.

"That was my first true taste of it – the power I earned. That… was Youki."

_Release._

Tsunade smirked as the telltale markings of han'you patterned my skin. "Well, I may not be a Wolf-sister, but if you're out to test yourself then I wouldn't be one to have the Senjuu pale in your eyes…"

**BOOM!**

I landed in a tree from my blurring leap of evasion, clawed hands and feet adhering to the trunk. "Unfortunately, we don't have so much time on our hands this time around," I pointed out with a grin, clawing my shoulder and slinging off powerful scythes of darkness. I flashed to the ground and struck into her evasion, spitting fire as she twisted to escape my claws. Only the tip of one of her toes could find the earth, but its strength alone proved enough to launch her, albeit the slightest bit clumsily, from harm's way.

We traded blows until she knocked me through a tree.

I growled deeply, rolling to my feet. _But I, too…!_

I leapt out from the dust, right fist drawn back.

…_Have grown far stronger than I was the day I joined the pack!_

Tsunade slipped outside my punch.

I opened my hand, turning my palm out.

Tsunade's eyes widened.

An indirect Chakra Concussion Blast threw her to the treeline.

…It also dislocated my arm.

* * *

**Hanabi ****ハナビ**

"Lady Hanabi!"

"Huh? Hitaka-kun?"

The three of us had barely handed in our flags and started off to the awaiting rooms when the boy came barreling up the hallway, a huge grin on his face. Propriety alone likely caught him just short of tackling me in a hug.

"It is good to see you, milady! I heard that you have finished the trial, with time to spare… I mean–," He knelt, bowing his head. "Are you well? Uninjured?"

"Raise your head, please. I'm fine, simply tired…"

"I'm relieved…" he replied, smiling.

"Pff…" Inaho walked past, clearly none too intent on busying herself with us any longer. She halted, however, upon spotting another walking up the hallway.

"Oba-san!" I said.

"M'lady," Harumi greeted, bowing her head to me. She looked aside. "Inaho-san."

She had said it in greeting, but my as of now former teammate only suppressed a scowl, muttered a "Hm," and walked on into a room.

_Guess that was goodbye… _Not like I could honestly say I missed her, but still…

"Hyuuga-san," Chouji said suddenly a couple of moments after, "Do you know how many other teams have finished already?"

The jounin nodded, but before she could answer–

"Haha, so you made it out, huh?" Kiba laughed, smacking aside the sheet in the doorway of a room a short way down the hall and unceremoniously lunging to capture me in a headlock.

"Will you quit that? !" I complained. With a jovial "Never!" he knuckled the crown of my head as I struggled, and Hitaka and Harumi looked on in awkward dismay, possibly contemplating averting their eyes.

"Okay, o-kay!" he said, and I gasped and patted down my ruffled hair as he finally released me.

"Wait!" I gasped, shaking my head. "How is Konohamaru? Is he–?"

"I'm right _here_–!"

I whirled, dodging a fist, hooking my arms across a neck, and reaching with my foot before snapping to sweep the backs of his ankles. I landed in a crouch as he thudded onto his back.

"You're too loud," I groaned, standing and giving him a hand. "You'll blow my eardrums with that high voice – poor Akamaru-chan must be sick of it…"

He brushed himself off. "Yeah, whatever. How many flags did you get? !"

"H-huh?"

"Twelve!" Chouji supplied proudly.

The kid grinned, and turned his eyes on me, barely containing his mirth. "You don't _say_…"

No way in heck was I about to ask him. Chouji seemed to pick up on this.

"And you guys?" he asked Kiba. Note – _Kiba_. Not–

"Sixteen!" Konohamaru exclaimed.

"Big deal," I scoffed. I expected that had mostly been Kiba-kun's doing either way.

"But wait…" Chouji murmured. "That means… there are twenty flags left in the mix, and fourteen teams. In other words… there's no way we won't score in the top five!"

My lips parted. _He's right…_

We'd passed the first test.

* * *

**Hinata ****ヒナタ**

I remained silent as Tsunade examined it carefully. I was unexcited; I pressed her with no questions. Shouldn't I be overjoyed? Hopeful? But my ears were low with trepidation, and a dour frown hung on my face for reasons I couldn't entirely understand. I was lost in my own thoughts, and getting tangled in them.

But I had to know.

Tsunade looked up at my face briefly, but said nothing. My shoulder had been set again; we were in the shade of some trees at the clearing's edge. Apparently… she'd noticed the wound the first time she saw me. Even now that we were sure allies, she hadn't given it much thought and I hadn't asked.

But now…

Tsunade looked up from my crippled arm and held my eyes.

"I can heal this."

My breath froze. A furrow, as if of alarm, jumped in my brow. _Just like that…_

"The wound's old… we won't be able to restore it all at once. The scarring's set in deep, and your keirakukei's long adapted to the change and sealed off…" She ran her hand over the claw scars once more. "This arm's chakra network will never be what it once was … but it can be functional again. However…"

I took a deep breath, and looked up to meet her eyes.

"You'll need to stop using that attack." She paused, looking down coolly. "You've turned your arm into a cannon… but it's simply not built to contain such a radical concentration of chakra." She tapped her fingers between the fourth and fifth scars. "You can probably see as well that this point is the worst. The keirakukei is malleable, in a sense; if I can mend the flesh, and the flow is gradually restored … it'll take some rehabilitation, but eventually we can get your chakra going down the right paths again… going all the way to your hand. But there's barely anything left of it as is. The passages have atrophied with lack of use, and have sustained repeated damage from your seal-directed chakra blast."

My mouth worked a moment. "So, then…"

"So… eventually, there will be nothing left. You're searing out what little _is_ left of its chakra network. Keep using that move, and soon this deadened arm… will never handle chakra on its own again."

"I see…" I withdrew my arm, and began wrapping it again. "That's a relief."

"What…?"

A calm smile had crossed my face; I looked up. "I had to know … because I had no idea what I would feel, what I would want, until I did. Now that I know my arm can be fixed, I can understand it for certain. I don't _want_ it fixed."

"But – why?"

"This scar … has become a part of me." I clenched my fist tight, making knuckles pop. "When I first received it, I was filled with despair… but then, even though I was impaired, even crippled, I worked past it. It's made me a stronger person in more ways than one… By keeping it, I'll always carry a reminder of what I'm fighting for. And if I can get past this arm being broken, then – then I know that with enough effort I can overcome anything that tries to deter me from my path!"

* * *

**Naruto ****ナルト**

"_Hyaaaa–!_"

Sharply, I ducked; deadly sand cut above my head. But without halting in my charge, I touched a hand to the ground, rose again, and threw my fist at Gaara's gut.

He hit my wrist with his hand.

I flipped aside as his other hand swept down, dropping a compact pillar of sand where I'd been. Pressing forward, I unleashed a barrage of blows; eyes wide, breathing fast, he blocked and shifted and sidestepped, backpedalling neatly as floating sand around him darted to catch Shadow Strikes.

He grabbed my right fist in his left, and his right arm, from under his left, swept violently to direct a blast of sand toward my side. I flipped over it, and as my arm was freed I captured Gaara's own wrist. My feet met ground, and I threw him over myself – but he caught himself on his feet, was steadied by the sand, and lunged sharply back to ram my chest with his shoulder. I tipped back, but found my feet ensnared – and swore as sand twined rapidly up my legs, about my body, lifting and binding and hurling me down–

POOF!

In the air behind my foe, I flung three shuriken that ricocheted off a wall of sand. I swapped past the following Sandblast, and my fist cracked into his cheek; blood was cast from his mouth at another lightning blow, and he grunted and reeled, ducking before blocking with sand and blowing me backwards with a short heave of the shield. I backflipped and landed, completing a flurry of seals to spit an Air Bullet; encompassed in churning sand, he jetted forward through it and tried to strike into me. Jumping above the sand that was launched forward as he halted, I fired a Konoha Sempuu kick for his head. He rolled aside, and as he rose and I landed he swept lashing sand around himself. My sleeve was shredded in my tight evasion, and as the sand arced behind him he directed it over himself and sent it plowing down toward me from above.

I jumped curtly back, and the ground cracked and shook under his blow even as he rose, uplifted on a mass of sand before shooting forward, swatting fiercely at me with the lurching wave of sand under his feet.

I jumped high as he plunged to again fracture the earth, and in his landing the sand sifted smoothly to his sides before arcing toward me in the air, from my left and my right.

Gaara's fist cracked firmly into his palm, and in the next instant the sand smashed together with a roar that jarred the air.

Behind him, chakra suppressed, I considered clearing my throat or otherwise hinting myself away. In the brief moment that I was considering it, however, I was forced to duck as a sudden backfist lashed around for my head.

I slipped outside and stayed behind him, my back to his as I maneuvered light feet over the earth and the staff through my hands. With precision and intense concentration I dodged neatly, staying behind him as he struck furiously with fists and sand, trying to face me. The staff flowed about me all the while that we circled together – above my head, at my side, behind my back, catching a swing beside my head before we changed direction again.

As he swung I slipped back under his arm, turning to face the direction he was and at last hooking the staff in my elbows, behind my back…

As Gaara began to grab a hold of the hair at the back of my head, a knockout strike was winding up in his other fist.

THAMP–! !

Turning slightly, I bent my knees and jerked forward in one sharp movement. Gaara's whole body shook once when the knob at the end of my spear connected with his back.

"Gh…" His hand slipped from my hair. I didn't move, looking straight ahead as my opponent fell flat to the ground.

Sighing, I put down my weapon and looked down at him. The other boy gasped for breath with pain and fatigue, eyes screwed shut, pale face drenched in perspiration. Splotches of bruising peppered his face, and blood ran from his mouth as he pressed trembling hands to the ground, struggling with shaking arms and little result to rise again, but trying all the same.

I stood up, and bent to offer a hand. "Here."

Eyes opening, he looked at me and hesitated a moment.

"Come on. We're done."

His face fell, and he took my hand. As he started to his feet, I took his arm around my shoulders, and with our combined effort we got him to full height.

His mouth opened.

"I… failed."

"Hm?" I asked as we walked. "What're you talking about? I was just thinking I'm feeling a lot better about having someone like you on the front lines with us, y'know…"

"Wh-what? You mean…?"

I smirked. "Time to rest up, Gaara. We're heading out tomorrow, after all."

"Right!"

It was almost time to move on. Or, rather…

Time to put things in motion.

* * *

**Twenty, Part Two: Champion**

**Hanabi ****ハナビ**

"Is all of that clear?" Genma-sensei finished.

"Hai!" over a dozen voices chorused. We, the victorious teams, were lined up in the center of the room. Newly carved out of the stone, this arena was a deep, sizeable rounded pit; walls edged the fairly level floor, rising a ways before escalating outward in rows of stone benches for seating, now packed in their first use with chuunin and tokubetsu jounin, and the occasional civilian. Stone and wooden pillars patterned the walls, and well overhead a single central opening provided a skylight from above. Finally, on a high platform that jutted from an indention in the wall, Shikamaru sat with his chin resting on a bridge of interlocked fingers, hawk eyes under his sharp brow poring over the contenders, as Anko stood dutifully at his side. The underground arena couldn't compare in size to the splendor of the true chuunin exam stadium, but today it would serve the same purpose.

Genma nodded to Iruka-sensei, who stepped up at his side with a bucket in his hands. The chuunin shook the tin container, and from it issued the sloshing of water and the rattle of its other contents.

I gulped. Restlessly I rocked forward and back on my heels once and again, swung my arms slightly, clenched my fists. I drew a silent breath in under the rumble that filled the arena. A way down the line, Kiba grinned with fearless eagerness, visibly itching to fight. At my side, Chouji stood with his heavy arms crossed, and for any trepidation his eyes may have betrayed his mouth and brow were set in the picture of determination. Sakura, whose team had managed to round out a tied fourth place with six flags, stood tall and firm – obviously anxious – but determined not to fail here. Broken arm or not, Inaho showed no weakness, a hard glower on her face emitting a challenge to anyone who looked her way. All the other genin stood unmoving, some with hands in pockets, some with chins high and confident, eyes calm as if they were doing nothing of greater significance than standing in the supper line. I again found Oji-san, Oba-san, and my cousins in the audience, and I wondered if they saw me. I decided to stop fidgeting.

A clang rattled out as Iruka reversed the spin of the water in the tin pail. Moments later, he removed the lid, and with a gloved hand, without looking down, reached into the container and withdrew two small stone rectangles.

He drew back and threw them up high; the dripping tokens glinted under the skylight at the peak of their flight, but were shadowed and unreadable. Finally, halfway between the assembled line of genin and Genma, they landed.

One landed flat immediately, and upon reading the name etched into it I was flushed with a chill of exhilaration. I knew without doubt I was ready – but even so, right off the bat?

The second stone token hit ground on a corner, bounced, and turned over before settling.

Haruno Sakura.

_Me… against Sakura-chan, huh…? _"Alright," I breathed, swinging my arms loosely again. I wasn't sure what I thought about fighting Sakura, particularly – mostly because it didn't matter who it was, though I did find it nice to be fighting a friend first. Moreover, though I knew if asked ten seconds ago about being first up I wouldn't have know whether I'd prefer it or not; now that I knew it was time to fight, I was ready to.

…I couldn't _wait_.

At Genma's order the others started heading up to a reserved spot in the crowd. I looked at Sakura with a smile, but was surprised at what I saw. She watched Iruka writing in chalk our names under the first bracket of the tournament tree on the wall, something akin to despair on her face.

"Sakura-chan?" I said, confused.

"Huh?"

I stuck out my hand, smiling again. "Let's make this a good fight, okay?"

She forced a smile back. "Right," she said, shaking my hand. We separated, moving apart and facing each other with some ten yards between us.

Genma eyed us both, shifting the senbon in his mouth and nodding. "Haruno Sakura. Hyuuga Hanabi. If both competitors are ready… Let the first match of the first New Konoha Chuunin Selection Examination tournament begin!"

_Byakugan!_

My foot shifted out, squaring my stance.

I paused.

"…Sakura-san," I said, frowning. I raised my voice. "Sakura."

"Wh-what's up?"

I caught it in her eyes the moment they met mine: guilt.

My brow furrowed. "The match has started, you know… so why wouldn't you look at your opponent?"

"I…" She bit her lip.

"You don't want to hurt me. Okay. But we just said we'd make this a good fight, didn't we?"

A response sparked in her eyes, but faded a ways before being made an utterance.

Well, she was looking at me now – so I could do this in fairly good conscience. Fairly.

"I–,"

THOK.

"Sorry," I whispered.

Stunned beyond belief, mouth open to admit a sharp grunt, Sakura fell promptly from the small fist in her stomach, sank to her knees whilst hugging her midsection, and with a weak breath crumpled down onto her side, eyes white. She hadn't seen me coming.

I lowered my outstretched fist, returning to full height and looking momentarily at my foe. I looked up at the silent crowd, scanning over disbelieving faces, until my eyes came to rest upon the competitors' section.

I know I should've been glad that I'd made it through a round with minimal effort and no harm to myself, but I couldn't help it. I wanted to _fight_.

My fists clenched.

"Hey!" I called. "Anyone who's thinking about going easy on me, just – just stop it!"

For a moment my breath was fast, audible, in the silence. Then Hitaka cried out.

"Hanabi-sama!" he cheered.

The crowd erupted, hollering, applauding. My breath settled; I blinked in startled confusion, and my face flushed. I found Hiryuu's cool eyes in the excitement, and slowly he nodded.

Genma's teeth clamped shut on his senbon as he observed a moment longer. Putting two fingers to his lips, he loosed a piercing whistle, summoning the medics before turning to face the crowd.

"Haruno Sakura cannot continue. By knockout, the champion of the first battle is Hyuuga Hanabi!" he declared, grabbing my hand and lifting it up.

The crowd erupted anew.

* * *

**Naruto ****ナルト**

The eight of us – me, Lee, Gaara, Hinata, Kurogiba, Tsunade, Shizune, and, well, the pig (okay, maybe not so much the pig) – spent well over an hour in the inn poring over maps and talking strategy. It was almost reminiscent of our debriefing in the woods when it was just the three of us having come together again, but now we had a definite course of action; now Gaara stared attentively at the maps, adding an occasional nod or word to the discussion; now Lee was coddling a pig that had taken quite a liking to him; now Hinata and Tsunade, forcing identical smiles, began a glaring contest when the latter inquired as to the meaning of a few date-riddled, colored lines dotting one of the former's maps; now Shizune pored over our written intel and produced a slew of questions; now we all tossed around battle tactics.

Finally, we drafted in code and memorized a rough plan for the order in which we would strike the successive prisons.

Hinata sealed up the documents again. Having paid in advance, we walked from the inn.

As we reached a shaded path, Kurogiba, who had exited via the window, emerged silently from the shadows. Hinata nestled her hand briefly over his flaming shoulder as he joined us.

When we were a mile away Hinata sank to all fours, and our party broke into a brisk run.

* * *

**Hanabi ****ハナビ**

Okay. _Okay_. I really should've been counting myself lucky. The first rounds complete, the remaining competitors had been cut down to eight; two matches had since been fought, and I was selected for the third.

How lucky could I be? My first opponent had been caught off-guard, and now my second-round opponent… well…

He was grinning like a fool.

"You were just wiping your nose a second ago," I pointed out, a skeptical eyebrow raised as he reached out for the handshake.

He frowned in confusion. "No, I wasn't."

"I _saw_ you."

"Oooh, that! My nose wasn't running or anything."

"Then why do you do that?"

He blinked. "I'm … not really sure, actually!"

I scowled and shook his hand. Oh, well – all the better. He'd gotten here by luck himself; as we had started with fifteen finalists, there had been only seven battles in the first round, cutting the total down to a round eight by having one person sit out. It was time for me to knock him out of the running before he actually came up against someone dangerous.

_Still… _I noticed as we walked ten yards apart, _Even though it's only the two youngest competitors … the crowd actually seems pretty excited about this one…_

"Sarutobi Konohamaru and Hyuuga Hanabi! If both of you are ready … you may _begin_!" Genma declared.

_Byakugan! _I sent chakra to my feet.

"All right, rival! Right here, right now, get ready to l–!"

Konohamaru started in confusion as I flashed behind him. A bewildered "huh?" was barely passing his lips as I hurled a kick for the back of his head.

_Fwoosh!_

He… dodged?

"_Chance_!" he chirped, lunging with a smirk to put a fist in my back.

"Guh–!" Off-balance, I stumbled and fell, caught myself, scrambled up and away from him with an arm behind my back. _Wh-what the…? !_

I turned and glared coolly. _How? _I thought, staring into the triumphant eyes of the boy who now stood with a grin, still brandishing his fist. _I actually gave _him_ the first strike? _It was nothing beside one of Hiryuu's blows, but all the same … as far as striking form and even placement went, his punch had been fundamentally perfect.

"You look a little surprised, Hyuuga," he teased.

I grunted. _Kuso! Don't lose focus…!_

He struck suddenly, and I dodged.

_What's going on…?_

I blocked a kick, dodged a punch, kept my balance–

"You just don't get it, do you?" he shouted.

"Get _what? !_" I retorted, narrowly dodging his fist and glancing his temple with the heel of a palm. _There! _I thought, already kicking his ankle as he cringed from the strike. If I could just knock him to the ground and touch him with a kunai, they'd call the match.

My palm raced forward.

_Like heck I'm losing to someone who could never hit me a day in his life!_

He jerked back, dodging but losing his feet.

My eyes caught him touching a hand to the earth a moment before his foot lashed across my face.

I spun on heel and fell tumbling to the ground. He fell as well, if only with clumsiness – and he got to his feet more quickly than I did, smugness glowing on his face.

"I _mean_ I wasn't kidding when I said I've been training like crazy! If you think you're the only one around here who's gotten stronger, you're wrong."

"Hn! I see," I said, "And at every single 'ambush' of yours, you've continued just letting me flatten you in order to lull me into a false sense of security." _All this, just to defeat me… _Smirking, I rose to full height. "Problem is, now I know not to underestimate you. From here on out, I'll be fighting you seriously!"

"As my rival?" he asked stonily, fists clenched.

For a moment I was surprised. I smiled again. "Sure. Why not?"

His eyes widened in recognition – but he couldn't dodge the fist that flashed across his face. He reeled, blocking one blow before suffering another, and another.

_You're fast, and agile…! _I thought as I attacked, as he fought just to defend, to regain ground, to counter. I swatted a strike aside, dusted his abdomen with a harsh flurry of jabs, kicked his knee, hit his shoulder–

_But you're not as fast as I am!_

–And I swept my palm into his jaw.

The focus wavered in his eyes as he staggered back, rolled backwards and onto his feet again, and tottered back in a loose half-circle, one hand brushing the floor before he ground his teeth and charged toward me.

Perhaps he didn't so much charge as he did launch himself, but his fierce shoulder blow was evaded easily enough all the same. With fire in his eyes he now tore onto the offensive, and adroitly I avoided his increasingly unpredictable moves; a diverted fist passed just beside my head, and an arcing kick just before my nose. I could scarcely throw in a strike edgewise. _How is he doing this?_

He snatched my wrist as I threw a palm. He caught the other fist – and lunged to headbutt me full force. Releasing, he took in both hands the neck of my shirt, and I grunted out hard as he buried a shoe in my stomach. Releasing me again, he flung himself into an insane axe kick that I barely caught above my head – but almost as soon as his ankle met crossed wrists and he tumbled neatly to the ground, he gathered himself up again and rose hurling a fist into my face.

I tried to roll with it, but did little to lessen the sudden impact and was thrown off my feet.

_Kuso! The little monkey…!_

_This isn't just about making chuunin to him…_

I sprang to my feet, narrowly shifting to dodge another blow.

_And if I don't want it as much as he does…_

My hand slipped into my kunai pouch.

_I really am going to lose here!_

"Kaiten!" I cried, deflecting yet another strike before knocking him away. I was letting fly a knife toward him even as the Rotation faded.

He dodged in a quick backbend, and sprang to his feet hurling four shuriken to nullify my own.

Eight throwing stars and one kunai thudded to the earth.

"You're tougher than I thought," I muttered, charging with a knife in hand.

"You're every bit as tough as I expected," he sneered.

And here it got tricky.

I knocked from his hand the knife he drew, and as it met the ground he took up another. The blades rang as we traded blows, neither of us giving an inch, until we broke apart and flung them so that they again collided between us and fell to the earth. I threw a handful of shuriken and a handful more, and he deflected them all about himself with a practiced knife hand before leaping aside of a third wave and retaliating with his own. I deflected with my own knife before launching a brief Rotation when he threw two hands of stars and knives at once, and the projectiles scattered to the earth all around me.

Eventually, both panting for breath and much lighter around the holsters, we paused.

A smirk slid across my face. I cast my knife to the ground.

"What's so funny?" he asked, suspicious of bluffing if anything.

My all-seeing eyes studied the arena floor very carefully. I raced through a string of seals and paused. "Konohamaru… I need to ask you to take a step, about a half foot back, if you don't want to get seriously hurt."

He frowned, and murmurs of disapproval and doubt rolled through the crowd above. I ignored it; smirks aside, my face was all seriousness now.

"Rivals' honor," I said in a moment. "You have to trust me here."

He held my eyes only a few moments before he complied. "And now…?"

"Now… try not to move a muscle.

"_Hibanaaaa! !_"

Sharply I thrust out my arms. In the blink of an eye burning electricity had strung itself crazily from conductor to conductor, draped and tethered up in all directions to weapons lodged in the walls and ground, blanketing the arena floor and lower portion of the pit and soon arcing, drifting, rolling, crackling freely about the air directly above.

I stood as the nexus supplying this monstrosity, still with focus, hair whipping wildly behind me, and Konohamaru, mouth slightly agape, stood stock-still in its midst, taut bands of radiant energy flashing inches in front of his chest, rolling along centimeters from an ankle.

"Wh… what…?"

My face was straight as I uttered one word that rang throughout the blinding room. "_Lightning_…"

I bade the power flare briefly, and watched it very nearly touch him. Then I ceased in the output of chakra, and successfully forbade myself to look even minorly winded as I loftily resumed full height and held Sarutobi Konohamaru's stunned gaze in a challenge.

His wide eyes returned to the present, and the bitter sweat on his pale face dripped to the earth as he looked down, peered in wonder at his own shaking hand.

He again met my eyes, for a long moment. His face hardened, and his hand rose.

"I… I give up!"

I was taken aback. "What? !"

He looked down. "You could've fried me with a thought just now if you'd felt like it… It's only the rules of this tournament that restrict you from really hurting me." He raised his voice. "Did you hear me? I said I withdraw! I'm forfeiting the match!"

I looked to Genma, but there was a smile on his face. Iruka-sensei nodded … approval?

Genma stepped up and took hold of my hand – shocked himself – and tried again, lifting it up. "Due to Sarutobi Konohamaru's withdrawal, Hyuuga Hanabi is awarded the match by forfeit!"

_But – Konohamaru-kun…? _Barely hearing the applause of the crowd, I looked again to meet the boy's eyes. "Why…?"

"Kuso…" he murmured, hiding the moisture in his eyes. "If I've lost, it had better be to the tournament champion – my number one rival!"

My mouth shut, and I nodded my understanding. _Until next time, then…_

* * *

**Naruto ****ナルト**

We waited on our feet, crouching in shadows or with backs pressed to trees – five people, invisible in the dusk.

We snapped to attention when Hinata crashed back into view, Kurogiba bounding not far behind. The two skidded to a halt, and seemed anxious to keep moving.

"So…?"

"This one's empty," she grunted. "They've moved him."

I nodded, and Lee said, "Onto the next one, then?"

She again grunted the affirmative, and with no further delay took off to the north. The rest of us blurred along behind.

* * *

**Hanabi ****ハナビ**

"Begin!"

My bloodline flared up around my eyes. _This guy… I wouldn't have seen her as a pushover with or without a broken arm, but he beat Inaho like it was nothing… _The young man was in his later teens, his hair dusty brown, his face smart, his body lean and packed with muscle. He called out aloud.

"I hope you don't hold it against me … but you said to go all out, and that's exactly what I'll do. I have no intention of losing here… so I'll end this as quickly as I can!"

_Not quite, _I thought, reacting, dodging as he struck. _He's definitely good, but I can keep up…_

The crowd pitched and hollered as I sharply dodged a series of fierce blows; I struck out and was blocked, and broke swiftly away. Studying each other, we circled slowly, and in a flash we were engaged again. Of course the crowd of shinobi had realized it, just as I had. I had defeated thus far a girl with no particularly special abilities and then, though the grandson of the late Sandaime-sama, the second-youngest genin in the competition. To see an eight-year-old girl going toe to toe with a man considerable taller, largely regarded the tournament favorite, must have been baffling to the eye, but my skill was true: we were evenly matched.

Panting, we broke from another heated exchange of blows. I'd taken no direct hits, but conversely had managed to hit him only occasionally and with little effect, other than weakening one of his arms with Juuken. He clearly hadn't anticipated such a challenge from me, but remained confident and focused. However long it may take, he didn't believe he would be losing to me – and if it took long enough, whatever his earlier reservations may have been, he would probably start whipping out some of his ninjutsu as well.

_I can't let this drag on! _For the first time in the fight I initiated offense, lunging, attacking. I forced him to backpedal.

Then I hit his shoulder.

He recoiled with a grunt at the stinging Juuken strike – and in blinding succession I brought my fist across his face, kicked the side of his knee, hit his face hard again – I had him off-balance – got some knuckles sharply in his ribs, his stomach–

He swung, and I ducked easily under his arm, whirled behind him, tucked right fist into left palm, and–

_To finish it–!_

Slammed my elbow solidly into a blocking hand.

"…Huh–?"

WHAP! !

Stance low and square, he turned his body and plowed a crushing fist dead into my face. A crunch broke in my ears, and I heard myself give a startled cry; I hit the ground, blinked at the rocking ceiling, and nearly passed out. All my training kicked in to force my eyes wide open – to snap my mind to wakefulness – as I shivered and coughed confusedly.

People were yelling. My eyes focused on the airborne figure directly above, leaping toward me, a kunai in hand.

I ground my teeth hard and rolled up on my shoulders, desperately kicking up my feet with a prayer that I would hit his gut or chest and keep the knife from touching me.

Another crunch sounded, and the knife dropped from his hand as he fell on top of me, and he rolled off as I blindly pushed away. My foot – he'd fallen against it? – it had kinda sort of caught him the neck.

"_Hanabi-sama!_" Uncle's voice boomed harshly down above the chaos. "_Stand up!_"

_Double – shoot, they'll call a double knockout! _I scrambled onto my front and shoved to my feet, shaking stars out of my eyes. My foe was still down, a hand at his throat, as he kicked in wide-eyed pain. My standing was all Genma needed to call the match.

"Medics! Hurry it up!" he called.

I turned my head to see two people had flickered down behind me. "Oji-san, Oba-san…?"

Harumi grimaced when I faced them. What was up? Why were they…?

I lifted a hand to my face as blind numbness ebbed, giving way to pain. I froze. Then, following Hiryuu's gaze, I looked down at the mess of red streaked down my shirt, dripping steadily from my broken nose.

_Oh…_

My tongue felt thick. I swallowed nervously, and tasted – it. B-b-bl…

"Hanabi-sama–,"

It went dark.

* * *

"Uh… _Ah_–!" A hand at my stomach, I lurched again, shutting my eyes to the sickening splatter of my most recent meal hitting the floor.

Harumi's hands were cool and steadying on my forehead and bare back. Finished, I gasped, shivering weakly. "There, the worst's over; we're almost done…" Her skillful hand had painstakingly repositioned and repaired my crushed nose; now light, healing chakra worked to soothe the swollen, tender flesh at the site of the impact. "Are you all right? Can you breathe through it now?"

I gritted my teeth and got out an affirmative-sounding grunt.

Hiryuu halted in his rapid pacing to turn toward me again. "How many times have I warned you about your reach? Why the _hell_ would you try to use your _elbows_ against someone two feet taller than you? !"

I didn't answer. I looked to Hikujaku, standing back and gazing impassively off in another direction with the air of that practiced way Branch members were so good at pretending they weren't in a room; I looked to Hitaka cleaning up the mess I'd made, and looked away again. "I don't know," I finally muttered stubbornly.

His response was that I'd gotten careless – cocky.

"I screwed up, okay! Sorry!"

"_Sorry_?" He laughed oddly, his face harsh. "Do not apologize to _me_, m'lady."

"Then what do you want me to say? He'll be fine, I'll be fine – why don't we just leave it at that?"

He glared down at me a moment. Then he shook his head and turned, striding from the room. "Use this time… Wash up and prepare for the final."

"Hai…"

Ten minutes later found my nose securely back in place, and Harumi and I alone in the communal bath. I shivered, exhaling softly as she poured lukewarm water down my bruised, aching back before she began to lather my skin with a soapy sponge. It was in fact mine to choose whether the servant who bathed me was dressed or not as she did so; whether I preferred her clothed to avoid discomfort at my own comparatively undeveloped body, or if I should fancy her unclothed to prevent either embarrassment or risk the sense of inferiority in my own state of nudity, she was obliged to comply to my wish. Routinely I required Harumi to bathe me in the nude, not for such traditional reasons so much as to allow her to bathe herself when I was finished rather than force her to wait for my absence to undress and bathe while I met up with and departed the baths with the guys. That would leave her to hurry and catch up to us alone later.

"What are you thinking about, m'lady?" Harumi inquired gently as she began to comb out my hair.

"Oji-san…" I began, and paused. "I don't understand him."

"Hm…?"

"I mean – sometimes it seems like he's proud of me, and others it's like – like he'll never be satisfied. Like he can hardly stand to look at me… I won the match, didn't I? It's not like I had a ton of fun getting my nose broken, but I won. Isn't that what matters?"

"Well…" A motherly hand brushed down my bruised face. "Keep in mind that it is rather … unpleasant for us all to watch you being hurt in these battles…"

"So he's yelling at me for getting hurt?"

"Well, not quite." She sighed patiently. "Hiryuu-san is a proud man. He may be harsh at times, but you need to understand that he means only the best for you."

"That doesn't make a lot of sense…"

She laughed. "Doesn't it?"

I shook my head.

"You see, Lady Hanabi… In his eyes, the Hyuuga Clan has fallen from grace."

Well, that was different.

"Indeed, with Neji's usurpation and the Branch's treachery, we're nil but a contorted shadow of our former glory. Think about it. The noble, honored defenders of the Leaf became overnight a band of cowards and traitors. In what light would you suppose our comrades view our blood now?"

I gulped quietly. "Perhaps many of them… They hold the Hyuuga largely responsible for Orochimaru's success, don't they? The greatest clan… and when it fell, many followed…"

I didn't need to see her nod. Her voice was solemn. "The Branch's actions have brought shame immeasurable upon our exalted name; and if one exists for us, the road to forgiveness will certainly be a long and arduous one. We may very well be damned. But just imagine how painful it is… the frustration a proud warrior like Hiryuu must feel, to struggle against disgrace and seek out honor irreclaimable…"

"How is it irreclaimable?" I asked. "You're here, aren't you? Serving the Leaf, protecting me, 'preserving the order' of the clan… All of you…"

"Aye, but still we are looked upon with scorn and distrust. Surely milady has seen it as well…?"

I nodded very slightly.

"We may protect you and nurture you – we may lay down our lives – but in the end, there is only so much the four of us can do."

"Then what is it … that makes _me_ different?"

She smiled. "You, Lady Hanabi, are something greater than every one of us. You are our leader … our champion … and to Hiryuu, and Hitaka, and I as well, you embody our finest hope for redemption."

"I'm just a kid…"

"A child you are, but you alone hold the power to be our salvation. Young Hyuuga of pure spirit and rightful blood… It is Hiryuu's hope that you will win this competition and shed honor upon our name. Show New Konoha the presence of its Hyuuga Clan, and let it feel no regret in sheltering us. Let them have faith that such a fine prowess as your own stands among them, and herald the righteous Hyuuga's return." Her hands brushed over my shoulders. "It may be a mere competition, but through it you can demonstrate that you have the power – the great power to command _all_ our clansmen – the power to rectify this tumult and put your house in order. So, please…"

I looked down. "Oba-san… Do you and Inaho-san know each other?"

"Ah… Her older sister was once on the same genin team as I, and we served often together in our chuunin and jounin years as well."

"Inaho-san has a sister?"

"She had a sister… she used to."

With that she announced she was finished. We dried and dressed, and left the bath.

The intermission was almost up. It was almost time for me to face the other finalist…

To fight Inuzuka Kiba.

* * *

**Naruto ****ナルト**

"What is your business here, taichou? I thought you were on duty back in the village."

I returned the salute of the leader of the Oto-nin who'd stopped me. Voice cool and pleasant, I explained that I was not released to disclose much information. "I am here by Godaime-sama's command. We are to escort the prisoner immediately to the southeast prison."

The man was surprised, but nodded. "Confirmation?"

_Time to find out if Hinata's info is on the mark… _"Green, 12H7X36M3 tatsu K54J mi, hitsuji, mi."

The man nodded.

…_No. Way._

"Come; you must be weary from your trip."

"Quite," I said, smiling as they led me to the prison. This one was aboveground, and could as easily serve as a fort – or fortress, at that. The solid stronghold was encompassed by an outer wall some ten meters high. Not discreet as the underground ones were, its emphasis was on high security and a bulk of forces – troublesome stuff – and according to Hinata, Jiraiya was confined in a central chamber sealed and spelled up so thoroughly it was all but impervious to her Byakugan eyes. We had no time, however, to wait around until the old man was moved to a less tenacious holding, but if we could manage to have them transport him out – aw, shoot–!

_Slssh–POOF!_

My heels slid back a ways as I swapped from the group I'd been walking with to see a kage bunshin, knifed by three shinobi at once, go up in smoke.

"Is there a problem?" I inquired flatly as they caught sight of me again.

"Nothin' major – except that you're obviously an imposter who hasn't seen Komuso-taichou recently enough to know of his recent haircut!" the leader barked, pointing in accusation.

"You don't say?" _Of all the rotten…! _I lifted my hands, smiling cheerily. "I guess you got me."

"Damn right we did. Now go ahead and show us your real face!"

I lifted a playful eyebrow. "Why don't you come on over here and make me?"

"What's that–?"

I swapped a few yards straight backwards without dispelling the duplicate left in my place. And the moment my doppelganger did vanish upon having its face busted in my stead, I had already lunged low from where I was hidden behind it and swapped to lever my shin clean into his ankles. Already overbalanced from his punch and the evaporating target on which it had landed, he fell forward; in a flash my hand was at the back of a skull, breaking his nose into the earth.

"Next?" I offered, looking up at the others.

After a stunned instant they came charging together – and were blown collectively off their feet as sand exploded from the earth before me. Discarding my guise as the ice blue-haired ANBU Sound captain, I rose to full height. As the dust faded, the others were standing around me.

"What the – who are you? !"

I smiled dangerously. "Since you asked…

"The cunning and mysterious – _Purple Fox!_" I declared.

"The dashing and indomitable – _Green BEAST!_"

"Th-th-th-the gentle and ferocious – Bl-Bl-Black Wolf _Fang!_"

"And the cold and furious – Crimson Sandstorm!" Gaara growled, stance spread and arms flung out as gusting particles of sand spiraled about him.

Looking to Tsunade in a moment, I cleared my throat.

"Oh, Hell no!"

Nonetheless! Our foes were petrified in awe. "These guys – these are the Three Failures – the Legendary Tsunade – and…?"

I patted Gaara's shoulder, muttering, "It takes a while for your reputation to precede you, y'know?"

"Naruto-kun…" Hinata began.

"Hai, hai."

Seemingly unprompted, she, Lee, and I vanished. A silent moment later, nine Oto-nin were falling to the ground; as I struck the last a curt hand chop to the neck, Hinata's bare foot met his chest and threw him solidly to the outer wall fifteen meters away.

Sand snaked up his body before he was allowed to fall, twisting his arms firmly behind him and squeezing him tightly, restricting any motion. His eyes were bulging in terror as Hinata skulked coolly up to him, skin sheet white, hair jet black, baring razor fangs in a predatory smile. The girl's hand snapped to his jaw, so tightly that I may have heard it creak under stress, and she made no effort to prevent her claws from puncturing his flesh. Glinting obsidian teeth clicked and gnashed with her voice as she calmly spoke.

"_There are fifty-eight shinobi still guarding this base. You're going to tell me their ranks. Now. You're thinking about lying – _don't_ do that_," she said simply, scalding his soul with her demonic Byakugan.

He whimpered, eyes watering. Her eyes didn't leave him.

"_Gaara-kun…_"

The sand at his leg slowly twisted; I heard bones break. "_S-six black ops!_ Ten more jou– _jounin_! The rest – chuunin – _Stop–!_"

She knocked his skull against the wall, and Gaara released him.

"A haircut," I groaned, rubbing my neck. "Well, so much for that…"

"Trouble will come quickly when this patrol group does not return. Onto plan B, then?" Lee said, and I nodded.

"Make some noise, you guys – I'm going in!"

"Pfft…" Walking past us, Tsunade cocked back her fist and took down a good twenty meter portion of the outer wall in one smooth stroke. "Noisy enough for you?"

"Suppose it'll just have to do," I snickered, ducking through the debris before, effectively, vanishing.

* * *

**Hanabi ****ハナビ**

When we met at the center of the arena, I was more than a little wary he would put me in a headlock.

In front of all these people? I still wouldn't quite put it past him. Sure enough, his hand drifted out…

To clap lightly onto the crown of my head.

"You done good, Hanabi," Kiba said, beaming through a crooked grin.

I nodded, shutting my open mouth. "Thanks… You, too."

We shook hands, and separated.

Genma lifted his hand. "Hyuuga Hanabi! Inuzuka Kiba! If both competitors are ready, may the final match of this first New Konohagakure no Sato Chuunin Selection Examination begin!"

My Byakugan slowly awakened. Akamaru sprang from Kiba's shoulder to the ground.

"Been a while since we sparred, hasn't it?" Kiba remarked.

"It has…" I agreed, thinking back.

"Okay! Time to see how well they've been training you, squirt! Let's give the crowd a nice fight, ne?"

A smile tugged at my lips. "You got it!"

We raced to meet with a trade of blows, sizing each other up before really starting to let loose. Kiba was a solid pack of wiry, versatile strength, not to mention a quick and agile foe, at that; I could be in bad shape if I took even a few blows from him. His furious strikes pushed my speed to its limits. I dodged a blinding flurry of fists, hopped a sharp leg sweep, dodged a lunging strike and neatly blocked another few punches, dancing from his strikes; when I saw an opening I took it, but he was much too quick to allow me to land any good hits, either. His arms shifted to catch a series of rapid punches until he wisely dodged a surprise palm. He blocked the following kick – and caught my ankle in his hand.

_Uh-oh!_

"Waahoo!" He unleashed his wild, signature holler, heaving his weight into a powerful backhand swing of his arm as he released me. I saved myself a lot of pain in getting crossed arms in front of my face, but staggering force alone hurled me to the ground.

I slid quite a distance and sprang to my feet only to see him already upon me again, and barely managed to block another solid punch. I ground my feet into the dirt as I went sliding back again, unwilling to let myself be thrown into the rapidly nearing wall behind me – and in a blur he had closed in again, a wicked fist drawn back.

My head bumped the wall as I dodged away from the swing; as he followed through with the motion his hand sank to the earth and Akamaru sprang onto his back. The sizeable pooch was poised only a moment before strongly launching a shoulder into my belly.

_Who would've thought a dog could hit like that…? _My back hit the wall, and, cringing, I brought two fingers to the arm of Kiba's advancing fist. His arm shuddered, planting his fist only in the wall beside my head, and I pushed from the wall behind me to drive a leaping knee strike clear into his gut. With this I both earned a grunt of pain and successfully pushed out of a corner; pressing the momentary advantage, I wound up and planted a palm on his belly, and brought a solid fist snapping into his face.

Hurriedly he put some distance between us; recollected, he spat on the ground. "Who'd have thought such little fists could even pack such a punch? That's an accomplishment in and of itself, Hanabi-chan!" he teased, fingering a bruise at his jaw.

I was tempted to retort about his beast of a dog – the mutt that'd once ridden easily atop his head was now the size of a retriever, but muscled as a husky – but decided against it. "You're not holding back. I like that."

He sneered. "We've long since passed the point that I could safely hold out on you. I can tell you this much – you're way tougher'n Hinata used to be!"

* * *

**Hinata ****ヒナタ**

Teeth flew as I wrenched my right fist into his face.

"_Who's next?_" I barked into the ring of Oto-nin around us. I lapped a spot of blood sharply from my knuckles. "Come on, don't be shy!"

'_Easy there, koinu,' _Kurogiba chided in a chuckling tone.

'_They do have numbers on their side. If they're scared, well, me might as well roll with it, right?'_

'_I suppose so,' _he conceded playfully, and we leapt apart again.

I slipped my fist into a kunoichi's stomach, landed a palm on her chest, and leapt to spring a heel across her face. I turned my head to see a vicious water drill come spiraling down toward me from behind, and in a flash I had jumped in evasion as soon as it slammed to the earth; before I was detected I fell hard, feet meeting a man's shoulders to drive him to the ground, and on the way down I grabbed the back of a shinobi's neck in my left hand and slammed his head down as well. In my right hand I had caught hold of another's sleeve, and now wrenched him down off his feet before flinging him upward. Kurogiba's great flaming jaws snapped him from the air, thrashed left and right, and hurled him roughly back to earth.

A quick palm met the back of the neck of the man I'd landed on, and my hands met the earth, my body twisted, and I lashed clawed toes back across the belly of an approaching foe. The man could hardly flinch before my other foot thumped into his chest with a burst of chakra, kicking him off his feet. I fell, but without pausing a moment I kicked my feet from the earth and stood up on my hands; my ankles struck into the shoulders of a chuunin who had been charging in from behind, and I got my feet behind her neck and jerked her off her feet, throwing her face first to the ground. Kicking the dazed woman into another Oto-nin, I turned.

My hands clapped into Tora, and as swiftly broke apart again so that my left caught an ankle above me as I ducked under a kick. Sweat flecking from my brow, I opened my mouth and spat a burst of flame past my upraised arm, blasting the shinobi away.

The sharp jet of flame pushed me back in effect, and I rolled back onto left shoulder blade and arm and thrust my right foot into another's gut, knocking him back and tumbling onto my feet to turn and slam a backfist across his face. My left darted to pepper his torso with a blurring flurry of palms in the moment before my right returned, crashing into his unbruised cheek.

Easily anticipating a punch from the side, I dodged back and snagged the attacker's wrist from behind – pulled – and wrecked a good portion of his ribcage over my knee. The man tumbled to the earth with a cry, and I swept my palm into the forearm of an incoming fist before bringing my right into the side of his jaw with a grunt. I ducked neatly under a strike, whirling as I slipped behind the lunging adversary and brought a curt elbow to the small of her back with force sufficient to send her sailing. My hands had met in the Hitsuji seal as the sharp elbow landed, and I now turned and stepped, diverting a punch on my right forearm whilst sweeping my palm around; the air ignited and flared and crackled past my spread fingers, until at last my palm was blanketed in flame.

"_Enshou!_" I growled, slamming the Blazing Palm into the man's stomach and knocking him well away.

_Another…! _By the time I turned my head, however, the Sound-nin who had lunged for me from behind was punched harshly away by a boy that materialized out of thin air.

"Not getting tired, are we?"

I ignored the clone's teasing. "_You_– are not supposed to be fighting," I reminded it, clawing the arm of a knife-wielder as we fought back-to-back. Our coordination flowed seamlessly as if he were the real deal. "What happens if you're dispelled and the original needs to communicate with us?"

"I think I'd be willing to risk it to ensure these fellows don't upset a hair on your head," he said smoothly, fending off three foes at once with some impressive staff maneuvering.

Kami, my boyfriend's clones were as witty as the real deal, too. "_Kagebunshin_-kun," I warned, grunting as I successfully clotheslined a shinobi, throwing him by neck to the earth.

"Everything's running smoothly," he assured me, looking over his shoulder. I spat into my left hand and whirled, and he twirled his staff over himself and whirled; I swung my arm under his to hurl a ball of fire at a kunoichi behind him, and in the same moment his staff swept just over my head to whack into that of a taller shinobi behind me.

"The Violet Phantom's army is tearing the place apart," he added at a lower tone, touching a finger to the tip of my nose. "That's the latest."

A sudden punch halted an inch in front of my face – and its shadow counterpart sent an enemy behind me reeling.

"_Focus_, Hinata-chan," he groaned, and I snorted.

It was then that I sighted a fairly large log sailing toward us that could very well dispel the copy. I could barely prepare to shove him away, however, before an azure blur flashed by in a roaring storm of gnashing, liquid silver. Thousands of wood splinters fell to our feet; Lee threw back a blinding grin before swiftly knocking out the log's thrower and racing into another throng of shinobi, Gaara alternately attacking and defending close at his heels.

I squeaked, ducking away as a man went shooting past me to crash loudly into the prison thirty yards away. "Tsunade-sama!" I complained.

"What? That one was being stubborn," she said, nodding to the scattered pack of unconscious Oto jounin that had tried to gang up on them. Shizune rubbed her neck nervously, a blush lighting her cheeks.

"Let's not get careless, m'lady," she urged the sannin.

She was right, I knew. _Even if we'd made more of an effort to spread out and surround the prison, some would still have slipped by. And judging from the proximity of the outposts in the vicinity, we only have an approximate eight to eighteen minutes left before reinforcements arrive._

_If we're not out of here – if Jiraiya-sama can't be gotten out of the prison before that happens… we may be in for quite a battle!_

The Naruto clone started, gaze snapping to the fort.

"What's happened?"

It met my eyes. "In fact, we've got a teensy bit of a problem."

* * *

**Naruto ****ナルト**

"Hey, you! Stop right there!"

_Shoot! Come on, come on, come on…! _Whipping out a slender kunai, I deflected the shuriken thrown toward me as the seal workings of the lock lit up on the door. This was done whilst running chakra into the arm of an unconscious _jounin_ (not the easiest accomplishment) I held on my back as a shadow clone held the man's hand around the key and turned it in the lock. Seeing another shinobi now sprinting up the hallway from the other direction, I scowled and threw and awkward shadow slash toward an enemy's chest before dropping the unconscious man, springing to the wall behind me, and waving an arm toward the other rapidly nearing foe.

"WALL!" I shouted out, and almost at once heard a sharp thud from the other side of a Shadow wall of brick. My foot shoved me from the hallway wall as I met it, and snapped around to cleanly slam open the unlocked door with a crash. I landed neatly poised within the cell, meeting a pair of baffled old eyes. "Pervy Sage, get down–!"

I shadow swapped backwards as one of the guards lunged upon the clone left in my wake. My foot was buried in the chest of a second guard behind me, knocking him into the opposite hallway wall, as the clone successfully grabbed its assailant and threw him over itself; I lunged down with a fist back, and in almost the same instant the man's back hit the floor, the crouching clone vanished, and I sank two knuckles between the guard's eyes.

I was nearly too keyed up to speak. With so much adrenaline pounding that for sheer swiftness I may have looked like I infiltrated maximum security Sound prisons on a daily basis, I blurred across the small cell, broke a shackling chain cleanly beneath the knob of my staff, and grabbed the prisoner's hand to hasten him to his feet. I met his stunned eyes again.

"Let's go."

Jiraiya nodded.

Ten steps from the steel cell, however, we – or, he – ran into a familiar roadblock.

"No," I breathed, staring in disbelief at the hazy wall of red light that had caught him. The wall – seals. I tried, ineffectually as before, to rub them off. "No, no, no, no, no!"

"You didn't anticipate this?" he demanded incredulously as I returned to his side of the barrier.

"Well we did – but when Hinata's Byakugan didn't pick up any of these, we figured the solidity and defenses of this place had left the sealing blocks deemed unnecessary… Kuso!" I swore. "These weren't here a minute ago! They must have triggered remotely–!"

We saw the rigged kunai flying toward us at the same time. I swept forward, and my finger grazed the projectile in its flight; I swapped twenty-five yards and back almost unnoticeably.

Behind its thrower, a paper-bomb tagged knife exploded.

_They'll … risk killing him over risking his escape…? _I realized as the guard was thrown horribly against a wall and to the ground at our feet, a shockwave rolling down the hall.

"There's the intruder!"

More were coming from both directions, beckoned by the noise and explosion. I crossed two fingers of each hand in a seal. _Dammit…!_

A flood of shadow clones stormed in both directions, half running, half a tumbling sea of bodies and spears moving with only two general directions as the hallway was rapidly stuffed tight. The Oto-nin were carried back away from us on a tidal wave of purple and black. Reaching out, I snagged one doppelganger's arm and pulled it to me.

"Guys, we've got trouble! Onto plan C," I grunted, and the one clone burst from existence. Just as the hall was packed from floor to ceiling, leaving a space only around Jiraiya and me, I tapped the fox's chakra, slammed a hand to the earth, and unleashed my mind.

"_Shadow Matter! !_"

And the swamped hallway on either side of us metamorphosed at once into solid stone.

To this network of living matter I was connected; into it, I was projected. My mind filled every inch, every crevice of the great hallway, unifying, fortifying. A drop of sweat fell from my nose.

_Solid as stone. Unwavering. Rigid, but not brittle. Still, stable, firm…_

I ground my teeth as the Oto soldiers at last realized it could be dispelled. Clone by clone, they hacked the seemingly solid stone away – though their fists and weapons suffered a toll.

"What're you…?"

"Stalling," I answered the sannin, not breaking my meditative state. My focus could reinforce our shadow barricade, but it wouldn't hold them back forever.

_It's up to you guys…!_

_

* * *

_

**Hinata ****ヒナタ**

"Roger! Onto plan C!" Naruto's clone affirmed. We nodded, and without further delay Tsunade charged directly up to the prison and smashed into its wall a gargantuan punch.

The multi-layered wall was dented; it cracked for the most part superficially. It was solid and heavy; whatever alloys the structure was composed of, it was built to absorb force and withstand. _Guess the outer gate's just for show. The prison itself is what's meant to be impervious…_

Tsunade cast a look my way, and I nodded. Gathering a considerable concentration of energy in my legs, I sprang far backwards, meeting ground again to handspring multiple times before sliding back on my feet, coming to a halt some hundred meters from the prison. My Byakugan awakened, tunneling straight forward, seeking, determining, boring out a path; I nodded once more, flat hands clapping together before me. _'I guess we're up.'_

'_Right you are…'_

I drew out a fair deal of youki, focusing intently.

–"_Should all else fail, it comes down to this: the prisons' locks, barriers, anything reinforced by sealing spells are just that – reinforcement. Even a barrier spell is nothing more than an extra layer of security over existing walls and fortifications."_

"_So, then…"_

"_If you can topple the structure, you can topple the foundation of the barrier."–_

I breathed deeply in and out. Gradually the fights going on, my friends and my foes, lost substance as I became singly focused.

–"_And that's where I come in?"_

"_Actually, Tsunade-sama … this particular prison is a fortress. It might take even you quite a bit of time to bring it down."_

"_Then what…?"–_

The air began to hum, shivering around me.

–"_Out of all of us, Hinata-chan more than likely possesses the most powerful single-shot attack."_

_Tsunade is dubious. _

"_But… It's not anything that can be repeated easily like your strikes. It takes a while to prepare, and to pull it off she'll ideally need plenty of comrades to watch her back. About right?"_

"_Precisely. And _that_ is where you come in."– _

"Okay…" I whispered. The air was shuddering. My body temperature was climbing unnaturally; light crawled on my skin. Stance spread, I bent my knees and breathed in through parted lips.

"_Youkai Hou: Weight of Spirit…"_

At once, innumerable tiny orbs of energy were expelled from my body, halting within a five meter radius from me to float peacefully in the air. The shimmering droplets of unearthly white and black light hung in the air, suspended, leaving me weightless. Fingers interlocked, I braced myself.

"_Weight of Gut."_

The energy snapped inward again – and promptly a shock hit the air as the earth around me shattered with an enormous crash.

I grunted as my hands fell heavily to my sides. My teeth ground as I dug one foot at a time, slowly, from the deep ruts they'd created. I lifted my head with a sudden move, sneering viciously with the utterly massive concentration of leaden power compressed into my form. Mental power, activation, physical potential. Momentum, acceleration, impact.

I stepped forward.

It was a baby step, and I more or less dragged my foot. But when the foot stopped, I felt myself gradually begin to overbalance – until I moved the other foot past it again. Lifting my foot a bit this time, I stepped again, and again, and again, with staggering effort; hunched slightly in the back, and moving my arms in conjunction, I soon enough came to a purposeful walk.

The hard earth crackled, buckling under my feet at each step.

In ten or so seconds as I transitioned to a light jog, the ground was outright wailing under each footfall, and as a more bounding component rose in my steadily hastening stride the ground began to shake, to rumble. My arms pumped, teeth gritted as I charged, burgeoning vigorously into an all-out run.

–"_I see. Running in a straight line with tunnel vision probably gets a little hazardous when you're surrounded by shinobi after your head."_

"_Well, that's the thing. We don't need to worry much about enemies hurting her, particularly…"_

"_Naruto-kun…"_

"_We just need to make sure she isn't bothered with any extraneous motions that might throw her focus."–_

Step after powerful step slammed brutally against the earth. A line of broken rock trailed in my wake. Still I accelerated.

–"_What happens if she's distracted?"_

"_What? Oh, that's simple."–_

I became vaguely conscious of numerous enemies noticing and converging on me.

–"_She'll trip."–_

"INFINITY!" An approaching form was arrested by a furious green blur, and swiftly he and wildly thrashing sand dispatched of a number more, darting madly about me, clearing my path.

I heard some other attack fended off as Shizune passed me to join Kurogiba at my back. The prison was sixty meters away.

A ways in front of me and to the right, a purple-clad wraith shot up into the air, staff twirling artfully above his head.

"_Fuuton!_" He seized the spear, in a vigorous movement angling it down. "_Kazeryuudan! !_"

Riding within a raging dragon of wind, he dived, blasting as a missile, to sweep before me and intercept a group of shinobi approaching my path. The wind dragon eschewed, his feet slid along the earth, and he rose from a crouch and turned to leap upon another nearing foe.

With a kick, the Naruto clone was dispelled.

The Oto ANBU turned toward me…

And had his face knocked in by a neatly manicured fist.

The man went flashing into the distance from Tsunade's outstretched hand. Our eyes met as I passed her, and I grunted a "Thanks" as she nodded.

My crushing feet were flying; angled forward, my whole body was. The prison was staggering rapidly nearer.

Eyes huge, teeth bared, I completed one final step, and another – and then, fifteen meters from the prison, turned my upper body, brought a hand lightly to the earth, so that fingers only barely grazed it – and brought both feet to the ground to launch myself forward.

My eyes closed, and my shoulder wrenched around to smash my bludgeoning body tremendously into the steel wall.

* * *

**Naruto ****ナルト**

At once a rapid string of booms roared, volleying, through the world – a small form flashed across the hall, a few feet to our right – and shockwaves jarred the air and earth alike as walls were violently demolished, each one staggered with explosive force. A structure of lesser integrity would have been obliterated in a clean instant. It spoke volumes for the prison's strength that only a line of jagged, couple-meter wide gaps had been left, edged with a corrugation of ripple patterns, and only a misshapen droop firmly impaired the ceiling.

Most importantly, we now had a path to walk out of here.

"What was that?" Jiraiya asked.

"That was my girlfriend," I chuckled, standing up and grabbing his hand. "Let's get out of here!"

* * *

**Hinata ****ヒナタ**

When I burst into the open night air again, momentum finally petering out to exhaustion, I tumbled multiple times before flopping unastoundingly to a halt on my back. I drew a hand up over my hammering heart as the spell dissipated, and shook my head slowly.

"Looks like you could use a lift."

"Naruto-kun… It worked…?" I started as a pale man with a tangled lion's mane of white hair, his ghostly face decorated with a pattern of red etched down from either eye, stepped up next to the blond in my currently inverted view. A cottony bramble of facial hair clung unkempt to his chin and upper lip, and he wore the moth-eaten grey garb of a war prisoner. In my current position, I put forth an idiotic attempt at bowing my head as he lowered his quietly astonished gaze from the starlit world and met my eyes. "L-Lord Jiraiya…"

"It worked," Naruto confirmed my earlier question with a chuckle, and let fly a flare high into the air. This signal held distinct meaning to our comrades – success. We were out, and were immediately to scatter.

Jiraiya started, jumping back defensively as Kurogiba Fire Flickered to my side. "Another friend," Naruto explained as my familiar unceremoniously slung me onto his back.

"It's not time to relax just yet," the wolf said. My weary arms managed to wrap snug around his strong neck before I could fall right off again.

Naruto nodded, speaking quickly. "Right – I'll stay with Ero-sennin. Different directions, now. Let's move!"

Kurogiba bounded blazing into the night; Naruto and Jiraiya vanished. With a pop dozens of flickers of purple raced out under the moonlight in all directions, ethereal, fleeting, vanishing.

* * *

**Hanabi ****ハナビ**

"_Tunneling FANG–!_"

"_Sparking–!_"

_Zzzp– _WHAM!

His monstrous strike barreled into my gut full force and carried me backwards until my small frame met the wall in an altogether bone-rattling impact. Any trace of breath I may have retained since the initial strike was smashed soundly from my grasp as my back met stone and something cracked.

Then the world was pitching, tumbling over, and my shoulder struck the earth and I lied with arms hugging my torso.

Standing above me, Kiba spoke softly between gasps. "It's over… _Ugh_!"

The boy's body gave off a short, odd spasm. Then he toppled to his hands and knees.

"Wh-what the…? !" Furious, he fought to stand but did little more than twitch and shiver.

"_Huff…_" I coughed weakly, pressing sweaty, shaky hands to the ground and pushing myself slowly, slowly, slowly to my feet. Shaky though I was, leaning momentarily against the cracked wall for support, I could still move. Kiba stared up at me in confusion as I painfully assumed full height. I gathered up some breath and spoke. "I got you."

"When did…?"

"I d-drew the direct hit … got you to charge straight for me to claim the match. But just before you hit, I managed to direct some lightning energy to a few vital tenketsu of your chakra network… You can't stand, can you?"

His sharp teeth clenched. He heaved in an effort, but could not move. My hand slipped into my kunai pouch.

"This f-fight … is mi–,"

My hand darted up to cover a sudden cough, and was sprayed with a mess of liquid warmth.

My eyes stretched wide. My heart throbbed into my ears.

Slowly my hand pulled from my face, and I observed a palm caked in crimson.

_N-no… no, no, n-no…_

It – my mouth. Out – from – my mouth – inside…

"Hanabi…"

Kiba's eyes were torn wide between realization and incredulity. Unblinking, I wondered faintly what I looked like as I held his gaze.

My bloody lip trembled.

Emitting a miniscule whimper, I lost my footing and plunged into the dark.

* * *

**Naruto ****ナルト**

An hour had passed. Six figures were huddled silently in a cool, dark thicket, tucked carefully away from the eyes of the outside world.

In the down time since she and Kurogiba had shown up, Hinata had constructed a sealing mechanism to weaken Jiraiya's chakra restraints. She observed one of them before having him place a shackled wrist on a scroll she produced, and proceeded to coat the restraint and the paper beneath it in an inky array of spells and patterns. Having observed but said little throughout, Jiraiya shook his head simply when she supposed herself finished, and the two may have lapsed into another language altogether as he directed her through a few tweaks, additions, and corrections to the formula she'd improvised. Then she activated the spell, and a various few of the tenacious properties that another had sealed into the restraint were dampened, counteracted, or drawn altogether from it. Little more than a ring of metal now, a short flick of Tsunade's strength successfully snapped it in two. Methodically the other three were discarded. In the meantime Tsunade had checked and rechecked for injury, Shizune at her side, and conducted what minor a medical examination she could in the cramped circumstances, finding little more an issue than moderate malnourishment. I offered a nice hunk of break from my bag, and the man nibbled it feebly but steadily until it had disappeared.

The reunited pair of legendary sannin at first seemed more like strangers than former teammates. This perception may have been spawned in part by the fact that Jiraiya remained still in perpetual awe of the things around him – the earth at his side that he teased in his fingers; the leaf that fluttered to the ground and came to rest among dozens, and yet his sunken eyes remained fixated upon for minutes on end; the shimmering patterns of moonlight that washed faintly through sparse gaps in the branches and leaves that enshrouded our rendezvous point, and the way they oscillated when a breeze stirred and rippled through the woods. Absorbed in thought that could only be sober, he seemed to me so unnervingly different – so vulnerable – that perhaps he would've appeared a stranger to his closest acquaintances.

Before our eyes, however, he seemed to miraculously revitalize. Gradually dim old eyes brightened beneath unkempt brows, giving tell of the sharpening thoughts that swept acutely behind them, and at some point the lifeless slouch that had draped itself about his strong frame and cast a dull slackness about his face had straightened out to now project from where he sat alertness and cool power. It was then, ironically, that Tsunade at last opted to speak.

"You look like crap."

Not to say he didn't; he was fresh out of an enemy prison, his hair was a mess, clothes tattered, skin pale from long deprivation of light, and to top it all off, he reeked. They hadn't exactly pampered him in there. Nonetheless, after taking mock-offense, he found a grin to concede at a low chuckle that he'd seen better days.

Still, an hour had passed. I found myself hiding the fact that I was getting to feel sick. Whether she was trying to hide it or not, Hinata wasn't faring so well. Uncharacteristically I neglected to scold her when she started nipping at her hand. I put an arm around her shoulders, and for several, several minutes the anxious tapping of clawed fingers at her other side stood as the lonely flicker of movement in the thicket.

Out of the blue Kurogiba shortly turned his resting head, pinning the nervous fingers flat under his muzzle. He looked up at the girl, and an unspoken thought slipped from his eyes into her own. Then abruptly she started and he lifted his head, and Hinata's head snapped around to shoot her flaring Byakugan out upward and to the right.

Two more figures blurred near soundlessly down into what little space was left. Scuffed up a bit, Lee grinned at us, supporting a weary Gaara's arm around his shoulder.

"Gomen," the older boy apologized. "We ran into a spot of trouble…"

I shook my head with a smile, and Hinata lunged to wrap them both in a loose hug.

"I'm just glad you're alright…"

"Well, then…" Jiraiya cleared his throat. "Now that everyone's here, I think some introductions are in order. I'm–,"

"Everyone already _knows_ who you are, Pervy Sage!" I snorted.

"Could've fooled me. Hanging around you, I wouldn't be shocked if your friends have never heard my name! Besides, I'm _trying_ to be polite here," he said, bopping me lightly over the head. "As I was saying…

"Even if they're not all what I expected, it's a pleasure to meet the folks responsible for saving my tail. _I_… am none other than Densetsu no Jiraiya, the Toad Mountain Sage!"

* * *

**Hanabi ****ハナビ**

When my turn arrived, I took a deep breath. My dignified posture and smooth brow ought to disguise my pains, and any accompanying weakness that might be conveyed by what was visible of the bandaging that wrapped much of my body, from my arms to my torso to my neck to my forehead. Head up, shoulders back, confident that all four-and-nearly-a-half feet of me were the picture of power, I strode from the hall and into the cafeteria.

The moment I emerged in the light of the room, I was met with a bellow of acclamation.

For an instant I was stopped in my tracks and blinked in honest surprise. I tried to reassume my dignified air, but couldn't suppress a soft smile as I walked across the room, meeting eyes and waving at my applauding comrades until I reached a large stone table and, as Hiryuu regally pulled out my chair, sat beside Kiba at the second most honored seat in the house.

Packed with more liveliness than any Leaf shinobi had likely witnessed in a long time, the expansive room was full to bursting with the spirit of celebration. The tournament competitors lined the table at the head of the room; dozens of shinobi and citizens, half of New Konoha, cheered and clapped and whistled from their own seats. Stone tables were lined with still-steaming platters of baked chicken and rabbit meat, beans and corn and potatoes and rice and loaves of fresh wheat bread, and pitchers full of sweet water or mild sake for the first feast New Konoha had ever seen.

As the noise died down, Shikamaru jumped down to leave his 'throne' of sorts, the large and elaborate stone chair behind our table, and walked up to stop between Kiba and I. Hiryuu stood tall behind my outside shoulder, and an older Inuzuka whose face was littered with scars stood similarly behind his nephew. Shikamaru took our hands, having Kiba and me raise our arms high.

"Let us congratulate all those who competed valiantly in these trials!" he said, his clear voice escalating to fill the room with practiced ease of volume. "To our new chuunin! Let us welcome these two to the upper ranks!"

"_Aah!_" The room shook with a hearty, collective bellow as glasses rose up, and the cheering began anew as Hiryuu and Kiba's relative deftly but unhurriedly each tied a starched green kerchief, neat and snug, about the shoulders of our upraised arms. Kiba and I exchanged a smile, his almost goofily joyous, mine blushing, before the boy stood again and fired a powerful fist into the air, ushering another roaring wave of acclamation. My smile softened.

"Oji-san," I said beneath the noise, not turning to meet his eyes. "I'm sorry."

"Sorry, m'lady?"

"I couldn't win the competition," I said, and repeated, "I'm sorry for that."

He was silent a few moments. "…You did your best. You did well."

"Uncle…?"

His hands massaged my shoulders gently. "You're eight years old, and you're a chuunin. Of my leader I could ask for little more." He began serving my plate. "Now enjoy the feast, Hanabi-sama."

"Is that an order, Uncle?" I chortled. I might have heard him laugh.

"Maybe."

Kiba, however, wasn't finished firing up the crowd, and I'd barely picked up a slice of bread when he hoisted my dignified form suddenly onto his shoulders.

"H-hey!" I protested, face lighting up.

"He's right, Hanabi-chan!" he said at a light chuckle. "You only get promoted to chuunin once, after all. Soak it in – go ahead and give'm a smile!"

"You!" I complained halfheartedly, but I couldn't keep myself from laughing. He pumped his arms into the air, and I grinned and flashed a V-for-victory with my fingers; our combined effort brought another rousing, vibrant swell of spirit over the room. The air was brimming with conviviality when a few broke into song, and in moments the room was rollicking with the words of some old folk tune of the early days of the Leaf, words that had surely lain near to fading forgotten into the past, but many younger hands clapped along with the melody all the same. Someone got to drumming on pots and pans, and still another produced a flute; most prominent of all, though, was the rich collection of exuberant voices that overtook the cold stone hall with warmth.

Amid such life and festivity, it was almost hard to imagine that we were a tragic people struggling through a losing war, that we were the downtrodden and fading revolutionaries, that on any one day we could be tempted to lose hope in our shared future. In that moment we were the New Village Hidden in the Leaves, and as long as our hope survived we would not die.

_This family… I'll do whatever it takes to protect it. And if it should turn out that means it falls on me to set things right… I'll set them right._

* * *

**Naruto ****ナルト**

I took a long, deep breath of a crisp breeze that rolled through the plain, feeling the dawn light soft on my face. Hinata, Lee, Shizune, and I had just returned from purchasing supplies in a small town – among them, a change of clothes for Jiraiya. "Ero-sennin… you sure you're up to this? After just a night of rest…"

A tattered old shirt flopped to the ground, heaping beside the matching pair of pants. The man pulled a fishnet over his head and slipped over it a warm-grey gi, which he tied off at the waist with a thick red belt. He wagged a hand as he slipped a fresh pair of wooden geta shoes onto his feet. "You forgetting who I am?"

"Most certainly not," I snorted, tossing a dark haori his way.

He whirled, slipping the coat over his shoulders even as he caught it, and his hands flashed through five familiar seals before he slammed a palm to the grass. A huge green and red scroll sprang into existence, and he slung it onto his back before swinging his newly combed-out white hair once around above his head, dropping into a low stance with a stomp of one foot, arms and fingers spread as he grinned sharply and gave off a monstrous flare of chakra.

I took an involuntary step back. _W-whoa…!_

Chuckling, he let up and returned to full height, walking up to me and patting a huge hand onto my head. "Just checking. You've done good, Naruto… but you don't expect me to kick back now and let you have all the fun, hmm?"

"Guess not," I returned as the others stepped up to join us. Leaves flicked into the air, dancing by as another wind rolled past.

"I told you I've seen better days," Jiraiya said, gazing off toward the awakening sun. "But as long as our shinobi are still suffering, I can't ease off and rest. It's not my style. I _believe_ you kids should understand that…?"

I smirked.

"Alright, then…!" Lee said, popping his knuckles.

"No slowing down…?" Tsunade remarked, arms crossed as she let slide a small smile.

"I guess not…" Shizune agreed, and Gaara nodded coolly.

Hinata stretched her arms, ears twitching alertly. "So, we move out… Time to get prison-hopping?"

I nodded, stepping out in front and flinging a fully outstretched hand at the distance before me.

"Okay, here we go! It's a straight shot to the end!"

* * *

**ナルト ****/ ****リー ****/ ****ヒナタ ****\ ****ハナビ ****\ ****ネジ**

**End Chapter Twenty**

**Lee: **I am not so sure about this, Naruto-kun. Should we really mess around with jutsu in some bizarre old scroll you found?

**Naruto:** Let's just _try_ it! Come on, what's the worst that could happen?

**Lee:** Okay, then…

**Naruto/Lee:** _Fuuuuuuuu_–sion – HA!

**Hinata:** Hey guys, what's up–? _AAAIIIEEEEEEEEEEE–! ! !_

-THUD-

**Leeruto:** Oh snap, we killed her!

_(–static–)_

**Sound ninja:** L-lord Orochimaru, we've got trouble!

**Orochimaru:** WHAT? ! What do you _mean_ there's been a prison raid? !

**Neji:** Impossible! How could this be?

**Sakura:** Hanabi-chan, have you heard the news?

**Chouji:** Yeah! They're sweeping across Fire like a typhoon, laying waste to every enemy in their path!

**Hanabi:** Huh? What are you talking about?

**Kiba:** Rumor has it that…!

**Lee:** The time has come. It seems… we truly have become a force to be reckoned with, have we not?

**Naruto:** No question. It's time to see that all our effort, all our struggles, have paid off. Sensei, we're coming for you! You know what they say about an object in motion, right?

**Hinata:** Right. Next time, **Chapter Twenty-One: Into the Gauntlet**. There's no slowing down any more…

DONE! With random exclamations.

Half-demons don't like scalpels.

This chapter seemed okay to me… not great, not terrible :/

Youkai no Kokudo (妖怪の国土) - Youkai Realm; the Domain of Demons

Warui - Sorry

Kazeryuudan (風竜弾) - Wind Dragon Bullet

Hibana Nagashi (火花流し) - Spark Stream

Enshou (炎掌) - Blaze Palm

keirakukei - chakra network

tenketsu - chakra point

What did you think of it? The chuunin exam, the Hyuuga drama, Hanabi's development? How about the New Konoha scenes? Does Hanabi's power seem reasonable? Were any of Hinata's scenes with Tsunade funny? Any thoughts on her interaction with the pack of wild wolves? How about Naruto's training with Gaara? Any action scenes stand out? How was the prison break, Naruto's mind skillz, Hinata's Weight of Spirit/ Weight of Gut combo? Hanabi vs. Sakura, Konohamaru, nameless genin, Kiba... As always, what was good, what was bad? Questions or comments, let me know! Reviews are welcome and appreciated!

I'm awful at estimating, but if I had to guess, I'd say there'll be around five more chapters, maybe a bit more. We're really getting into the final stretch now ;)

Thank you everyone for reading and reviewing! Until next time!

:o) Hinata0321 :o)


	21. Into the Gauntlet

J3F\\\ Journey of the Three Failures

Chapter Twenty-One

Helloes! Ummm, let's see… School's out for SUMMER! Amazing how that keeps happening. And I've got less than a year before I become an adult! O.O And… Oh, I bred and trained up a team to compete in another Pokémon Tournament! And we hit a wall of shameless legendary spam! What else is new oTL

Okay, no negativity! Thanks so much **lg1514, digitalflame192, kurokazeryuu, Shizuka Taiyou, Omega the darkness, Hypothetical Spiritual Entity, KoreanGal5, Piffsheep, Bardad101, Universal Hope, crusader 5643, RedRangerBelt, NarutoFanBoy4Life, Crystal shadow7, DialACow, Fay of the Ink and the Paper, lil ramen lover, freewolf17, Aryk von Straln, Onnazuki, Soraya the All Speaker, Kuromaru-kun, Soranium, **and anons who signed _Dan, Miyu0493 _;)_, _and _Hinarocks _for your feedback! And all readers and reviewers – thank you for staying with it all this time!

The Journey of the Three Failures AMV thing has been updated! Check my profile for a link to the video on youtube. Again, I'm really proud of it so far, and I think it's definitely worth a minute to watch it!

Not much more fanart this time around, but there is now a picture of Neji, Haritsu, Harumaru, Hiyuki, and Hireiki, all pale and vampire looking XD

Now presenting, without further ado…

A **Disclaimer!** I do not own _NARUTO_.

* * *

**Journey of the Three Failures**

**Twenty-One: Into the Gauntlet**

**Part One: First Blood**

**Neji ****ネジ**

"Mm-hmm…" Propping up the papers in my hands, I straightened them against my desk. The chuunin bowed.

"I presume my report is satisfactory, sir?"

I cocked my head slightly, eyes narrowed as I flashed a smirk. I'd required the boy to remain here while I read through it; he had stood patiently for ten minutes, but seemed quite ready to be on his way. "'Satisfactory,' you say? Why, yes – every single report you put in my hands is satisfactory. And _that_ is a problem."

Sasuke looked up, mildly displeased at my scorn. "Pardon?"

I leaned forward, peering into his eyes. "What is this?" I said simply, gesturing at him before continuing. "Here you appear to me, the perfect, respectful subordinate … and yet again you hand me _this_." The report in my hand was cast down to the desk with a clap. "Anything relevant enough to seem minorly useful, nothing usable enough to really provide us any sort of an edge. I don't _care_ about a rabbit that was getting into their cucumber crop…"

"You must understand, sir, that I am not especially privy to much sensitive information over there–,"

"Is this your game? Play both sides, remain neutral, keep all your options open to you?"

"Sir." His voice was controlled, his face offended. "I believed we had resolved this, but it appears we have not. I have no intention of being subjected to more of your baseless accusations on my loyalty. If that is all you need, I will be on my way; it's time I met Godaime-sama."

His voice was controlled, yes, but nonetheless the one beside me seemed to tense at the escalation of his recently neutral tone.

"Uchiha," I said sternly as he prepared to go. "You are not dismissed."

He bowed his head, held in check but protesting all the same. "Time is short…"

I studied him closely. "It seems some odd occasion took place in New Konoha recently. A celebration of some sort, though for what we are presently unable to ascertain."

"A celebration, you say? I was not made aware."

"Shame," I sighed. "You're our inside man, Uchiha. A vulnerable moment for the resistance…" I trailed off, rubbing my brow. "You're a clever guy. When you bring us something groundbreaking… _then_ I'll trust you."

He nodded in a few moments. My cool eyes sharpened on his.

"In the meantime, however… I've caught on to your trick."

He held my gaze squarely, and opened his mouth. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

Impressive – it would have been, anyways. My mounting Byakugan relaxed. "The truth," I affirmed. "You say this now, and it is undoubtedly truthful. Will it be, however, in ten more minutes? Maybe twenty…?"

Genuine befuddlement continued to pool in his put-off eyes. "Time is of the essence, sir. I have been summoned by–,"

"Our Lord Orochimaru wishes to see you, I know, as soon as _we_ are finished debriefing here. We _have_ all the time we need… and if you _are_ the loyal comrade you so ardently claim to be, would you not like me to help you in getting to the bottom of whatever machination compels you to deceive me…?"

His mouth opened, paused, and closed. But in that single frozen pause of intermittence, some untold machination of conspiracy blazed subtly beneath his charcoal eyes, one thousand blinding formulations and calculations there, off and gone in a flicker.

His mouth closed, and a single spontaneous bead of sweat seemed to break from his forehead and at once roll down his face.

I showed nothing, but internally I bared fangs in triumph as predatory glee shrieked from the depths of my being. The victory, however, was not carnal but intellectual; I had at last my most elusive prey in a corner, and could tell that I was upon the brink of tearing the treacherous creature apart for all the world to see.

_For so long you've kept just beyond my grasp, but now, just like that, I've caught you. So simple… _I mused. _Where before I struggled to box you in… now your mind is simply no match for my own…_

"Sir… Why do you keep that one at your side?"

I lifted a brow. Making small talk while he awaited his demise? All the same I chose to humor him; my pale eyes drifted to those of the one at my side, and my arm slipped around her. She inhaled, shivering slightly as my hand patted her shoulder. "Hiyuki here is my precious bodyguard, of course…"

The slightest color rose on my cousin's cheeks, and her eyes fought not to moisten. I could feel it through the bond we shared, could feel the drowning euphoria that melted her within as her eyes gleamed with the utmost fulfillment – with glorious meaning and purpose – all this, at my mention of her.

Sasuke spoke on in retort. "Like _you_ need a bodyguard."

I frowned as her feelings crumpled. My hand patted her head comfortingly; my fingers streamed through her hair. "Nonsense," I scoffed. "_This_ one is invaluable to me. Hardly equal in strength, but she wouldn't have me be required to dirty my own hands, you see; she's very considerate in that respect. And I trust Hiyuki to take good care of me. Furthermore she is happy to be at my side protecting me. What of it?"

He sneered. "So basically, you keep her like a puppy so that you can spoil her into thinking she's a great asset to you."

I shook my head, stroking her hair again. "She's _happy_, isn't she? That I might elicit such joy in her by allowing her to so closely serve me… If she's happy, what else matters?"

He laughed. "Aren't you a benevolent soul? You're right there – happy as a druggie in a never-ending high. Do you even realize it anymore – how easily you talk about your people like they aren't in the room–?"

"Do you question Lord Neji's kindness?" Hiyuki demanded of him, suddenly on her feet. She shivered unsteadily.

"Easy," I soothed, stroking her arm, and her seething hostility ebbed instantly with my touch. "Be seated."

Hiyuki sat down again, beaming at me.

"Hn," Sasuke scoffed. "That's some happiness – Hyuuga-_sama_."

My eyes snapped wide.

His eyes snapped wide.

_His tone – it's changed!_

I was rising to my feet.

He was turning to the door.

"_Orochimaru-sama!_"

In the same moment that my feet met the fleer's back and my hands his neck, we sailed into the hallway and directly into the path of a sprinting Oto captain. In the collision I was forced to relinquish my hold to avoid breaking the boy. The three of us toppled to the floor, and Hiyuki rushed out into the hallway.

"Neji-sama, are you alright–? !"

Down the hall, the doors of the Hokage's office slammed open with a crash to reveal the snake sannin, whose dangerous eyes swept coldly over the commotion. "What is the meaning of this?" he hissed.

"M–my lord!" Captain Jin shrieked, eyes wide as he scrambled to bow low. "We have a crisis on our hands!"

Orochimaru stormed forward. "What is it, then? _Speak_, fool!"

"Rotten Failures – those th-three dumb rogues, they've – They have Tsunade, and they've broken Jiraiya out of prison – t-tore our fortress to the ground–!"

A monstrous shriek of murderous outrage shook the hall; the wordless bellow left all present unanimously chilled, but its direct recipient was petrified as the Hokage swept forward, seized him by the throat, and slammed him with a thud to the wall.

"_FOOL_!" Orochimaru roared in Jin's face. "_Imbecile_! NO ONE must know of this! Word shall not pass beyond our topmost ranks! How many have you _told_? !"

"I-I-I-I-well-u-um–!"

"GO!" milord yelled, shoving him away. "Ensure none speak of this! _Now!_"

"Y-yes sir!"

Getting a hold of myself, I wheeled. "Sasuke–!"

But the boy who had been right beside me was gone.

My prey had slipped away from its snare. Delicate information may have leaked right along with him.

* * *

**Hinata ****ヒナタ**

"Hmm…"

My sight plummeted straight down into what lay beneath a few feet of solid earth. I scuffed my claws against the grass, sending dirt spraying out behind me. The last of the parameters etched into place, I checked once more, nodded, stood, and lifted a hand.

Sand swirled at my side as Gaara smoothly materialized, sandals tapping lightly to the earth. The boy rose and spread his arms, and the sand leaped forth; at a wave of his hand the grains swept down to the earth by one of the marks and furrowed down. I watched as a thousand separate burrowing wheels rolled along the ground within the parameters of two parallel lines I'd dotted in, sifting and rippling forward to uproot a layer of grass and topsoil in its wake. The sand rose to discard these relocated debris out of the way, and it returned to Gaara's gourd. The result that remained was a long, neat, rectangular swathe of light dirt carved amidst the lush grass, curious, conspicuous, and undoubtedly visible from quite a height.

_Oh… _I lifted my head a bit as my ears perked up; Gaara's eyes flickered keenly, and he turned his head.

"Hey! What're you kids doing here? !" an Oto-nin shouted, halting fifteen yards away.

Gaara gazed back at him silently out of the corner of his eye, and my Byakugan faded as I turned unperturbed to meet the glowering man's eyes squarely, my stance lackadaisical, face similarly calm. I gave a hint of a shrug and spoke flatly as the area grew curiously dark.

"Selling cookies."

The man blinked. Just behind Gaara and me, Gamabunta's great sword plunged straight into the earth with a mighty boom as the toad crashed down from the sky, and in a single sharp move lurched to slice forward along the path of a band of dirt. "_TOAD SLASH! !_" the beast bellowed heartily as his blade broke upward and free with a tremor, cleaving the earth in two, and at once an explosion of rubble and dust erupted from the gaping crevice and was whipped outward by a delayed shockwave from the swing of the colossal sword which had strewn it.

In one swing the Boss Toad had hewn the earth open and, in the process, slashed an opening into the roof and down the main hallway of the Sound prison that lay beneath us.

Stretched to great height, wakizashi extended skyward to flash once as it jousted to pierce the sun, Gamabunta vanished in a burst of smoke.

"_HOOAAAAAA! ULTIMATE! INFINITYYYYY!_"

Lee fell the fastest of those who had been on Gamabunta's back, rocketing down and drawing twin katana as his skin darkened, and roiling energy blazed from his body. Seemingly pushing off the air itself, he shot downward into the fresh, gaping crevice, nothing visible of his blurring form but the flashing ring of phantasmal silver that churning blades ignited in the air about him.

"_BLADE OF DEVASTATION!_" he bellowed, devilishly powerful katana hacking side to side and back again. In a splendid sight he tore from one end of the hall to the other, a frenzied tornado obliterating obstacles, kicking and felling enemy shinobi unwise enough to dare approach his path, and dicing the bars of some dozen cells on either side of him to pieces.

I saw with the Byakugan as he lurched to a halt, blades snapping apart, one foot meeting the far wall – and in the next instant the boy was shooting up and into the open again, a plume of dust spiraling in his wake.

As he shot skyward, five more sets of feet met the ground near Gaara and I.

"_Kuchiyose no Justu!_" Tsunade yelled without delay, right hand slapping against an inner edge of the crevice. Instantly the body of the great slug Katsuyu expanded into the confined space of the prison and promptly liquidized, filling all open space in the hallway and every corner of the opened cells with a living sea of gelatinous white-and-blue ooze.

That first Sound man stepped back, face pale, incredulous eyes bulging wide. "Wh-wha-what in–? !"

Cutting a glare, Naruto pinned him with a wicked smile. "This is a prison break," he said, dropping and readying the blunt staff end into his hands. "Stay out of our way…"

THOK!

"And you're a little less likely to get hurt," he explained apologetically as the man slumped over the knob at his gut, soundly unconscious.

"_Milady…"_

"Right! Come, Katsuyu!" Tsunade called.

The great slug's enormous head rose from the crevice of the prison, squeezing out and taking form to find us with two pale, watery eyes; then her head swelled, and she opened her mouth to regurgitate a mess of Oto-nin and prisoners her body had plucked from the prison.

At the gleam of an Oto hitai-ate, I grabbed hold of a man's shoulder before he was fully freed from the slug, and with a grunt flung him back toward Naruto; a few yards from the boy he was knocked out by a well placed Shadow Staff Strike. Bodies spilled from Katsuyu two or three at a time, and Tsunade, Jiraiya, and I made quick work of hurling enemies toward either Naruto or Lee, who had joined him, and shunting recovered allies, disoriented and bewildered jounin, _Leaf_ _jounin_, into the arms of Gaara, who with his sand guided the weakened forms aside to be seated near Shizune.

Our jounin. My heart was speeding with emotion I couldn't put to any small number of words. Our first jounin bust-out, and it was running so smoothly! My Byakugan scanned again; at this rate we could be out of here well within four minutes of when Gaara and I had initially been spotted by the patroller.

I picked up on a familiar chakra, tragically enfeebled but unmistakable all the same. My heart filled with warmth as the sixth jounin of ours was pushed into the open. Dulled crimson eyes cringed unseeing for one moment in the sunlight, and then locked with recognition on my surprised face. I had known she was kept in this prison, but still…

"Kurenai-sensei," I breathed as she stumbled into my arms. I may have held her a second longer than necessary as I paused to give her a squeeze, silent moisture spilling inexplicably from quivering eyes; then I pushed the pale, shocked woman's emaciated form along to Gaara, eyes streaming freely. "Take care of them!" I instructed stupidly as I did so, though no sign of weakness arose in my voice.

Gaara briefly seemed to understand, and nodded sternly. "Focus on your part!" he responded.

"I _know_!" I growled through gritting teeth, grabbing a hapless New Oto chuunin by the flak jacket and with both hands hurling him away. Shooting past Naruto, he slammed into a tree.

It wasn't much longer before Katsuyu announced that was everyone: we'd emptied the prison of its occupants.

Sure enough, it just wasn't that easy.

"We're short two."

"What?" Naruto said. I scanned again the crowd of elite ninja – a group of lethargic persons sitting or lying down or curled up on sides, many uttering quiet mumblings or groaning or gazing confusedly through dull eyes or crying. Every last one of them, the group of prisoners as a whole, seemed unable to stop _twitching_.

I shook my head. "Kakashi-sensei, Asuma-sensei – they should've been in this one; they're not."

"Might you have missed a few, Katsuyu-san?" Lee inquired.

I shot my Byakugan downward, sweeping, searching, and had to second the slug's answer. The place was empty.

Naruto knelt by the nearest jounin, Akimichi Chouza. "Oji-san – do you know where Kakashi-sensei and Asuma-sensei are?"

The man blinked, squinting at the blond. "Huh…?"

"C'mon – it's important," Naruto urged.

"Aha," Chouza rumbled. "That guy… Took… awayy… Hm…" He grunted and seemed to lose focus along with any interest in the conversation. Rubbing his head, he looked away boredly.

"What's _wrong_ with them?" Naruto breathed.

Tsunade bent down, taking the old Akimichi's chin and lifting it. Poised an inch from his open mouth, her nose twitched, nostrils flaring briefly. "Kuso – they've been drugged!"

My head rose, my Byakugan eyes cutting suddenly to the side. "Naruto-kun!"

"Got it!" he grunted, in a flash drawing a pair of slim kunai to Shadow Slash and deflect a number of senbon heading our way. Deadly needles spiraled in the air and slipped into the earth before us.

"Hoo?" an amused note drifted out to us. "Naruto, eh? It's been too long."

"You…!" Naruto growled, stiffening. "And just what are you doing here? !"

The silver-haired man smirked, adjusting his glasses. "Hey, why the hard feelings?" he asked loftily. "This is war, after all. I'm sorry to say, your heroic charge ends here. You see, we correctly anticipated, what with the particularly powerful jounin kept here and its proximity to Jiraiya's detention center, that this would be the location of your next strike, and we've prepared… accordingly."

Naruto glowered, angry and fearless. "Yakushi Kabuto – or should I say, Second Otokage of Old Sound! I don't know what it is you think you've got up your sleeve, but I can tell you it won't work. You can't take on all of us! If you don't tell us what you've done with Kakashi-sensei and Asuma-sensei, you'll regret it!"

Kabuto only smiled wickedly. "Hm…? Well, you're certainly right on one point – two of the sannin, along with a handful of pesky brats, are certainly more than I should hope to handle on my own. And as for what I've _done_ with these two…"

A pair of figures in prison garb, with swaying step, came to the beaming Otokage's side. I started, ears flattening as my brow furrowed skeptically; Tsunade frowned sternly; Lee couldn't withhold a gasp of disbelief; Naruto's jaw dropped. Bile rose in my throat. _What in…?_

"Well, I haven't done much."

Naruto found his voice.

"Kakashi-sensei, what the heck are you doing standing next to the enemy? ! That guy's dangerous – get away from him, quick!"

Hatake Kakashi of the Sharingan blinked confusedly, clouds heavy in his eye. "The enemy…?"

"Something's wrong," I murmured, eyes wide. Naruto looked to me, and then stepped forward again.

"_Kabuto!_ What have you done – I won't ask again!"

But amused to no end, the man only threw back his head and laughed aloud, terribly. With an honestly frightening smile, he met the blond's eyes. "I'll tell you again – it wasn't much! I simply withdrew their _medication_ a few days ago, and to say the very least these two are _not_ happy."

"Then… addiction?" Naruto gasped. I looked closely, and then took particular note of the severely bloodshot appearance of Kakashi's eyes, the tautness of a seemingly pained face, the slight part to Sarutobi Asuma's lips as he breathed raggedly, yearningly – and the disturbing shiver draped parasitically upon either of the men's stances.

"Damn," Jiraiya swore under his breath.

"And there you have it," Kabuto declared cheekily. He addressed the two at his sides. "It's as we discussed. I'll even nullify the restraints for you."

With a few seals and a flare of Kabuto's chakra, the bangles attached to their right wrists, as they were to those of all the prisoners, snapped apart and fell to the ground. The copy ninja started, looking at his own hand as if in alarm. "Ch-chakra… My chakra…?"

The jounin's attention was immediately drawn, however, to the small vial of orange liquid Kabuto held out between them. The medic clicked his tongue. "That's right; you know what's in here, don't you?" he crooned, sloshing the transparent bottle's contents around. "To make it interesting… let's say this shot goes to whichever one destroys more of our enemies the fastest."

Kakashi and Asuma alike seemed nary an instant from jumping Kabuto when the vial they were so transfixed upon popped into smoke and nothingness. With this they were left for a single instant with eyes locked dangerously on their competition before their gazes fell next on Kabuto's pointing finger – and wheeled forward to lock on those who lay in the direction it indicated.

"Go."

Flaring chakra, flickering movement, a blur of handseals – the shriek of blinding light–

_WHAM–!_

And with insane force, a hand blanketed in lightning was spearing Naruto's chest.

Poof–

"Sensei!" the real Naruto yelled, wide-eyed in utter incredulity as his former teacher rounded on him again.

"They're attacking us with our own–? !" I leaned outside a momentous punch, so narrowly that it prickled the skin of my cheek. As a raging bear, Asuma brought his other fist around toward my head as if with the full intent to remove it cleanly from my shoulders.

I dropped to the ground as I ducked sharply under the strike, and Asuma was busied with avoiding a barrage of blows from Lee.

"Naruto!" Jiraiya cried, rushing for Kakashi as the Hatake's fist flung crimson from the boy's mouth.

"Hold it!" Kabuto grunted, and Jiraiya was forced to redirect his focus to blocking as the young Otokage vaulted into a kick. "Still not quite up to par, are ya', old man?" Seals flared from beneath the palm Kabuto was standing on, and he sprang from the ground to land atop the head of the monstrous grey serpent that exploded into existence propelling the Toad Sage powerfully away.

Tsunade swore hard. "Shizune, protect these shinobi!" she barked, racing in pursuit.

I was on my feet by now. Asuma was closing in on Lee, who he'd knocked to the ground. I leapt between Asuma and Gaara – and a brief but strong Hakkeshou Kaiten dissipated the skewers of sand racing for the jounin's back.

"Don't hurt them!" I reprimanded Gaara, even whilst lunging to sling my arms around the man's waist. My feet planted, I pulled him off his feet, yelled, and hurled Asuma's back to the earth.

He growled, and in the instant I flinched at the mad fury in his eyes he grabbed my arm, pulled, and quite possibly bruised my sternum over his knuckles.

Hot pain exploded at my collarbone and cracked in my ears. He rose, taking me by the neck, turning, and hurling me full force to the earth, where I bounced and flopped to a limp heap, rolling onto my side.

With a yelp I jerked from a crushing blow that shook the earth beside my skull; scowling, I latched my hand to the attacking arm and gave his forearm a good taste of my claws. He yelled in surprise, and I kicked him off of me and got to my feet.

"Are you all right?" Lee asked quietly, coming to my side. Gaara joined us.

"I'll live," I coughed, finding my voice at a wheeze. I shook my head as our hulking foe rose again, eyes madly intent.

I spat. _The moment you dare to think it's going smoothly…_

* * *

**Naruto ****ナルト**

In a moment we paused, I cried out to him.

"Kakashi-sensei!" I barked, and hesitated, teeth grinding. I shook my head. "Don't you get it? I'm not the enemy! It's me – your student, Naruto!"

The disheveled man blinked, raggedly catching his breath. His eyes narrowed in a seeming attempt at focus as he pondered a moment. "Naruto… That's… Uzumaki Naruto, then? That's right… I _did_ have such a fellow as a student at one time, didn't I?"

"Dammit," I swore under my breath. "Are you really this weak? You can see who I am; can't you see what they've done to you? !"

He looked at his shaky hand a moment. "I can see it, all right … but I still can't resist it." He shook suddenly, hacking up an unhealthy cough, and groaned. "You shouldn't have come here," he almost whimpered, a hand at his temple. "B-but–!" He shut his eyes hard for a moment, as if in pain. When he calmed and spoke again his voice was level once more. "But now that you have… will you kill me, or will you let yourself be destroyed at my hand here and now, and have me damn all hope for the Leaf right along with you…?"

I winced. _Did we… did we miscalculate?_

_If we fail now, after all this … the journey ends._

_Everything we worked for, crushed to a screeching halt. Just like that…_

But still… "Sensei…"

"Anyways, you're plenty stronger than the old knucklehead I knew… You could really do it. Everything's foggy; my mind is only half my own. This pain… won't go away. But you … you're strong enough to end it, I'd say…"

"Kakashi-sensei…" I clenched my fists. "I never thought… never expected… I would ever see you so uncool."

"Naruto…?"

"How dare you… how _dare_ you resign yourself to running away like this? !" I shouted, meeting his eyes sharply. "I can't go with your orders this time around, sensei. I don't turn my back on a comrade, and I sure as hell won't let one give up on himself and run away! You hear me – _I won't let you!_"

My Shadow Punch cracked loudly against his cheek. He staggered a moment before righting his head and gaze, Sharingan eye latching onto my soul.

He kicked out with blinding speed, standing twenty yards away, and force thudded into my chest.

I was thrown off my feet, and he materialized like an accomplished wraith at my side, eyes glinting madly as he grasped the neck of my shirt and poised to throw. "_Naruto!_"

I swapped to safety, crouched low to the ground, and lunged into a forward substitution to attack. In the instant I had swapped forward, however, he had swapped himself to face my back as I appeared striking vacant air, two arms across my middle halting me in midair, dragging me back.

_The Copycat…_

I lashed back. He vanished. I vanished.

We danced on air, neither of us remaining in one place beyond the length of an instant, both racing to outpace the other. Wind streamed in my ears as trained indigoes struggled against the fury of the Mirror Wheel Eye, and an occasional bang or crack rattled up the air; there was no time to pause, no time to think. All there was time for was to see – to glimpse – and to react, when a single slip-up in reacting could be disastrous.

A striking clone's face was busted in. I flinched, and his eye caught it quickly enough to exploit the moment of weakness; in a fraction of a second he was appearing at my side, hand on my neck – I was force-swapped along with him – and the brunt of the blow centered on the back of my neck as a plowing hand slammed me to the earth.

Stars flashed across my sight. Rapidly I refocused, but before I was allowed to move a knife was slipped from my own tool pouch and thrust into the front of my shoulder.

My teeth clenched. He'd missed – or avoided – the vital blow by centimeters. Intentionally or not, he'd still caught a spot that hurt like heck – even _more_ than a few inches of keen steel normally hurt. I was immobilized, rendered unable to mentally command my chakra.

Seeming to realize this, he reaffirmed the pressure behind the knife.

"_Naruto_…" he growled. "If you don't strike to kill me … you're _going_ to _die_."

I had almost gathered my wits when he twisted the knife, shifted its angle the slightest bit – shortly, sharply, excruciating. I grunted, biting back a cry. "S-said I was going to save you… That hasn't changed…!" My hand latched onto his wrist, fighting to reduce the pressure of the blade. "Besides, as far as chakra goes, I can keep this up. _You_ can't."

The moment before I could substitute, his chakra surged through the blade, rooting me. If I swapped now, I would only take him along with me to find myself pinned in an unchanged predicament.

I glowered; then I smirked. "You know what?"

Gripping his arm tight, I whipped violent violet chakra into a frenzy and shoved it into his system. Kakashi yowled as if burned, pulling away; before he could escape I caught energy in my chest and howled a short, concussive flare of force, knocking him away.

I sprang to me feet, pulling the knife from my shoulder with a grunt and rooting the Kyuubi's flying chakra again.

"We didn't come here to kill anyone," I said as the man stood up. "We came here to free our own, and that's what we're gonna do!"

* * *

**Hinata ****ヒナタ**

Yelling, I barreled a shoulder into Asuma's gut; straightening and flicking my hand up, I clipped the ridge of my knuckles into his jaw.

Then I Fire Flickered, and with a proclamation of "DYNAMIC ENTRY!" the sole of Lee's straw sandal hit Asuma just below the back of the neck.

In a heartbeat he was driven gracelessly to the earth, and a sliding trail of dust burst upward with a boom. Lee backflipped from the dust, landing lightly beside me.

No sooner had he landed, however, than a racing blur shot from the cloud in a sliding kick. Lee jumped, and seemingly the instant Asuma passed under him he was before the boy in the air, a large hand shooting to latch onto his forehead.

_To get up from that so quickly…!_

Lee's cheek was slammed hard into the man's rising knee, and I saw the focus thinning in his eyes. He was released with the blow – kicked momentarily upward – and Asuma wove a rapid trio of seals to unleash the Breakthrough technique, throwing Lee away from him with a shock of wind.

_Shoot! Whatever they were given… it must have been spiked to be more than just addictive–!_

Sharply turning his head, the man blurred from the path of my fist and slipped behind me. Suddenly two firm hands were gripping my sides, dragging me backwards. He pulled.

My vision flickered as a tremendous knee smashed in just beside my backbone. Searing pain stabbed through my torso, and my head edged aside, one eye shut, the other huge, as blood was thrust from my mouth.

Before I could collapse a single grip tightened on the back of my shirt and pulled. I was thrown over the jounin, slung in a wickedly sharp arc and plowed on the base of my neck into the earth.

I cannot ascertain the precise number of moments my body remained balanced that way before my feet started tipping, and I fell limply onto my front, rigid with pain. My hands shook as I tried to put my head in order. _K-kuso…!_

A stifled sob reached my ears. "I'm … _sorry_…"

_He thinks he killed me? _Reasonably so. I fought not to groan. _That recovery and reaction time… ignoring pain and exhaustion… A nervous system stimulant, then…?_

Sprawled on my belly, I was facing away from him; I pinpointed his location at the sound of another sob. Then I sprang to claw his shin. He wouldn't bleed to death, but he would be slowed down.

Hopefully.

He yelled, and as he stepped back his hands fell into a string of seals. Instantly I recognized the sequence from countless spars and fights up until then, and hastily countered with my own. My Katon Shadow Clone appeared before me as I backed away, and it lunged forward just in time to thrust and outstretched palm into the Air Bullet leaving Asuma's mouth.

The clone burst toward him at the impact, erupting in flame. The jounin staggered, batting embers from his shirt, and did not anticipate the katana hilt that knocked into the base of his neck.

Asuma slumped to his hands and knees. His face bloodied, Lee stood up behind him. "That is quite enough…"

I turned my head a bit as, some sixty yards off, a great toad's sword crashed to the earth; a dodging snake darted back and wound up the amphibian's foreleg before attempting to constrict around its neck. As the summons fought, a trio of blurs went at it, Tsunade's avoided blows devastating the terrain, Jiraiya's hair coming to life to reach and attack, as a smiling Kabuto dodged and danced precariously, hands aglow…

I looked to spot Naruto and Kakashi locked in a heated trade of blows, the student's eyes brilliantly furious, the master's troubled and what was visible of his gaunt face pained.

If Naruto hadn't been able to get through to Kakashi-sensei, I should've figured it was futile. Still… "Asuma-sensei."

The man coughed gruffly. "Don't… _call_ me that!" he growled, twitching.

"It is who you are–," Lee began.

"I'm trying to k-_kill_ you… I can't be called a sensei… How can I face them…?"

"You will. Tsunade-sama, Shizune-san, and Naruto – they'll come up with something. Whatever Kabuto's done to you, they'll make it better! You have to trust us! So…"

"…Can't…"

"What?" Lee murmured. Asuma shook.

"I can't… I… I have to–!"

Something akin to madness in his eyes made my heart flinch in my chest as he looked up at me and lunged, a knife in hand.

_Fwoosh–!_

The kunai itself missed me entirely.

I grunted as pain bit into my side. _I dodged – he projected wind chakra from the blade–?_

I choked on my breath as a solid fist plunged beneath my ribcage. Not giving me a moment to recover, he grabbed at the neck of my shirt to yank my gut into contact with his rising knee; the low hit kicked me head over heels, and as my back struck the earth he stomped on my lower ribs for good measure before whirling to hurl an angry backfist toward Lee.

I rolled over with a grunt as the two clashed, grimacing and briefly hacking on the ground. If he had intended those strikes to keep me down, he had quite another thing coming.

I shoved aside, and a spinning katana went careening past me. My Byakugan awakened on the two shinobi, and it spotted something very problematic.

Asuma, beginning an upward slice.

Lee, positioning his sword to block the knife.

Cutting chakra, invisible to the naked eye, now extending slyly from the blade.

There wasn't time to think. I was already moving by the time I did.

* * *

**Lee ****リー**

Amid the flashing speed of combat my eyes caught a familiar figure lunging from the side.

A forceful hand meeting my shoulder – a bark of "MOVE!" – a phantom slicing sound.

I staggered briefly, caught balance in my footing, and watched a left arm flop to the ground near my feet.

I blinked, mouth falling open.

Her yell tore the air.

"H-Hinata-san–!"

My foot moved an inch, and her gaze slammed into me. For an instant I was petrified, nearly staggered at her wickedly bared fangs and the moisture that budded at the corner of one of two sinister ink-and-snow eyes, at the sharp, buffeting growl she directed at me as she bristled, daring me to approach any piece of her. For the instant our eyes locked I could determine not whether she appeared sooner to bash in the nearest person's skull in fury or howl aloud in outrage.

_Eye contact! _I came to my senses and snapped my gaze away from what had become the predatory eyes of a maddened beast. I repeated her name.

I heard a snarl, and saw in the corner of my vision as she lunged to snatch up her – _arm_ – in her hand and dart away again. I could hear the grin fighting its way into her strained voice – a vengeful sneer of bloodlust and excitement even she could only barely contain. "H-have to pull back… This'll take a minute – Gaara!" she barked suddenly. "Help Lee out!" As suddenly she grunted, turned, and ran for the trees, leaving dark red splotches to trail in her wake.

At Shizune's nod Gaara hurried to join me. The jounin medic was left alone in alertly standing watch over a group of shinobi otherwise defenseless in their collective stupor.

If Sound reinforcements arrived, they would sooner strike our jounin down than risk them going free.

Falling into stance myself, I saw Gaara's eye twitch, his brow momentarily squirm as he glanced toward the heaviest puddle of black blood. Then, remarkably, it smoothed over with practiced effort as the younger boy glared coolly at our foe. "She can fix that?" he asked me at a flat mutter.

I cringed at the thought that if I had stepped an inch closer to the prone arm without thinking… Ah… It would likely have meant a lot of pain for me, and later many tearful apologies from her. "Reattachment – she has said it is simpler than restoring a crushed limb. It was a clean cut; if she works quickly, Hinata-san will be fine."

"Hm…"

Asuma had drifted into a brief daze of shock after dismembering the han'you, but now recognized the tense aggression in our stances. In those eyes, we became naught but obstacles to overcome.

"Let us concern ourselves with what we must do, Gaara-kun."

"Yes…"

Together we charged.

* * *

**Hanabi ****ハナビ**

I was two miles into my daily jog through New Konoha when I tripped over the ground with a yelp.

"H…Hanabi-sama?" Hikujaku asked surprisedly, returning to my side.

"Ah!" I clutched my arm and swore, turning it over, searching for injury. "It just – something must've…!" Not sure what I was trying to say, I shut my mouth and rubbed my forearm. A sudden, sharp cramping had gripped into it and vanished in an instant. What I felt now was not so much pain as a phantom sensation, perhaps akin to a memory of it – along with a needling feel of discomfort that had my skin crawling. _SXXX, Nee-chan!_

Then the disturbing feeling dimmed and faded like nothing happened; indeed, maybe nothing had.

Hikujaku's Byakugan had fixed on the arm. "Nothing out of the ordinary. Are you imagining things, milady? Or perhaps trying to snag a short break…?"

"Oh, please," I scoffed, picking myself up to continue on.

* * *

**Lee ****リー**

Clang… Clang… Clang. Clang–

I sighed carefully. I could not keep repeating this in one day…

–_Kin-kin-kin-kin-KIN-KIN-KINKINKIIIiiIIiIi–! !_

"DEVASTATION!" I proclaimed as the intricate wail of flashing steel rained into the air.

For the moment Gaara's sand was carefully fending his opponent off, holding the battle at a comfortable distance; I stood a ways to the side for the valuable few seconds of preparation that the Ultimate Infinity required.

Asuma blurred and rushed Gaara. Now aware of what to watch for, my eyes caught upon the slight disturbance that was manipulated air extending from a sweeping blade.

I shot forward, flickering between and past the raging jounin and scowling Suna-nin before sliding to a halt.

Neatly Gaara shifted aside, edging his neck form the arcing path of metal. Then he lunged forward into the opportunity, his palm driving a wicked missile of sand clean into the man's abdomen. Asuma flinched, and tendrils of Gaara's sand scattered, snapping to bind his wrists and ankles and snatch one of the knives away. Not to be so easily disarmed, however, Asuma managed to hold on to one of them, and with a yell he lit the knife with chakra and slashed the sand away.

Again he lunged toward Gaara. Again I dashed between them.

Sand parried the knife, twined to wrench Asuma's arm, and slammed him a good blow to the face.

As the jounin spun and reeled, his eyes landed on me and lit with realization. I smirked.

_That is it…_

He flickered from the path of a sharp wave of sand, sliding a short way on his feet and running toward me.

_The sheer speed of these churning blades produces ripples of agitation in the air… An agitation forceful enough to disband a wind change in chakra form!_

I dodged aside as he shot toward me. He pivoted, facing my back.

_So go on – strike out at me!_

He lunged for the kill.

_And let us see who is FASTER than WIND! !_

I whirled, in one sharp move sweeping an evanescent barrage of flashing silver light across his knife and outstretched hand.

The knife effectively disintegrated just as it met my shoulder; cuts and nicks opened all about his hand and forearm.

He grimaced, and before he could even withdraw his bleeding hand or release his stump of a kunai my foot crashed into his chest.

I planted my feet and focused.

The next instant I was low in a crouch, screeching to a halt in the same place but facing the opposite direction, blades snapping apart with a great clang of finality.

Exhaling, I coolly turned my head to see dozens upon dozens of scratches pepper his sailing body and spurt crimson before he thudded to the earth.

His breath shook. Eyes angrily wide, shivering with pain, he began to sit up. Then a flicker of flame popped behind him; a small but strong arm locked across his throat and forced his head down against her lap as her other hand planted a small, square seal on his stomach.

"Sorry, sir," Hinata murmured. Two fingers pressed against the paper tag emitted a glint of chakra, and her captive shuddered, hacked, and fell limp.

"What…?"

"Youki drip," she elaborated, standing and dragging the sedated man up by the back of his shirt. "I stored a good concentration of demonic energy in that tag; a human's chakra network doesn't know what to make of it. Good job taking him down, you two; since I was able to attach it to such a major tenketsu cluster, Asuma-sensei won't be able to move around – let alone mold his chakra – for a few hours…"

I noticed her flexing her hand, almost as if with anxiety, as she spoke, and was reminded of the cause of the deep red that caked a portion of her arm. Noting my concern, she mustered a grin and rolled the wrist easily. "I wouldn't let go of it that easily, Lee-kun."

I nodded. "Okay – let us aid Naruto-kun. It is time to finish this."

A weak chuckle rumbled out of Asuma's throat. "One of Kurenai's… one of Guy's, and one of Kakashi's… You brats have gotten pretty tough, haven't you…? And … what of Cell Ten?"

"We honestly do not know, sensei," I said apologetically.

"But with any luck we'll see them soon enough," Hinata murmured. She looked up, fire in her white eyes. "Gaara-kun, can you bring Asuma-sensei back to Shizune-san and the others?"

"Yes," he grunted.

"All right. Lee-kun, let's go!"

"_Yosh!_"

* * *

**Naruto ****ナルト**

I panted for air, a hand grasping at my arm. Kakashi gasped raggedly; his eyes grew furious as he ran through a set of seals and extended his hand, growling as sparks ignited in his palm. I began my own slew of seals, but paused as I sensed the others, felt them as surely as I felt my heart laboring in my chest and the blood hot on my arm – and smirked in realization. _So that's it…_

"_Naruto!_" Kakashi yowled, racing toward me. Snapping back to the situation, I pushed cupped hands almost together and leaped back as my sensei thrust the lightning blade for my chest.

Sparking fingertips began to pass between my hands – and slowed as they met the invisible resistance of the air I'd bound and compressed between them.

_Wind beats lightning!_

I growled and thrust my palms out hard, and with a resounding _Crack!_ a whipping wall of wind blasted forward, slowing Kakashi and stripping the Raikiri from his hand, surely as soap cuts oil.

Then two people made to substitute with each other at the same moment: I was deposited on my feet fifteen yards back, and Hinata, who'd been charging on all fours, plowed a vicious shoulder blow full into the jounin's gut.

"_Guhf–! !_"

A forward-moving green blur came into brief focus at the han'you's back, crouching with a foot at her shoulder blades as she touched a hand to the earth – and with a grunt she shoved upward as the swordsman sprang in perfect concert. He flipped twice before poising one straightened hand near his forehead, the other arm tucked behind his back, and then with a series of dynamic twists and whirling movements built up tremendous energy in a rapid, angled descent before connecting a straw sandal with the sailing Kakashi's stomach.

"Konoha–! ! _DAI–SEM–PUU! !"_ Lee roared fiercely, his motions shocking the wind as a trio of solid, whirling kicks, delivered by right foot and left and right again, bludgeoned into Kakashi's stomach, chest, and face.

The third one was dealt with a snap of force that kicked the man straight back; nodding, I executed a swift and artful series of leaps, rolled my hands to the earth, and Shadow Substituted to drive both feet upward into sensei's back. Once he was launched, I shot after him, swapping madly in the space of an instant to pelt him with a barrage of phantasmal fists – then at once I drew my naginata and was joined by three clones, together striking staves heavily into the top of right shoulder, the side of left hip, the small of the back, the outside of a knee. As suddenly all four of us were gone – Lee cut from the sky – and the wide-eyed man was peppered in light wounds and left turning in the air, as if spun by a whirlwind.

Hinata's hand closed on the neck of my shirt, and she pulled me from my feet to hurl me forward with enormous force.

I substituted. Slamming _down_ from above Kakashi, I brought my staff with a great crash down across his midsection, driving him from the air to smash his back straight into the earth.

_WHAM!_

I could see the outline of a mouth stretching wide behind his mask as his eyes clamped shut, his rigid body folded up around my staff; then I rolled back, springing off my hands to turn in the air and land on my feet ten yards away, the spear spun twice above and beside my head before shifting to one hand, rolling a few sharp times about it, and being caught firmly to point to the ground behind me. Stance squared, I watched Kakashi fall limp as Lee and Hinata came to my sides.

_We actually… beat him?_

And not a moment too soon. With a cry Kabuto came shooting in, crashing heavily to the earth nearby and rolling several times.

"Granny!"

"Cocky pest," Tsunade snarled, landing on her feet, as Jiraiya chuckled a ways behind her. Glasses broken, bleeding in a few places, the Otokage looked like he'd seen better days. On second thought, though, after squaring off with _those_ two he could be considered fortunate to still look like much of anything.

"Kuso," he hissed, eyes cutting from the approaching sannin, to the three of us – to Kakashi.

It was Hinata who swore this time, and in a flash she was nearing the copy-ninja, retrieving a seal tag from her tool pouch – and blocking a kick beside her head as Yakushi beat her there, barring her path. He dropped his foot to lash out, and she snapped away with a hiss, shutting an eye as blood spilled from a cut on her cheek left by a close call with the chakra dissection blade.

Kabuto slipped smoothly behind Kakahi in a crouch, drawing him up and holding a wickedly curved blade to his throat. "Not so fast. Honestly, _someone_ could get hurt…"

"You…" I spat, freezing. Hinata glowered where she stood, head cocked, a growl soft in her throat as she snarled with threatening fangs. Lee's body shivered either from exertion or overexertion, but he stood tall and ready, his gaze cold. Kabuto snickered.

"Hey, what's with those looks?" he said. Kakashi stirred in his hold, eyes opening as the medic's free hand slipped to his stomach, emitting a green glow. "Really… You call yourselves _children_, but all I see is a pack of monsters…"

"The only monster here is you," I said, my voice a harsh growl.

"And a coward, at that," Jiraiya concurred evenly.

"Hm?" He stood, dragging his hostage to his feet. "A monster? Perhaps. A coward, on the other hand… I'm hurt! When things can be used to your advantage, you use them. _People_ are no different. To manipulate a human's heart is to hold all his power – all that he is – at your disposal. As a ninja, I'll do what I must and _use_ whoever I can! Kakashi! Get them–!"

He shoved Kakashi-sensei forward.

The jounin vanished.

And with a sharp crack, his forearm was landing behind Kabuto's neck.

The younger man was sprawled out on his front – broken. Shock throbbed in his wide eyes. "Y– _you_… What – have y-you… done…?"

Kakashi ignored him; his weary eyes turned toward us. "Sorry… I couldn't hold back…" With a grunt, the man swayed on his feet and toppled to hands and knees, frame shaking weirdly as he gasped in apparent pain.

"F-_fool_…" Kabuto managed. "Don't you w-want – your next dose?"

"I'm tired," Kakashi uttered simply, shudders subsiding a bit. "You… can't make me kill my students…" He breathed heavily a moment, eyes shut, and looked up at us. "Naruto… when we fought, we connected … and through you, Naruto, all three of you connected as well. Feeling these ties of yours … I don't know how, but it loosened up some restraint… It freed a part of my mind that's been out of sight … for a long time…"

"You're the one who taught me what a team is, after all," I said, coming to smirk.

There was a smile in his eye as he looked at me. Then he ducked his head and coughed horribly, hacking spittle and blood to the earth.

"Sensei?" I cried. My eyes cut to Kabuto as he managed a tiny, hoarse laugh of delight. "You – What's so funny?" I demanded.

"Idiots, _all_ of you…" Kabuto ground through his smile, dark eyes wide and intent. "You're _going_… to die," he hissed slowly. "Each… and every – one of you…" His voice grew hushed and hasty. "You don't stand a chance against Orochimaru-sama… E-even if you did, you're not leaving this place alive…!"

Kakashi shook his head slowly. Hinata looked up, her Byakugan snapping to activation. "Reinforcements…" she breathed. From the look on her face, we were talking more than a squad or two.

"That's right…" Kabuto chuckled, that syrupy, mocking malevolence adorning his voice despite his grim condition.

Kakashi looked down wearily. "The substance they put in our food… extra-high security stuff… I'm guessing it was seal-spelled or charmed somehow for extra impact. What I'm saying is, my mind won't be one hundred percent mine again… none of ours will… until this fellow's chakra vanishes."

"Got it," Jiraiya said, lifting a hand. I watched in astonishment as a ball of chakra spun and whirled to life in his palm, condensed into a perfect sphere of humming energy.

_What kind of jutsu…?_

"You wouldn't last long, anyways," the sannin's voice rumbled, "but I'll go ahead and put you out of your misery."

The cracked lens of Kabuto's glasses glinted sharply; blue light was cast on his face. "See you soon…"

Wordless, Jiraiya offered no response but to thrust his hand down.

"_Rasengan!_"

_WHAM-AM-AM-AM-AM–! ! !_

"Aaaaaaagh!"

* * *

**Hinata ****ヒナタ**

My ears twitched as they came into my hearing range, in seconds escalating to a rolling torrent of moving feet. "No!"

Naruto followed my eyes to the approaching force amassing on the horizon. His eyes cut to Lee and I in turn, lingering a moment on me, before he looked to Kakashi's battered form – and, finally, to the large group of sitting ducks who had only two people stationed in their defense. We wouldn't be moving a large group of weakened shinobi anywhere quickly.

"Okay."

I looked again to Naruto at the simple word; indigo eyes trained on the approaching horde of enemies, he began to walk forward.

"N–Naruto?" I said. A bead of sweat that had hung a few moments fell from my chin.

The blond didn't look toward me as he passed; his head was down, face cloaked in shadow as he spoke. "They'll sooner massacre our guys than let us walk away with them. You know that."

War shouts reached us from the throng of Oto-nin, three hundred meters away. Nauto's solemn words were barely audible.

"We said it's a straight shot to the end, from here on out, after all. War. Every single person out there…"

Naruto halted, well in the open before us, and lifted his staff.

"…Has the potential to guard, fight, and kill for New Oto at the time of our strike."

The two sannin said nothing, but their eyes grimly concurred. Lee's jaw set, his eyes firm. Kakashi stared on silently at his student's back, maybe awed, maybe confused.

I could do nothing but stand there. My lips parted in a whisper. "Naruto-kun…"

The Murasaki Kitsune stepped forward, drawing back his staff.

"Kage Ninpou…"

The wrap on the blade was instantly eschewed, bursting away as a jet of wind lanced from the spear, cutting and furious, draping itself about the curved, glinting edge.

"Shadow _Slash!_"

He swung the blade around, sweeping it before him in a single sharp hack.

A blur in the distance – an ephemeral line of tessellation.

And at once a demonic slice gouged at singular height a contiguous strand of crimson across the enemies' front lines. The strand exploded – a gushing river – with the sound of bodies tearing apart, and dozens of unsuspecting kunoichi and shinobi were dropped before a single one could so much as scream.

Those behind them moved rapidly from icy shock, bewilderment, disbelief, to utter chaos. They then fell to no less than the purest terror as Naruto materialized in their midst, the deathly spear in his hands alight with chakra. Screams pierced the air as he rent their ranks asunder, slicing and slashing out a beautiful and terrifying dance as he lunged and swept and felled those before him, spear a ribbon of wind, or carved great swathes of death from afar. Some tried to run. Some tried to converge on him. Some hadn't the slightest inkling of what they ought do in their situation. The screams of the living did not cease. Not a second passed without a body thumping wetly to the earth.

"Hinata-san!" Lee barked.

"H-huh?" I gasped, tearing my eyes away. Cold moisture flicked from my brow. I found my hand was grasping at my heart.

Lee's face was somber, but firm. "We must not let him bear this alone." His teeth clenched as he dug deep inside himself for more power still, eyes cutting toward a group of enemies. Black hair began to lift and sway as he ignored fatigue and challenged his limits. "You remember, do you not? We must protect him!"

"Yes!" I shouted, forming handseals even as we charged. _Reikuchiyose!_

My fireball barreled forward, and our minds were united the moment the wolf spirit arrived; Hi no Ookami Kurogiba took form bounding onward, a beast of brilliant black flames, and proceeded to tear through a throng of enemies with tooth, claw, and monstrous strength, I not far behind.

'_Pup?' _he said in slight surprise, sensing the youki I roused and amassed in my body as I fought.

'_Ani-ue–,' _I wrenched my claws deeply across a man's chest and kicked him aside; as he was thrown time seemed to decelerate as my senses focused in on the spattering crimson in the air before me. Hot breath slipped into the air as my tongue darted out to be wet by a sailing splash of lifeblood – and I whirled, smashing a solid fist into another shinobi's nose. _'I know how much you hate giving yourself over to your wild side…'_

'_Save it. The others?'_

'_Wearing their silver,' _I confirmed. _'I'll pull us back when it's over!'_

'_You'd better…'_

"Kaiten!" A forceful Heavenly Spin shoved converging enemies in all directions away.

My hands clapped together in the sign of the Wolf as Kurogiba landed behind me.

"Ninja Art: Berserkergang…"

"Ookami Art: Possession."

Immediately my mind leapt into a sort of hyperdrive, thousands of synapses firing off like a crack of lightning – my youki erupted and spiraled madly – and my being was set ablaze as a claw of darkness plunged to the innermost depths of my soul and latched onto the very core of my mind. I went rigid, and suddenly was subdued, my own consciousness roughly flung to the backseat as the Fifth Grand Ookami vanished to another plane and channeled _himself_ through me.

The first few steps were clumsy. Then he exploded into a charge, roaring in delight as unsuspecting shinobi screamed and were felled in a whirlwind of claws and blood. An aura the texture of flames dusting my form, my consciousness was swamped in maliciousness as the wolf surged onward on the full fury of his raw demonic instinct, directing my body in a feverish frenzy unlike the struggles of any human alive. Sight became superfluous as he faded into a vortex of raw, churning sound and smell and feeling and emotion; these vibrant tides were ridden expertly, and Kurogiba brought my fangs and claws without fail to flesh, to vital points, feasting greedily on fear and reaping an ever-intensifying supply of it.

Surrounded by the whirling, flashing mass of scents and sounds and emotions, I blacked out into a trance for a bit. When I came down, it was over; he roared in fury, a wicked, screeching growl flung forth upon finding the supply of enemies exhausted. Those who wore silver were all but invisible to our eyes as he whirled, looking about in a raging search. A demon in full command of his power and the path of his soul though he was, channeling himself through a human – or han'you – body could allow Kurogiba's hold of himself to slip and let him rage unabated. A han'you and the owner of said body, I bleached my heart of his contagious malice and forced myself back in, taking hold of his spirit without being tainted by its present chaos.

I was vaguely aware of convulsing, staggering, catching myself, shuddering, as with an effort I resumed control and centered myself – centered _us_. Then as my eyes focused I jerked with a grunt, a clot of my chakra torn away as I vomited a monstrous river of flame.

I dropped to my knees, blinking a couple of times. Kurogiba shook himself out, nose to tail. He scowled.

"I – _detest_ doing that…"

"I know, Ani-ue." I patted his neck as I got stiffly to my feet. "I know…"

The first thing that needed to be done was taking account of my injuries, as no focus could be spared for healing while Kurogiba poured himself into destroying and I safeguarded our souls. Finding nothing serious by our standards, I was able to at last turn my attention to the world around me.

My breath caught. I passed my eyes over the stained earth and the bodies strewn over it; bracing myself, I took a deep breath of the delectable stench and looked down to find my body splatterpainted with foreign blood, my forearms absolutely soaked in it. My mind flashed to a winter day…

A hand met my shoulder, and I turned to see Naruto, stained as well in streaks of hot red life. His eyes, icily unreadable, were trained pointedly on the earth even as he gave my shoulder a squeeze. Lee walked up at my other side, face just as stern as he shook his head left and right with a solemn air before he looked up – directly forward.

I followed his gaze, and I understood. Swallowing a knot in my throat, I joined the others in meeting the stunned eyes of our jounin. I forced myself not to flinch as I found Kurenai-sensei to be staring straight at me, lips parted, her face white as a sheet. Among the prisoners Kakashi alone seemed unsurprised; a bit confused, maybe, but he hid it well and scratched his head. I saw Tsunade sigh, and Jiraiya nodded slowly, approvingly, his visage firm.

Our jounin. For them, right now, we needed to stay strong. Naruto's simple statement lifted a paralysis from the frozen, soundless world.

"We're walking out of here."

First raid, on prison number nine – successful.

* * *

**Twenty-One, Part Two: Object in Motion**

**Hanabi ****ハナビ**

I gasped as the cool water splashed refreshingly on my face. Having sparred a few minutes ago with Kotetsu-sensei, I was taking a short break from training and reflecting on the battle. I sat back at the edge of the pond; the other four, vague as shadows, hung back silently in the shade of a sturdy oak's leaves, leaving me to a hard-earned break and some semblance of privacy. Across the small pool, on a path that ran by a little way off, a flicker of pink caught my eye. I looked up.

"Hm? Hey, Sakura!" I called, waving. "Hello!"

The older girl was jogging; spotting me, she halted and stepped in place, keeping her pace up though she was obviously weary. "Hi, Hanabi-chan!" she called back. "How's it going?"

"Fine. You seem to be getting in a lot of running lately!" I remarked.

My friend smirked. "I have to train much harder," she said resolutely. "The next time we fight, I'll be able to give you a real battle!"

I grinned. "I'll look forward to it!" I said, and she nodded and continued on her way.

New excitement lighting up inside me, I got up to hurry over to the others. Hiryuu was gazing off into the distance, his Byakugan fully awake and focused; he deactivated the bloodline limit and looked to me as I approached. "Finished already, m'lady?"

I nodded. "I can keep going!"

"Hm…" He glanced back in the direction of whatever had held his attention before; I activated my own white eyes, wondering what he could be looking at.

"What's wrong?"

Hiryuu chuckled, patting my shoulder. "You won't be able to see that far just yet, Lady Hanabi. I've noticed… New Oto's movements have been unusual lately…"

I frowned. "Like…?"

"They don't quite seem to be up to something…" He shook his head. "I'll inform Hakage-sama, in case this is of significance."

"Okay," I said, and with this permission he vanished.

* * *

**Neji ****ネジ**

Second Otokage Yakushi Kabuto, dead. An entire battalion, right along with him.

"How could this happen?" I murmured.

Orochimaru sighed, displeased; the kneeling messenger flinched and bowed his head lower to the floor, quavering in fear. The Godaime spoke. "To think that Kabuto would fail me… I quite liked that one." He did not look toward me, and surprised me with his next words. "Neji-kun – what would you do in response to this, hmm…?"

I thought briefly. "We – we stop them. Even if I must go out there and do it myself…"

Milord snickered. "Kukukuku… Not a _bad_ thought, perhaps… but though I hold nothing but the utmost confidence in your abilities, those people are not worth taking such chances…"

"Our shinobi are dying, m'lord," I said. "Two dozen prisoners have gone free. Just say the word, and I will crush the fugitives' little ploy where it stands…"

"Good enthusiasm… I've come to expect no less of you, Neji-kun. But we've not yet completed your cultivation, you see… In any case, I am undisposed to rushing in without consideration.

"You will gather a team and head to the site of the incident, Neji-kun. Investigate, and report back to me."

"Sir," I said, nodding. "But…"

"Hm…?"

"What are we to do about the escapees? If the fugitives continue, and are allowed to amass forces like this…"

The Hokage grinned. "The jounin they _believe_ they've rescued… will not be a problem for long."

* * *

**Lee ****リー**

Kakashi cried out aloud where he lay, eyes tightly shut, blood staining his mask at his mouth. His voice was strained as he let out a series of high, senseless utterances that seemed to be of pain. It was growing more difficult for him to breathe.

Tsunade swore, hands aglow at his forehead and abdomen. "All I can do is try to ease the pain…"

Helpless in this situation, I did what little I could do in lending Asuma-sensei my hand to grip as he whimpered and murmured and sweated in his sleep.

We were camped a ways along the bed of a narrow river at a valley floor. Almost mad wails of despair, from one person or another, were interspersed in the air with agonized moans. Withdrawal.

Kakashi-sensei and Asuma-sensei were the furthest along.

"Th-thanks," Kakashi got out once the attack subsided, accepting a small towel from Shizune to wipe the blood under his mask. "Clever bastards," he groaned. "A ridiculously addictive stimulant that, once a steady supply of doses is interrupted, shifts to grow volatile as a p-poison… This is their fail-safe – imprisoned, we're stupid and controllable; freed, we're just _dead_…"

"_Nobody's_ dying, you fool," Tsunade growled. Again she cursed Yakushi Kabuto.

_The antidote, in effect, lies in the drug itself… but in order to free them from it, some alternative must be found. _Figuring it out was proving a challenge, even for Tsunade-sama.

"Hinata," the blonde sannin called, "how long ago did you give them water?"

The girl snapped to attention. "Some seventy minutes, ma'am."

Tsunade nodded. "Go ahead and fetch some more."

"Hai," the girl called, heading for the river with Gaara at her side. Perhaps nearly as helpless here as I was, Jiraiya-sama rocked on his heels and followed to help them.

* * *

**Hinata ****ヒナタ**

"There…" After she finished her water, I helped her lie back again on the pallet beneath her.

I looked around the tent, seeing Gaara and Jiraiya finishing up; we'd given all of them a sip to drink. So, it should be okay if I lingered here a while…

My gaze returned to the elite ninja to find her eyes already on me – eyes that had always been red and on the surface even intimidating, but now were cracked in pain, their sclera bloodshot. She gave a feeble smile, and I returned it as best I could. I only _wanted_ to cry. I _needed_ to be strong.

She reached up, momentarily brushing my face with her hand before going on to touch one lupine ear. "You've changed…" I nodded softly, and her cold hand fell to rest at my heart. "Here, too…"

I covered her hand with mine, cradling it at my chest. "A lot… a lot has happened, sensei. To all of us."

"I've missed so much… You've grown up, Hinata."

Bending over her, I offered a hug, my chin over her shoulder. "Maybe…" Reluctantly, I pulled away. "But we'll have plenty of time to catch up – after Tsunade-sama figures out the antidote for this thing." I started to my feet.

"I'll look forward to it, then … hearing your story."

"Hai, Kurenai-sensei. It's a promise."

I turned my head, looking toward the exit of the tent. _Naruto…_

* * *

His scent led me up a path and to the roof of the valley. Emerging in the open air, I turned to see him forty meters down, hands resting in his lap.

I know he sensed me approaching, but he neither turned nor spoke. I knelt at his back; my hands slipped forward at his sides and draped my arms about his front. My head nestled itself over his shoulder, so that our cheeks touched.

"What are you doing?" I asked, gazing out across the gorge as he was.

His hand lifted, cupping my cheek before nestling his fingertips up into my hair. "Keeping watch."

My eyes shut, and I breathed him in – smelled his strength, his sorrow, as surely as it wept into my hand at his heart, as surely as it was my own. "Naruto-kun… what _are_ you doing, really? What are you thinking…?"

He shook his head wearily. "You already know, Hinata…"

"I do; I do, because I feel it as well. I, and Lee-kun… we all do. We chose to bear this suffering together…" My hands slid down his arms, and my palms came to rest at the backs of his hands; our fingers twined, loosely. "And because we did, there is blood on every one of these hands, a plague of horror and sorrow. But you, Naruto-kun…"

I opened my mouth, sipped in his scent; it was the same scent he had always had. It healed me.

"There's something you can do that Lee-kun and I can't. You know what it is."

"Hinata…"

I pulled away and stood, giving his shoulder a squeeze, and as he finally looked to meet my eyes I offered him a hand.

"Come on, Naruto-kun. There are lives to be saved, aren't there?"

* * *

**Neji ****ネジ**

"You're taking her with you."

I sighed. "I am. Her, along with Haritsu, Harumaru, Hireiki, and a few Oto shinobi."

"Why not me?"

"Tenten…"

The two of us had been set to go meet up with the rest of our team when Tenten stopped us in the hall. Brown eyes leaving mine, she glared past me at Hiyuki, guarded. Though her gaze was combative, Hiyuki did not respond aside of staring back inexpressively. Tenten looked to me again. "She goes everywhere with you, Neji."

"She is my bodyguard."

"You don't need a bodyguard."

I felt Hiyuki wince behind me.

"_Tenten_." I stepped toward her, and Tenten stepped back uncertainly. Still I approached, and she allowed me to near her. I folded an arm around her waist, cupped her head in my hand; then I turned and pushed her against the wall beside us.

"N-Neji!" Eyes edging toward Hiyuki, she tried to push me away, turning her head aside before my lips could claim hers. I took her chin in my hand and made her face me again, and her tentativeness over kissing me in front of the other girl vanished as I captured her, drawing her into a short, heated exchange.

More promptly than she would have liked me to I pulled away, and she attempted briefly to follow before her eyes opened, yearning. Then, regaining herself, she looked toward Hiyuki to see her gazing inexpressively toward us, waiting in respectful silence.

Tenten's confusion was put at bay as she gasped, cheeks flushing as her attention swiftly returned to me. "Neji," she managed, her voice high. My hand lingered at her buttock, gripping softly before moving on, stroking lightly down the back of her thigh.

"You're my one and my only, Tenten…" My hand rose, slid slowly up her side, until my fingers drifted to ever so lightly graze the side of her chest. My voice was low. "I thought you knew that. But it… _hurts_ me to see that you hold so little faith in me…"

A fang had edged along her ear as I spoke. Her breaths were falling light and quick. "That's not how I feel," she protested. "I didn't say that…!"

"You'll believe me, then, when I vow that my heart rests with you, and you alone…?"

"O-of course…"

Her eyes were moist around the edges as I moved my hand, lessening her blissful discomfort, before I continued. "Good girl…" I whispered. "I need someone here who I can trust in my absence, Tenten. Aid Orochimaru-sama; keep an eye on Uchiha… Can you do this for me?"

"I can."

"Good. I will return to you soon enough."

* * *

**Hinata ****ヒナタ**

It was almost frightening, watching them work. In a whirling frenzy of efficiency the three medics tested antidote after antidote; one rolled the already prepared scroll on the table to an untouched seal ring. A commanding voice issued ingredients and quantities to be gathered. Swift hands summoned needed substances or herbs if they had not been called up already; leaves or roots passed hands and were diced by a swift, keen knife, collected, pushed on to another, ground up in mere moments, and combined with a liquid solution just as its concoction was completed. Two hands releasing chakra in different directions whipped the mixture in its beaker, and before it could so much as finish twirling another's hand would dip in with a dropper, retrieve a precise morsel, and deliver it swiftly to the center of the seal circle on the scroll, the poison scroll that had been given an isolated sample of the toxin and would react upon exposure to a neutralizing compound. Nothing happened. The three put their heads together, spoke medicinal jargon in short, cool sentences, a nod here, an inference there, notes scribbled down, and the scroll was rolled on to the next fresh test space as the process renewed itself, unfatigued, undiscouraged. Not four minutes passed without a new mixture's testing.

What with the snatches of their distinctive vocabulary my ears caught and fumbled around with, glimpses of their measured haste, and the constant calm acuity these three exhibited, this life-saving business made my mind reel. I continued to pray silently, clambering with the rest of the others about camp, draping a damp towel over many a burning, sweating forehead, dispensing from behind strong faces what short-term comfort and half-empty words of reassurance we could muster.

"Naruto, did you hear me? The root tips, not the leaves!"

At Tsunade's bark he started and uttered an apology. I saw him switch knife hands in a flash, blink salt from his eyes, and yelp as a cut leaked crimson from the back of his knuckle.

"Stay focused, Naruto-kun," Shizune urged, taking over the chopping for the moment.

"Don't get careless just because you're quick on the recovery," Tsunade called, focused though she was on adding another liquid to a steaming solution. "Without steady hands you'll make no surgeon!"

"Hai!" he replied, setting his uninjured hand aglow with green light.

Then, I found I had come to his side. "Naruto-kun…"

Our eyes met a moment. Without words he offered his hand, I took it, and my tongue darted a few quick times across the cut – taking in a morsel of fresh lifeblood so sweet that I shuddered, but, in exchange for my restraint, cleansing the wound and setting it on its way to sealing.

Naruto hissed quietly; he had told me before how such healings stung. Still, he gripped my shoulder with a nod of thanks, and we turned and separated to head back to our tasks.

…Or rather, we tried to. I think? Some way or another, Naruto apparently forgot to let go of my shoulder. We were still for a moment. Then a nonsense-cry of surprise sounded behind me, and he pulled me back, facing me again, catching both my shoulders in his hands and looking at me with wide eyes. "Hinata!"

"Wh-what?" I asked, startled. He now took my hand, in a few steps leading me to the main table of the three they'd set up.

"Naruto?" Tsunade began.

"Hinata!" the boy exclaimed, "Spit on this scroll!"

Deciding to take his word for it, I did as told. A glob of spit hit the scroll, right where a drop of the antidote would have gone. And nothing happened.

…Even without knowing what he was expecting to happen, I felt kind of silly.

Tsunade raised an unamused eyebrow. Naruto, however, paid no mind; for four seconds his eyes were narrowed, his thoughts flying. He snapped his fingers, eyes lighting up, and his gaze wheeled to face the slug sannin. "Granny, roll the scroll to the next spot – please! You have to trust me here!"

Her face was skeptical; there was no time to waste. Still, if Naruto had an idea, I'd put my money on it without a second guess. "Tsunade-sama, you won't give up on Naruto so quickly, will you? Novice or not, think of who he is – he won't mess this up!"

Under our two sets of eyes, Tsunade nodded soon enough. "Okay," she said, preparing the next antidote testing seal.

"Shizune-san," Naruto said, turning, "I need a couple of milliliters from the isolated toxin sample. May I?" When she nodded and passed him the small jar that contained the poison, he unscrewed the lid and drew a bit of the liquid into a dropper. He spoke as he did this. "A wound that's licked by Hinata never turns up infected. Rust, foreign blood, mud, dirty water… whatever sort of contaminant may have found its way to the wound, Hinata's saliva takes care of it sure as if I'd swabbed it with disinfectant myself." He looked at me. "We never put a lot of thought into it before, but it's something in your demon magic, isn't it? If I'm right, then the same way your body's protected from poisoning and sickness, some of… whatever it is as makes that so, youki or whatever it may be, bleeds into your saliva to neutralize – theoretically – any harmful substance."

I gasped as I understood. My eyes moved to the dropper he held. "So if I get a taste of the poison…"

He nodded, following my gaze. "Your saliva might adapt specifically to neutralize it."

Blushing slightly, I opened my mouth. Naruto squirted the two droplets of poison onto my tongue. It tasted unpleasant enough, but I let the poison sit a few seconds before I shut my mouth, swished it around a bit, and swallowed. I opened again; Naruto teased a short, flat stick carefully under my tongue a few moments, and then drew it away with a fair bead of watery saliva on its end. I nodded when he met my eyes again, and he moved to touch the saliva sample to the heart of the new seal diagram on the scroll.

The black seal circle lit up green. A burst of smoke popped from the center, and the symbol that had resided there was gone.

Tsunade swore in wonder. Naruto threw his arms around me, hitting me a good few cuffs on the back. His mirth caught as he lifted me up, spun me in a circle, and soon the both of us were laughing like joyous fools.

When he put me down and we separated, Tsunade thrust a waterskin in front of my face.

"Drink up," she said, hiding a grin. "We'll need you to make a lot of spit."

* * *

As it turned out, however, mere saliva injections wouldn't do to save our guys.

I groaned where I sat. Seated, so I would be more relaxed. My hands gripped my knees in sheer disturbing anticipation, even though we'd yet to begin the procedure.

Tsunade's attempt to analyze the composition of my adapted saliva proved useless; the only property that it held for certain was that it neutralized the poison we were working with. To our dismay, even that property could not be maintained for long: we found that moments after leaving my mouth, the neutralizing capability faded from my spit. It would be impossible to mix it with a solution and load into an injection needle, let alone try to keep it stored in a container like a regular, less troublesome antidote. It would seem its power was in some manner based in my youki. Unless exposed to what it was meant to nullify and another source of life, taken away from me my saliva was no more useful to anyone than ordinary spit. It was like whatever god or demon had drawn up the rules to this had ensured there were no loopholes as to ways I could share my immunity with another.

So, to my awkward dismay, the only option was direct contact.

Sitting up on the pallet in front of me, the first subject took off his shirt. Why not the arm? Of _course_, Tsunade said, the closer to the heart, the better for dispersion into the bloodstream. And we didn't need cloth absorbing any of the 'injection.' I told him to try not to move, though he seemed well calmer than I.

I was half demon. I was also half human. And I was about to do something dreadfully delightful.

I sank my teeth into Kakashi-sensei's neck.

I grunted. He was no Naruto – nowhere near as pleasurably delicious – but it was new blood, with its own unique zest and strength, and it made me shiver. It was attractive, despite the taint it held.

That taint I detected – that was what I was here for. To put it lightly, it wasn't difficult to salivate in this condition. I stopped drawing in, letting my mouth water a bit longer before I made an effort of pushing back, along my invading fangs.

In a minute I pulled away, gasping, and shook my head. Kakashi started, having fallen into the daze, and looked around as if to remember what was going on. The jounin who were awake and sitting up were largely staring at us, skeptical. Never at once had so many people who knew me been gawking at me like I was a freak!

I blinked, busying myself with getting my head in order. A touch of Naruto's healing chakra was erasing the clean wound by his sensei's neck.

"Well?" Tsunade asked the man. "How do you feel?"

"W… wonderful," he said, almost alarmed.

"Unfortunately, that might just be the typical work of a Demon's Bite," Naruto pointed out, slapping his sensei over his freshly healed shoulder. The blond was about as fond of this method as I was.

But it worked. Minutes later Tsunade drew a final blood sample from Kakashi. It came out clean.

On to the next one I went…

* * *

This was torture.

I was overloaded with vigor. I didn't _need_ vigor; I need focus. _Variety_ was affecting me all the more strongly than sheer amount ever could. How many was this? Seven? So fresh, so new. Power raged in my veins. My body was working me up into a mindset conducive to mowing down enemies, snapping bones in my grip, or tearing creatures limb from limb. I ignored it and concentrated on what I had to do.

* * *

When I pulled from Kurenai-sensei, I immediately slammed my elbow against my tail on the ground. My eyes snapped wide, but I made myself stay – my power, sapping, my dangerous high diminishing.

I shook my head at their concern when I righted myself again. I wasn't done.

* * *

I didn't feel it when shaking claws pierced my knees; I would only notice the marks later. My blood boiled with excitement. Every tingling inch of my skin seemed to blaze, bursting with desire for motion. My head felt abuzz with activity, my mind doubly, no, at least triply awake. Everything in a glorious frenzy, and I was sitting still.

My face was hot. I did my best to withhold any… _noises_, for my pride as well as Naruto's sake.

* * *

FXXX sXXX damn it all to _Hell! !_

"_Sake_," I growled harshly, a hand gripping my belly. It was hard to talk. "Even a l-little bit… _**Now**__._" Or so help me, I would hurt someone.

Not intentionally.

Probably.

Naruto patted my back carefully, but his calming hand just wasn't doing it for me at the moment. He shook his head. "You know we can't. Even if it would cut the energy rush, we don't need your body to get focused on neutralizing booze instead of poison."

"You're doing fine," Tsunade put in, "And you're almost done."

I struggled to speak through teeth gritted in a snarl.

"Excuse me a minute."

* * *

**Naruto ****ナルト**

The figure in the distance sent great blades of darkness blasting into stones and rock formations around it before testing claws on everything nearby, springing and darting and slashing about insanely. A tree was uprooted and swung, smashed through the trunk of another and slammed to the earth so that it broke up as well, and the half still held was sent hurtling and with a crack splintering over the cliffside. The strike of a blazing-black claw brought a boulder to pieces, and the figure reared up and sent angry gouts of flame tearing and billowing crazily into the sky. In a second a demonic roar faintly met my ears.

In fact, she didn't take longer than a minute. "Better?" I asked as Hinata trotted up again.

"Much."

* * *

**Neji ****ネジ**

"Kuso…"

_Was this… a mistake? Did they even slow them down…?_

"Lord Hyuuga…"

I shook my head at the remains of the prison. To my Hyuuga I said, "Get us a count." The other squad was to identify the dead.

Orders given, I walked out into the ruin with my Byakugan active. I scanned the bodies as I walked, reading the tale of the battle that had taken place here – a battle, if it could be called even that. Some had suffered the snapped neck, or some other grievous blow or club to the wrong place. Overwhelming, however, were the gouges of blades, stab wounds, or the shredding slash marks associated with wind chakra; in a number of places it appeared many, aligned, had been felled by this means in the same stroke. And, in some areas…

_Claw marks?_

A smile curled across my lips. "Hmf."

Once I had moved beyond the main range of the slaughter and nearer the prison itself, I came upon the most important reason we were here. I pulled a scroll from my pack.

_No need to name a new Otokage, you say… _I ran through a string of seals. _In fact, no need for them to know the old one ever left…_

After Kabuto's sorry body was safely sealed in the scroll, I gave it a toss with a chuckle. Catching it, I stowed it in my pack again.

I returned to the others. With their eyes, my Hyuuga had already confirmed a number, and I frowned. Either way, now all that remained to be done was the task of identification and documentation. I could think of better ways to spend my time…

Kneeling by a certain mess of dried red in the dirt, I signaled the Hyuuga over.

"What think you of this scent?" I asked as they joined me.

Haritsu spoke first. "It is odd…"

"Like _us_…" Hireiki observed.

"But somehow very different," Hiyuki finished. "Is it… family?"

I grinned. "I suppose you could call it that." I drew my fingers through the powder of blood and dirt, lifting a handful. I breathed her in with relish, the scent as strong and repulsive as if she stood before me, her frail neck in my grasp – and my fist clenched so tightly it popped, scattering the dust in my hand. "It _is_ family… and it… is _disgusting_."

I rose to my feet. "They can't have gotten far – not with so many drugged shinobi with them."

"Then…?"

"So… Why don't we drop in to say 'hello,' shall we?"

As one we flickered; then, together, we were racing in the direction of the scent trail. Not only the reek of that urchin, but the musk of a couple dozen prisoners painted the way all too clearly. They must have stopped to rest somewhere. At this speed, we could be upon them in minutes.

"Those fodder back there didn't stand a chance," I said. "But us? At the very least, _we_ can provide them a more accurate image of reality." And what I wouldn't give to mar their triumph with blood, to deal the fools a taste of the truest despair.

A stretch of silence but for the ghosting steps of several racing pairs of feet ensued – then, with a snarl of _"There!"_ I leapt with the others into the air above a ravine, the sun at my back.

A series of body flickers brought us down the valley walls until at once we touched down. I landed with one knee down, slamming into the ground a fist that buckled the earth.

I lifted my gaze with a gruff growl. "We missed them…"

"Seems so…" Haritsu said, standing and looking around. "A day? Maybe two?"

"Yes," I agreed. "The stench is heavy because they stayed here for a time, but somehow they've continued on." _There is no smell of death… Did they uncover an antidote? _That, however, was another team's to investigate. "Straying much further from the others would be pushing the limits of our mission orders. We head back."

The rest of the squad was finishing up as we arrived at the prison. I checked to ensure those our lord wished pulled aside had been; I scanned the documentation of the dead. That in order, I turned my attention to the pile of corpses.

I sighed, lifting my hand and dropping it in signal. "You were unfortunate," I noted as a chuunin launched from his mouth a heavy cloud of sticky gas onto the motionless heap. "But Destiny knows no partiality. You served well, comrades."

I struck a match and tossed it. The fallen roared into a pyre of flame.

* * *

**Lee ****リー**

"Do not even THINK of slowing down now!" I shouted. "You know who you are – you are the warriors who bear the fate of the Leaf upon your shoulders! You have a reason to fight! Take strength in this, as I have, and no challenge may dwell beyond your abilities!" I glanced over my shoulder. "Chouza-san, try not to fall behind!"

"Right!" the Akimichi grunted, pushing to catch up to the group.

Months in prison had left our jounin as out of shape as they were out of practice. They were the elites, however, hardened and proud; understanding the situation, they faced up to it and did not complain no matter how rigorous the exercise. Thus we were leading them today through a crash-course training routine of an intensity that would have moved Guy-sensei to hot-blooded tears of joy.

"That is it! What every one of you is doing right now determines the fate of your comrades and your village! The Sound believes it can keep you down – Prove it wrong! Come! Let me hear your passion, your unconquerable spirit!"

"_Aa! !_"

Noting the position of the sun in the sky, I slowed to a halt as we completed our circular route – through dense woods and treetops, lighter woods, a leap across a river, through hills, up a cliffside, down a slope, into the woods again – for what must have been the umpteenth time. "Good work. And, here we are!"

We had organized swiftly. The jounin moved in groups through a rotation consisting loosely of an hour of sparring and various exercises to refresh their senses to battle, an hour of hard running to rebuild stamina, and thirty minutes for soup and rest.

No part of this routine could rightly be called one bit less an endeavor than the rest.

"Oh, boy…" Chouza muttered to Tsunade's grin as he accepted a bowl of thick, milky soup. From the responses I had seen and heard yet, it tasted chiefly of vitamins, minerals, herbs, and potato – in that order.

"Eat up," Tsunade said cheerily, ladling up another dish of mush. "You're malnourished. Whatever the taste, five bowls of this a day will have you up to snuff in no time!"

I looked to spot the sparring group a short way off. As we had arrived a tad late for the rotation, I thought the group set to run next would have been waiting, but it appeared at present that their attention remained on fighting of some sort. After getting a quick sip of water from the stream, I voiced this to Tsunade; the woman chuckled.

"Go see for yourself. Tired or not, a group of eager ninja tends to keep itself busy."

I walked over to see that few were in fact still sparring. The center of attention I easily discovered to be two kunoichi, and I broke into an all-out grin.

"_YOOOOSSHHH!_" I bellowed, clenching my fist. "All right! There truly can be NOTHING more poignant than a bout between SENSEI and PUPIL!"

Naruto chuckled at my outburst, though he, too, was watching raptly as the former leader of Team Eight hashed it out with her student. Closely as he was watching, I felt certain that Naruto had noticed as well; though the younger kunoichi might have appeared at first glance to be on the defensive and unable to manage many counterattacks, I could tell she was sizing her opponent up. But to what purpose…?

Surely enough, in the blink of an eye the battle tipped end over end. Hinata ducked under a strike whilst turning from her opponent and jamming her heel – a Gentle kick, probably – down into the roof of Kurenai's foot. The jounin yelped, and with no further delay Hinata's strong elbow was snapping up into Kurenai's jaw. A wicked spin, and the side of her hand struck into the center of the older kunoichi's collarbone, a high strike that curtly knocked her to the ground.

When Kurenai's crimson eyes opened a moment later, clawed nails were resting at her neck. She blinked, incredulous. "Hinata…?"

Hinata stood, and with a soft smile gave her teacher a hand up. "I told you, sensei; you won't need to go easy on me anymore."

Ah. So she had been testing to ascertain just how seriously Kurenai-sensei would go at her. Likely reaching the same realization, Kurenai smiled with a soft laugh. "Of course. I'll be remembering that for next time, you," she warned, tapping a fond fist to her student's shoulder.

"Our kids have definitely gotten tougher." The two looked up at the new voice as Kakashi stepped nonchalantly from the crowd. "But for now… Naruto, Lee, hop to it," he ordered, his cool eye singling us out easily. "Now that my head's straight on my shoulders, I'd like a minute to _really_ see just what you've made of yourselves…"

_So cool…! _My blood had jumped to a boil in the time it took me to step up to Hinata's side. I clenched a fist. "I shall give you a most splendid fight, sir – as the student of your eternal rival!"

Naruto appeared at our side, a neat smirk on his face giving tell of his eagerness. "You sure you're ready for this, sensei?"

"Well, I'd say it's only ten years too early for you to be worrying about me…"

I had only an instant to spot the kunai slipping into his hand.

_CLANG! ! !_

Eight minutes the four of us spent locked in the rigor of combat. In the midst of battle, no communication was required for Naruto and me to know Hinata _let_ the fist get at her stomach. Braced for the hit, she grunted and quickly grabbed his arm. Naruto was already throwing a Shadow Strike – a sliding kick coming in fast for Kakashi's ankles forced the man to jump. Just as he did, my shin sailed over Hinata's ducked head and clear into Kakashi's face.

He sprang off a hand to land in a crouch, eyes sharp on us. Then he rose to full height with a sigh, waving his hand before pulling a plain black headband back down so that it covered his Sharingan eye. "Phew… They're little jounin," he announced simply.

"Y-you really think so, sir?" Hinata said in surprise, while Naruto piped up in complaint as to what he meant by 'little.'

Kakashi nodded. "Believe it or not, I'm actually a bit stronger than most jounin. Numbers on your side or not, that all three of you are still standing is fairly impressive. Lord Jiraiya, Lady Tsunade, is this your doing…?"

Tsunade shook her head. "Found 'em like that, more or less…"

"Let's not forget – I may not look it, but I've only been out of my cell a day longer than you have," Jiraiya added. "Hardly enough time for even a master of _my_ caliber to hammer any of my brilliant tutelage into them."

Naruto raised his hand coolly, tapping the back of his heel with the toe of his foot, and spoke. "If I may? We got hit by the real world, and a lot of it. And still…" His eyes swept slowly over the two sannin, the many jounin, Gaara – and finally returned to Hinata and I. "There were things that needed to be done. All we did was become as strong as we needed to be to do them."

Kakashi nodded. "So the hardiness, the teamwork, the outright power, and the sharpness of skill… It was what you needed to survive. And now, here you are – not only have you survived, but now, as true Leaf shinobi, stand as the most unlikely of heroes. Naruto… You did well. All of you have."

I smiled. "But it is not over yet, sensei," I pointed out.

"He's right, y'know? We can't say we've succeeded just yet – not until we get the rest of our guys busted out, and put that Orochimaru in his place," Naruto said, and Hinata nodded.

"Of course," Kakashi said, and a spirited shout of agreement rose up from the jounin.

"Then what are we waiting for? !" I cried, pumping my fist into the air. "Let us continue training! The next group to jog – follow ME!" I bellowed, racing off. Several sets of feet followed.

A new vigor was in the air, building up all around us.

"Aren't you tired?" Asuma joked.

"I am EXHAUSTED and I do not CARE!" I scoffed, earning a rumble of laughter from the group.

A new vigor, burning to make itself known.

Today, we trained.

Tomorrow, we would separate into squads. One group – the base – would stay behind and look after fresh escapees, as well as those slower to recover their strength. Two others would strike two prisons down simultaneously and then divide into four – two escorting the escapees back to base, while two small, elite teams moved on to hopefully bring two more prisons to the ground.

Right here, right now – this was only the beginning.

* * *

**Hanabi ****ハナビ**

"_Hanabi!_"

I've seen some friends greet each other by sneaking up to launch a surprise hug. Not mine, though. _This_ kid, while squealing my name as a joyful hello, leapt at me from behind with an honest attempt to knock my head off.

I blocked his kick with one forearm by my head so that I could use the other hand to jab a tenketsu above his ankle. Then I snapped to backhand him across the face; since he was still on one foot, the bruising blow sent him to the ground.

"Sheesh! It's like you two are getting more violent every time you meet," Sakura remarked as she approached. Kiba was with them, too, and Chouji. What were all of them together for?

"That's the mark of true rivals!" Konohamaru chirped to Sakura as he sat up.

"Come on, you use that for everything!" I complained, pointing. "What do you want, anyways?"

"What do…? Oh, right, right!" he yelled, leaping to his feet in excitement. Hands fisted eagerly, he leaned– _waaay_ into my personal bubble. "You've heard the news, right? !"

"Your breath stinks! What news are you talking about?" I looked to him and the others. There were grins all around. "If it's that they caught the rabbit that was getting into the cucumber crop, I already heard it from Aoba-sensei."

"It was a rabbit?" Kiba asked, and Sakura cuffed him over the shoulder.

"No, it's way bigger news we're talking about here! You really haven't heard?"

"Yeah!" Chouji pitched in, grinning. "What word we can get from outside has it they're rolling through Hi no Kuni like a wildfire–!"

"Wildfire? No, more like a hurricane, hurricane–!"

"–Toppling every enemy that dares cross their path!"

"'They'? Who's they?"

"Our jounin– they got Tsunade-sama and Jiraiya-sama together with them, and now they're freeing our jounin, smashing prison after prison–!"

"Wait, hold on – the 'they' you're talking about–?"

"The Sound's chasing its tail just trying to figure out what to do! Heck, they're wetting their beds if they dare fall asleep!"

"Arr, arf!"

"Now it's begun, and they ain't slowing down–,"

"And who's at the fore of it all?" Sakura picked up enthusiastically. "You won't believe this. It's–!"

"Three valiant young souls, back from the dead!" Konohamaru interjected, lifting his hands dramatically.

"Demons, the cowards like to call 'em – come to deal retribution on the Sound!" Kiba growled heartily, lifting Konohamaru's fist in his own.

"Stop! Just stop!" I groaned. "Guys – these _pronouns_…"

Sakura chuckled as the merry crowd cooled down. The older girl put a hand on my shoulder. "Apparently three Leaf shinobi have spearheaded the whole thing. To Oto they were the face of the enemy, and now they're becoming the face, the _hope_, of the resistance. They're calling them _heroes_, Hanabi."

All of this was too much to process. But… "Three of them… heroes?"

Could it be…?

Sakura nodded. "It's…"

* * *

**Naruto ****ナルト**

The seventeenth of August. Our ranks were fast approaching the triple digits; we'd busted five prisons in the days since Kakashi-sensei's.

As our group skulked though the trees, two things were seriously bothering me.

First, if it were a little more than remotely possible, I would have thought that Hinata and I both were coming down with something.

The second was that I _really_ wished a certain perverted hermit would _stop talking to me_.

"Achoof!"

"You need to get that checked out, kiddo, before you alert the whole prison to our arrival!" he said quietly. "But returning to the topic at hand…"

"_No_, let's not, actually," I opted as he waggled his eyebrows suggestively. It _was_ a relief that a little over a week of proper nourishment, activity, and human interaction had the old guy acting like himself again, but he was doing his best, it seemed, to make this a mixed blessing.

"C'mon, tiger!" he jeered, slinging an arm around my shoulder as we walked. We were talking low so that others wouldn't pick up on the conversation, but all the same… "I've been itching to talk to you about it, and I caught those looks you were snatching at breakfast this morning, you sneaky little…"

"Th-this is disrespectful. Inappropriate," I whispered, blushing. She was ten strides in front of us, for the kami's sake, and this train of conversation was not helping me refrain from … _admiring_, her – _figure_ – as she walked, walked that lilting, smoothly silent walk.

"There's no sense being shy! It's only natural to let your eyes have at their exploring. It's what they're there for!" He lowered his voice. "But boy, do you know how to pick 'em! A nice shape, well-endowed and still developing…" I did _not_ appreciate the way he clenched and unclenched both hands before his chest. "Muscled, but not _too_ muscled; stout without being plump. Not bad in the face either, and exotic as they come, to boot. And a _Hyuuga_, at that, you naughty scoundrel!"

"Yes, she is quite gorgeous. She is also half-demon, and, indeed, a Hyuuga. I've. _Noticed_."

"Oho, pardon, pardon! So," he began, lowering his mouth by my ear and strumming his fingers on my shoulder. "Have you ever… felt her up?"

At this he received not only a staff to the forehead, but also one furiously blushing, five-foot-tall han'you shaking him out by the shoulders with a rapid hiss of "_Stupid perverted old man!_"

_Right… She has really good hearing…! _I realized belatedly as I stumbled from my staff strike and tried to wipe the blood spilling from my nose. And thank the kami I had been wise about my words, I thought, as she shoved Jiraiya to a tree five meters back and stormed silently back up to her position in the formation.

The others who could see us at present blinked questioningly; scratching my nose, I waved to carry on. Jiraiya returned to my side with a pout, thumbing the red mark on his forehead.

"Anyways, it's time to focus," I said. We were minutes from a prison now. "Bushy Brow was upset enough that he's not in the group to bust this one. He can and will kill us if we screw it up."

* * *

Raid on prison number fourteen, successful. Lee's group's raid had also fared well; by now we were all safely back at the current designated base. Hinata was working through another self-control exercise, so to speak, in tending to those fresh additions who'd been poisoned in their captivity. And Lee…

"G-G-Guy-sensei…!"

"L-L-Lee…!"

"Guy-_sensei_!"

"Lee!"

"Guy–!"

"Say no more words, you splendid youth, you!" Guy shouted, grabbing Lee in a hardcore painful-looking hug. "My pride for you right now is burning like magma in the heart of the mightiest volcano on the face of this earth! You've been through a lot, Lee, but I'm here for you now! Let it all out!"

"Y-y-_yes_, _sir!_" Lee bawled into the man's chest, hugging back and completing the single most adorable and disturbing scene I hoped to ever witness.

* * *

The twenty-first of August. The day before, our force had swelled beyond the one-hundred mark. Something or other was on our side, if not pure grit and determination; not one raid had yet met failure, and perhaps more miraculously, we'd suffered injuries here and there but not a single death.

"_Ack!_"

"Lee-kun!" Hinata barked in concern, deflecting a spray of shuriken even as she bled at the arm. "Daijoubu da?"

We three were together on this one. Tsunade and Jiraiya were heading two other strikes.

"I am fine," Lee said, applying pressure over a messy gouge in his forearm.

"What about you?" I called to Hinata, sharply fending off a pair of Oto chuunin at our backs as Gaara swiftly dealt with more coming from the side.

"I'll be fine. Lee-kun, take my bag!" she said, tossing her pack his way. "There's a waterskin in it – fall back and clean that wound." Her eyes returned to the ANBU we were facing. "If this one's a Wind user, I'll take him. Naruto-kun, get ready to go for the kill."

"Got it."

_We can't lose here… _My teeth gritted. _Not after we were put in charge of this strike._

Hinata's arrow passed through Kurogiba's body as the wolf, engaging the man at close range, was lunging to the side. The ANBU had only an instant to see and react to the speeding projectile, and barely managed to move his head from its path.

Hinata flicked up two fingers with a shout, and the seal talisman wrapped about the arrow's shaft exploded in darkness and flame. I was there in a flash, knocking his feet out before he could regain balance, and with a foot at his back drove the man to the dirt. A whip of my naginata, and the job was done.

"G-good," Hinata panted, coming to my side with her Byakugan turned on the burning prison. "No stragglers," she confirmed before I had to ask, "we just have to keep these guys from giving chase."

"Seven more Oto elites and some change, eh," I grumbled with a smirk. Violet energy seeped forbodingly from my skin as I tapped the fox's chakra. "The guard here was heavier than we anticipated; one or both of us might need to let loose–,"

"_AAAAIIIYYEEEE-HAA-HAHAAAHAAAA! ! !"_

"Get down, quick!"

I looked back at Guy-sensei's voice – and spotted the _problem_ just in time to grab Hinata's arm and flicker from the path of an insane green whirlwind. Lee crashed into the enemies with a barrage of spinning kicks, yowling and scowling and flopping and thrashing about faster than even the elites could react.

"What the – what's wrong with him? !" I shouted to Guy-sensei's mortified face, as thuds and bangs and cracks and screams sailed over from the fiasco.

"He's drunk and he's got _SWORDS!_"

"Drunk? How did… Hinata!"

"A-ah-ano… So maybe the spare waterskin in my bag happened for some odd reason to be filled with something or other like, say, hard liquor or whatnot…" She spewed the stream of words out like they were one and swiftly looked away with an awkward laugh, twiddling her thumbs.

"What the – when did you even…? !"

"_TAAASTE THUH YOUTHFULUL MELODY SONG OF MY FIST!_" SLSSSH–!

"Well, it's working!"

"_WHAD'D'YUU SAY ABOUT G-GUY-SENNNSAAY, YEH BAZZ-TARD? ! !_"

WHOP! WHAM! **CRUNCH!**

Okay, so it _was_ working.

…Anyways, raid on prison five, successful.

* * *

The twenty-third of August. The more we free, the faster our numbers are able to grow. Fortune had again touched us in that a recent raiding group had recovered intel detailing the locations of several prisons, some of which Hinata had not discovered. Scouting parties had checked to confirm three of these locations; the information was true, not a trap left to mislead us. We were so busy these days that I practically had to bark at Hinata to remind her to hunt.

I grinned and stepped from the tree branch.

"_Aaaahh! Help me!_"

With my hollering, it was less than a minute before an Oto patrol squad turned up on the scene. And what a scene they found: A blond teen falling and flailing only to appear ten yards up the moment before hitting the ground. The loop continued, smooth and unbroken, and the brief Shadow Clones left by the repeated substitutions vanished more quickly than they could be easily noticed, fading without so much as a wisp of smoke.

"Wh-what should we do?" one in the group of four rounded on the others, wide-eyed.

"Eh… Maybe–,"

"_Madmen_! Don't come near this accursed spot!" I yowled, falling– falling– falling. "Or you, too, will become ensnared within the cursed portal of infinity, doomed for all time, and I wish this agony on no one!"

That got them to back up a few steps; in the meantime, two more patrol groups arrived. A brief interlude of gawking at the spectacle and frantic discussion above my incessant shrieks later, two of them opted to go get their captain.

_Bingo._

And promptly the two returned, along with the captain _and_ a sizable squad of his own. This was the part where the others in our group would be busting into the prison from the other side–

"Isn't this kid … the Demon Illusionist?"

I dropped onto my feet. "You'd better believe it."

With that I shoved back – and swapped with Hinata, who was lunging forward, fangs bared, claws spread, with a demonic roar of violence.

Remember what I said about our numbers climbing faster the more we freed? The more we freed, the more… _self control exercises_ Hinata got. She was getting better at keeping her wits about her, too – but it still helped to let it out eventually.

The captain's throat was the first to splatter against a tree.

In their midst, she dug claws into both arms and swept her hands out, sending blades of darkness blasting into them. They were largely decimated right there, and I drew a single, slender kunai knife to snipe a few odd fleers who'd escaped her wrath.

"_Charge!_" I bellowed, hurling a smoke bomb high above the trees. Those still hidden among the leaves joined us to converge on the prison at a sprint, emerging from the trees in time to see Akimichi Chouza, as a boulder, finish bowling through the building. Almost as soon as he'd broken the wall out more of our guys rushed out, hastily guiding or carrying confused prisoners away.

Oto and New Oto-nin went at them, and we all went at the Oto and New Oto-nin, our knives bared. Unsuspecting, several fell. I whirred and flickered about the field of battle, sharp eyes ablaze, sending senbon after senbon sailing and slicing deep into their marks – a muscle here, an artery there, a nerve cluster, an eye – death. When I saw Hinata stab her thumb through her hand at her mouth and draw back with a slurp, I whistled piercingly into the wind.

Our guys knew to drop where they were, hands over their heads. The Sound weren't so lucky.

Hinata lurched. An Oto shinobi who'd stared at me at my signal had a portion of his chest blown out as it was shot through by a singular beam of darkness.

The next instant I'd dropped, and with a wild crack of shock the Howling Beast Wave exploded outward before its foul utterer, skinning or searing those unawares who stood, tearing hungrily at their blood, and uprooting a large part of the emptied prison with disintegrating force, as it set the rest crumbling, charred.

The raid on prison number sixteen, successful.

* * *

The twenty-fourth of August. Three more prisons fell today. Having broken two hundred, we now have so many shinobi that food would be starting to become a serious issue if not for the majority left to training and watching base now assigned to splitting off groups daily for hunting, fishing, and the gathering of edible plants. With the concentration of survival skills in one place, supplemented by the pillaging of prison food stores, we moved around enough that it was sustainable.

It was dark when Jiraiya called me over from the fire. Calling one of us was like calling all of us, though, so when I stood Lee and Hinata naturally were rising at my sides as well. None of us thought anything of this; it just was. When the sennin waved, saying he needed me only, I blinked – actually found myself the smallest bit perturbed – and nodded, muttering to the others that I'd see them in a bit, I guessed.

"Rasengan?" I repeated when he finished his explanation.

"Yup," Jiraiya said, holding up the ball of spiraling chakra in his hand – with ease, even though just by the look of it I could tell it was complicated. "You've earned it, gaki." He chuckled. "Heck, listen to me – '_gaki_.' I oughta be calling you General, what with the show you've put on in the last few days. I've heard tell of your exploits, kid, and I'm…"

I bowed at the waist. "I'm honored, Master Jiraiya. I truly am," I said, meeting his eyes. "But…" I paused, looking eventually to my scrubbed palms. I couldn't seem to quit scrubbing them these days; none of us could.

"But…?"

"But the last thing these hands need … is to be weighted down with yet another instrument of death and destruction." I scratched my head. The man didn't speak. "…I mean… you could teach it to Lee if you wanted – now there's a guy that deserves it. A ninjutsu that doesn't take any handseals or nature change – it's something he could make his own–,"

Jiraiya gripped my shoulders, his face cool. "Enough. If you don't _want_ the jutsu, I won't teach it to you, but I certainly won't go handing its secrets to just anyone under the sun."

"Chill, Ero-sennin, it's just a jutsu…"

"It's more than just that!" he barked, though still not loudly enough that folks over at camp might hear. "Do you have any idea? This jutsu… is perhaps the single most valuable token of your inheritance!"

I blinked, making sure I had heard right. "Inheritance?"

He just nodded, though he knew I was confused. "Let's put it this way. This technique, Spiraling Sphere, was entrusted to me – by a great man – so that I might pass it on to you when the day came that you were ready. Now you're ready. You've seen the world, and suffered it. And as a shinobi you know as well as I do that any piece of strength that you might master and wield as your own is well worth the while. If it can save your life, or the lives of those around you…" He nodded sternly in the direction of camp. "You seize it. Without batting an eye."

"That's what shinobi are, aren't we? Forever, just – just grabbing power…"

"The sad truth. But power alone can become a force for good, in the right hands. Let it be your _means_ – your means for protecting your comrades, your precious people – and never your end." He shook his head, sighing. "I take care not to place power in the hands of just anyone. You may think those hands of yours are filthy, but it's because you're thinking that way that _I_ know they're hands that can take it. I trust you. And that man… he trusted you, too, with all his heart. You're special, Naruto. To refuse this jutsu would be to refuse who you are."

"And who am I? You seem to know well."

His hand clapped on my head. "That, m'boy, is a journey for another time."

The Rasengan was complicated as I'd thought. We worked for an hour, but it was already late; we retired to camp as the last fires were going out.

Under the stars, once all but those on first watch of the night had long since drifted off, I opened my eyes. I touched Hinata's cheek as she slumbered in my arms, and then gently shook her shoulder to rouse her. Her pearly eyes blinked, curious but loving, as I sat up, and she followed suit. I reached over to Lee on the next sleeping bag over, tapping his shoulder with the back of my hand, and he, too, woke.

My friends waited expectantly as I gathered my thoughts a moment longer. Those two had seen the world, too – had suffered it right alongside me. In turn they had become one with me, and I with them. I knew exactly what they fought for; I trusted them as surely as they absolutely trusted me. And now…

Now I looked up, meeting their eyes.

"I ask you to bear with me a burden."

I know Jiraiya spotted us working on our own that night and the nights that followed, but he neither lifted a finger to stop us nor scolded me when he and I worked on it together. Whether he approved or disapproved, whatever he thought, he gave no notion.

He himself would pass it to me alone.

But he would respect my ability to trust.

* * *

The thirtieth of August. By our intel, not many prisons remained now. We were now raiding a number in Rice Country, home of Old Oto, in one swoop. Lee, Hinata, and I led one force in a storm and sweep method – a genjutsu storm to debilitate followed by a high speed assault with our best heavy attackers (Gaara proved particularly efficient here). Jiraiya led a second force, and Tsunade a third, and Kakashi a fourth; base remained in Fire, where Asuma (to his great chagrin) and a number of other strong shinobi were stationed to keep watch.

Our force had pressed well into its second raid of the day, and despite the Sound's homefield advantage we were pulling off a striking success. Naturally, the remaining Oto-nin here were getting desperate.

"N-nobody move! I mean it!"

"Honestly, have you ever killed a demon before?" the hostage muttered nonchalantly to her captor, slightly annoyed if anything. "Go ahead and try it – see what happens…"

"Hinata," Kurenai whispered, not far from me.

"I take my eyes off of you for one minute…" I muttered calmly, eyes fixed on the situation. The han'you's words were an obvious bluff; the man's knife at her throat was very much capable of killing her. He didn't know that, though, and grimaced in terror, no doubt envisioning what gruesome curse or other horrid fate might rebound to him if he went through with his threat.

Nonetheless, he realized easily enough that he'd brought the fighting to a standstill. "This brat – she's one of your leaders, isn't she?" he cried, trying to sound bold.

I saw Lee scratch his head unhappily and sheathe one katana, poising the other before him. "I apologize for this, Hinata-san."

"Forget it," she called back, "You're already forgiven."

Only three of the people present had so much as an inkling of what was going on.

"Shut your mouths!" the Sound shinobi warned. "What do you brats think you're chit-chatting about, huh– _AGH–!_"

Hinata grunted, one eye snapping shut. The man spewed blood over her shoulder, dropping his knife in shock. Lee, who'd displaced himself some twenty meters in a heartbeat, withdrew the longsword he'd plunged through both their bodies.

The man toppled and fell limp, his face incredulous; Hinata sank slowly to her knees and coughed wetly. And as the stillness of stalemate broke, I was there to dispose of the still-stunned Oto-nin – the last of the guards – who'd gathered at the sides of the hostage-taker.

"_LEE!_"

THAM!

The boy grunted in surprise and pain as Kurenai's fist knocked him to the dirt. He couldn't get out a word before the glowering jounin lifted him by the neck of his shirt, crimson eyes livid with rage.

"What is wrong with you? !" she yelled, roughly jerking him up to his toes and forcing him to meet her seething eyes. She drew back her fist. "_Are you out of your goddamned mind–?_"

A hand clapped onto her wrist before she could deck the terrified swordsman again. "Easy! It's all right, sensei."

Kurenai turned her eyes on the girl – regarded her bloody mouth, the crimson that had gushed about a hole in her shirt and trailed heavily down her front – and blanched as if she were looking upon the walking dead. When her fist was released, it fell to her side.

"It's fine," Hinata repeated, lifting her shirt a bit and wiping a palm over the apparent source of the crimson mess to reveal the nearly closed wound on her stomach. An assortment of faint, old scars were unavoidably noticeable as well. She offered Kurenai an easy smile – a bloody smile though it was – and scratched her head sheepishly. "Ano… I've changed a bit, sensei, remember? That's why I make a pretty bad human shield."

"Hinata…"

"E-eeto… could you let go of me now, perhaps?" Lee inquired tentatively, and nearly stumbled as Kurenai grudgingly released him.

I shook my head, sighing. "Mission accomplished. Stay sharp, everyone! Once Group C finishes sealing up their food stores, it's back to base!" I commanded aloud.

Raid successful.

When we reached base again, we learned that the other three forces' efforts had met with successes as well. Being that these were prisons, some housed not only jounin but criminals as well – but being that they were Oto prisons, criminals consisted primarily of dissenting voices and suspected opposition guilty of supposed treason against the twisted ways of the Sound. These fellows were fed and sent on their way, unless they desired to aid us; a close eye would be kept on these all the same. Some were spies snatched up in the early days of the Sound to be held indefinitely if not killed, as many of their comrades had been, and belonged to villages from Rain to Sand to Mist to Stone to the Leaf itself. These, too, were fed and let to go on their way and return home (except the handful of long-missing Leaf spies. They would be sticking around here, for obvious reasons). Still others were imprisoned Oto civilians, noncombatants with nowhere to go who pleaded for our protection or simply wished to play a part in this. They, too, were kept around, enlisted as cooks or weapon-sharpeners or seamsters and seamstresses or help for other errands and chores, and taught basic self defense and first-aid to assist medics away from the front lines.

At the end of the day, the head count of the army was three hundred and fifty-seven, the majority of whom were elite ninja of Konoha.

There was no time for slacking off. We still weren't done.

* * *

**Neji ****ネジ**

"Neji-sama," Harumaru called from the door of my office, his voice clipped.

"Hm…?"

I stepped out into the hallway, Hiyuki in tow. The reason for Harumaru's agitation became evident: it was taking its precious time walking up our hallway with a light, twitching step. Clad in a back bodysuit, an ANBU vest, and a dark trenchcoat, she finished lilting over and crossed her arms. Beneath the New Oto emblem on her forehead, the forest green eyes that housed slit pupils narrowed playfully, suggesting of amusement. On the face framed by a shock of short, messy brown hair, she wore her disgusting smirk of snide superiority. At her shoulder was a white porcelain mask of a smiling cat. She lifted her small but sharp nose, looking down at me though we were of similar height, and my lip twitched in distaste as I caught her stench on the air. The large, slender black cat that accompanied her at her heels wore a short jacket that displayed the New Oto insignia in metal across its upper back. The feline sat, regarded me out of the corner of one eye, and yawned to express its disinterest. I suppressed a scowl, pressing my mouth into a firm line. This woman's clan had been closely affiliated with the Uchiha in the past. It only figured that the kunoichi delighted in making herself a nuisance to me.

"You're late, captain," I growled lowly. "Report."

"Oh, but of course!" she said, sweeping her arm out with a flourish before snapping the hand to her forehead in a salute. She bent at the waist as if in a bow, but kept her head up, her glinting eyes on me, her nose a mere few inches from my own. "Neko reporting for duty, Wolfboy. As ANBU, I report directly to the Lord Hokage, you see. If you'll excuse me now, I do believe I've been summoned…"

I held up a hand, ordering the others to be still. My nose wrinkled; my eyes flashed a warning ignored for her to get out of my face. "Milord is busy. I have been instructed to provide your mission directive in his stead."

"Ooh…?" Her eyes left mine, settling on Harumaru's and Hiyuki's in turn before she straightened, hands propped on her hips. "Enlighten me, then."

The two at my sides bristled.

"What have you been told of your _task_ already?" I asked.

"Hm…" She touched a pointer finger to her chin, letting her gaze wander off and out the window beside us. Her hand rose in its fingerless glove, and her tongue flicked idly across a knuckle a few times.

_Disgusting…_

"All I have to do is bag one sorry mutt, right?" the assassin chirped. Her eyes drifted sidelong across our three faces. "It should be … a _simple_ job, I think."

Harumaru was growling under his breath.

A chilly glower in my eyes, I nodded. "You know who it is. Your goal is to _detain_ – incapacitate, not kill."

"Of course, got it, got it! But…" She sneered mischievously, drawing a finger in a line across her neck as a short, keen, slender claw protracted. "The funniest thing… rumor has it that a certain cute little Wolfboy around here wants _that_ particular head all to himself. What a silly boy he must be… I dunno; I can't quite resist a good bounty, you see, and how I would simply _love_ to be the first to carve my claws into some filthy wolfhide…" She batted her tongue against the edge of her claw, blinking innocently. "Wouldn't you?"

My hand clamped strongly around her neck. Her ninja cat stood, but sensing its master's calm, took no action.

"_What are you getting at?_" I hissed.

She sneered toothily, ignoring me. "What is this treason?" she managed coolly, though her voice was tight. "I am no subordinate of yours, _dog_. I report directly to our Lord Hokage, and a Hokage who quite likes me, as I'm sure you're well aware."

My teeth were bared. "_You _repulsive_ piece of…_"

Her face was tinting blue. "Whatcha gonna do? If it's a _fight_ you want… I wonder who would _win_…"

I strengthened my grip until she grunted, and then released her with a shove. She staggered lightly and stayed on her feet, presumptuous. "Oh? Would've been fun to play with you…" she pouted, unruffled.

"But sadly, you have a job on your hands…" I noted icily.

"True, true! That the stuff?" she asked, nodding to the bag in my hand. When I held it out, she snatched it away and checked its contents. My lip curled, though admittedly I was glad to be rid of that thing. She stowed it in her coat.

Her hand drifted out, touching my chest. Her palm stroked across it, and then rose, fingers trailing along the vein of my neck, thumb brushing my jawline. She teased my ear in her fingers, and her other hand slipped onto my side as she touched her cheek to mine. "Guess we'll just have to _play_ next time… silly boy."

The tip of her tongue curved across my cheek.

My claws sprang out, and I shoved her and slashed with the full intention of taking her throat out.

And she was gone. Her feline tossed me a glance of condescension and scoffed smartly at a hiss as it flitted out the window.

"Neji-sama?" Harumaru asked, seething in outrage.

I shook my head, wiping off the filth that had been left on my cheek. If I let Harumaru try what he was thinking, he would lose. Fist clenched, my mouth twisted into a fanged grin.

I very possibly hated only one person more strongly than I hated that woman.

"I'll _kill_ you someday…"

That is, if her _bounty_ couldn't kill her first.

* * *

**ナルト ****/ ****リー ****/ ****ヒナタ ****\ ****ハナビ ****\ ****ネジ**

**End Chapter Twenty-One**

**Kurogiba:** The last thing I can do for you… is to get you out of here.

**Hinata:** But how?

**Kurogiba:** I was created from your dreams. If you _believe_ in me… then there is NOTHING I cannot DO!

**Hinata:** You can do it, Entei!

_(–static–)_

Bdmp…

Bdmp…

_Bdmp…_

**Naruto:** No way out…

_Bdmp…_

**Naruto:** There's really… No way out…

_Bdmp…_

**Naruto:** How'd this happen…? How did we… wind up in here…? What's going on outside? I don't know… h-how many days have passed, anymore…

_Bdmp…_

**Naruto:** And, for a while now, she, for some reason…

_Bdmp…_

**Naruto:** Hinata's been…

_Bdmp-bdmp-bdmp-bdmp… … …_

**Naruto:** Looking at me…

…with a strange look in her eye…

**Lee:** Next time: **The Box**. Please, you two… Just try to hang on…

DONE! Phew, I actually feel somewhat good about this one. I know it was different, but different good or different bad? Was the pace okay?

What'd you think of the chapter? The action, the humor? Neji's mind game with Sasuke? The battles against Kakashi and Asuma? Hinata and Kurogiba's Berserkergang combo? The debuts of Kakashi, Kurenai, Asuma, Guy, and the overall return of the jounin/ building an army deal? Were those guys in character? Did any particular scene stand out to you? We had creepy Neji and uncomfortable Tenten, the search for an antidote, a NaruHina moment, a few prison break scenes, Jiraiya's funny chat with gentlemanly Naruto, Lee's Drunken Fist made an appearance… Oh, the scene with Jiraiya and Naruto talking about the Rasengan! Did it work, or was it just weird?

Please feel free to review, about anything! What you thought about the chapter, what was good, what was bad… All feedback is appreciated – my rambling above is mainly for memory refreshing, since I know these chapters are pretty long XD

Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed the chapter! See ya!

:o)Hinata0321:o)


	22. The Box

J3F\\\ Journey of the Three Failures

Chapter Twenty-Two

0-3-2-1 signing in! It's chapter time!

Thank you so much **lg1514, Adran06, Omega the Darkness, kurokazeryuu, Malix2, ShadowFaux, sasumiofjp, adngo714, BronzeButterfly18, DialACow, Hypothetical Spiritual Entity, Fuyutaro son, TwiliFay, Echo Uchiha, KoreanGal5, Ookami13'00, Faux Princess, Shizuka Taiyou, foxsadist712, Universal Hope, RedRangerBelt, artsycherry, SaphireShade, xartxisxaxbangx, alteris, Benjamin Goldberg, mangagirl18, Soraya the All Speaker, crusader 5643, Fan Of The Fall, Neo the Saiyan Angel, SweetAngels123, U. May, **and anons who signed _Hinarocks, narutos vixen, Creampuff, TheTimeTraveler, AnonymousName05, Miyu0493 _(:D)_, Dan, _and_ Don't have account-srry _for your wonderful comments, advice, speculations, questions, and all around reviews! ;D

Speaking of speculations… I got some very… VERY interesting predictions as to what's going to happen this chapter. O.o' Some of the ways that preview was interpreted honestly never crossed my mind XD Well, all will be revealed shortly!

Oh, one more thing – I normally ignore flames, but this one just demands to be shared.

From an anonymous '_Zealot'_ in response to **Chapter One: Setting Out**-

"_Sorry, but this is **. Or, if ffnet edits the word, this is bovine excrement. Really, if you believe that in a NINJA village, civilians can attack active ninja in the open without ANY retaliation, then there is absolutely nothing that can help you. Also, considering how this story begins, I really don't want to know what kind of idiocy you have built upon this foundation."_

…

… :D Bovine. Excrement. That _is_ a new one. Well, all I can say to that is (1.) I'm happy this was important enough to this fellow that he spent a few minutes trawling insert online dictionary here for some more creative words than profanity, albeit after stating the profanity – which detracts considerably from the cleverness – and (2.) someone's missing oooouuut! Thank you for informing me that this tale is a pile of cow dung, I truly was unaware – but to say the least, I think I can safely say a couple hundred people can count this as the finest pile of alarmingly legible bovine excrement they've ever seen ;p

So, a special thanks to one Anonymous Zealot for providing me a tremendous laugh! With that, let's get this chapter rolling!

**Disclaimer: **I don't own NARUTO. But maybe Mr. Thesaurus does, since he knows it so well. Okay, okay, I'll stop! X'D

* * *

**Journey of the Three Failures**

**Twenty-Two: The Box**

**Part One: Foreboding**

**Naruto ****ナルト**

"Hinata? _Ooiiii, Hinata_!"

"Huh…?"

She turned, her lithe form in black outlined by the grim silver of the clouds. A striking beauty, she looked back after one lupine ear stirred to my friendly call, revealing the pale, pale cream of a curious porcelain face, a blink of white eyes, a soft part to her inviting lips that inevitably lent the barest suggestion of the sharp canines that rested in shadow behind them. Her body turned, her silken tail hanging gracefully motionless. The foot and toe that held her serenely aloft were poised so delicately upon the low branch that she seemed in that instant perfectly liable to drift weightless and float away from there on the passing breeze as she stood, her eyes on mine, one hand's light fingers absently draped over the trunk at her side.

"What is it?"

I closed and opened my mouth mutely before snapping straight and alert, a hand rubbing my neck as I chuckled a moment. "It's just… you've been staring off into space over there for a few minutes. I was wondering if you're feeling okay."

She smiled, a simple quirk of the lips and sparkle to her eyes dissolving the cloak of ghostly beauty to smoothly establish in its stead one I was well more familiar with. "I'm fine…" she answered. "The air is heavy, that's all. It smells like rain is on the way."

"Good news for the land," I remarked. "The farms especially could use it… Either way, we'd better get ready. We plan it right, and we'll have the rest of Sound's prisons down within a couple of days at most."

Hinata nodded. "Of course–,"

She shrunk with a yelp, starting as a buffet of wind caught her from behind and set silken strands of midnight hair whipping. The gust caught me as well, and I turned to see it race through the grass as a vast, jaggedly rippling wave.

I whistled. "Looks like some crazy weather _is_ about to go down." I had appeared beside her on the branch, a steadying arm around her shoulders, and now looked to meet her eyes up close. "Let's get back to camp, ne?"

Her voice was quiet. She blinked, troubled. "Yeah…"

* * *

**Neji ****ネジ**

Finishing what little paperwork I had at the end of the day took little more than a quarter of the hour. That completed, I left my office, walked down the steps of the Hokage tower, and continued on into the village's bleak and quiet streets. Early evening though it was, the grim sky blanketed all in a shroud of shadow.

I halted in the middle of an empty street; a moment later the first drop of rain pecked my forehead. I remained unmoving as more and more fell, eyes on the ground before me as the rainstorm grew and rolled.

Then, flinging my arms out, claws wide, head back, I convulsed with rage, sending a wild surge of thrashing, cursed black energy shooting from my body as I hacked my claws at the air.

Damn _that woman… _I seethed, fists shaking. _I swear…_

"Neji-sama," my shadow said, coming to my side in concern. I met her eyes with a command in my own. Her face flushed as she stepped closer otherwise unflinchingly, letting me grab her and bury my fangs so sharply in her neck that she nearly cried out. I drank greedily; when I released her, she was not only dazed with pleasure but groaning and weak. She fell to her knees, curling up under the rain, and wept deliriously within a prison of joy even as she shivered.

_I swear, filthy Cat…_

_If you take from me what is mine…_

* * *

**Hanabi ****ハナビ**

"Keep moving over there! Go, go, go!"

The roar of thunder bellowed over our heads, flinging flickering shadows of moving, running, shoveling figures across the sodden earth, the muck on which countless pairs of feet hurried splashingly along. The rain was relentless, bearing down on us in great, variably angled gusts; my clothes had soaked through in minutes, slicked flat to my skin by the kicking blasts of mist, but still I kept moving, throat and nostrils burning with the wild, rain-soaked air. The first drops, following a calm enough day of clouds and shifting wind, had come down only minutes prior. Finding we were in for quite some rainfall, we of New Konoha had mobilized to put out the rainwater pots and anything else available that might salvage some portion of the natural bounty. Upon finding that the rain was salty, however, and realizing just what kind of rare storm was brewing, the race to put out and secure pots had shifted rapidly to a rush to secure less stable buildings with mud, boards, or haphazard reinforcement of Earth-style ninjutsu. Baskets of crops or anything else of value lying around in the open were being relayed to the safety of the tunnels; hastily a slanted wall of stone, braced by pillars and meant to break the force of the oncoming wind, was being erected in sections by the fields in hopes of protecting the harvest. Shikamaru moved about with the scowl and narrowed eyes of a firm and determined leader weighing priorities as he shouted over the whipping wind, coordinating, engineering the entire effort in sharp commands dished out in every direction.

Flying leaves and stinging wind nipped bitterly at my skin as I hurried with two buckets of carrots that had been thrust into my hands. I felt I was taking in water with each breath. My vision stretched scarcely further in front of me than to allow me to follow the line of shinobi I'd fallen in with, heading (I hoped) to the nearest trapdoor. When something in the wind – perhaps a shred of leaf, perhaps a grain of dirt – contacted my right eye, however, I slipped in the mud with a yelp at the sudden sting. None from the line stopped to help me; we were all battling for the survival of New Leaf here, and they trusted I could get up on my own.

Carrots – I'd spilled a bucket of carrots into the cursed mud. Pinning the bucket down on its side before a wind might claim it, I used one hand to sweep the vegetables back into it, grime and all. We could worry about washing later. I hauled back to my feet and looked up, wondering where the others had gone. Blinking hot rain from my eyes, I paused as I caught sight of the great, proud old oak thrashing valiantly in the howling wind and torrential downpour, in the inundation of adversity, its full masses of leaves battered and contorting as it fought to stand tall.

"Kid, get down!"

Kiba came out of nowhere. The Inuzuka's strong arm wrapped around me, cupping my head in a hand, as his full weight hurled against me brought me swiftly to the ground. As we fell I saw the hazard that had been behind me – a loose tree limb carried impossibly by the wind lurched nearer, likely heavy enough to have knocked my silly. The claws of Kiba's free hand shot past me to snap it in two; the pieces tumbled past us, bouncing, dragging crookedly, rolling, and flying from visibility once again.

"_Milady_!"

"Oji-san?" I answered over the wind, in Kiba's arms. We'd been separated a minute ago in the chaos.

"Good work, Inuzuka-san," Hiryuu grunted as he approached, his powerful frame hardly swayed by the screaming gusts.

Kiba nodded, suddenly scooping me up in one arm and grabbing a bucket in the other. "What're you trying to do, get carried off in the wind?" he growled as Hiryuu picked up the other carrot bucket. The boy followed as Hiryuu took off in the lead, guiding us back.

I was unable to control my shivering, I realized then. I hated thunderstorms with something almost akin to the way I hated blood. Shaking my head, I watched the raging old oak battle until it had altogether vanished from sight.

_This is… Some kind of storm is on the way… _I thought.

Quite a storm, indeed…

* * *

**Hinata ****ヒナタ**

"_HRAAAH!_"

I darted under the lunging strike of his straight sword so that the blade passed behind my neck. My hands briefly met earth; then I shoved upward well within his guard, springing to rake deadly sharp claws up his chest and throat.

My foot snapped out, kicking the crumpling Oto-nin sharply into his approaching comrade. While the kunoichi was startled by the collision I vanished in the rain; behind her, I slipped one hand onto her jaw and brought with the other a swift claw across her throat. I released her, and she fell with the other bodies strewn around me as thunder rumbled, as distant war shouts issued from the battle still in progress.

I had raced here alone in pursuit of a Sound squad pulling a strike and retreat tactic from the shadows of the woods. My job was apparently done; still I didn't turn to head back to the prison battlefield.

One ear giving a twitch, I turned my head. A flash of lightning played on my face and on the smiling mask of the one who faced me, standing coolly ten yards away. Masked or not, the five-foot-three ANBU's scent was female, easily placed in the mid-teens – about Lee's age. My estimation was reaffirmed by her lofty voice as she mused aloud that I'd actually detected her. The Oto kunoichi wore a dark, lightweight trenchcoat that repelled the rain.

Whoever she was, she smelled _awful_. Briefly a cat came to mind; before I could ponder this she spoke.

"You're the Black Wolf Fang, aren't you…?" she purred silkily, removing her mask to toss me a slit-eyed glare. Her intentions were clear enough.

I displayed a coldly fanged grin as my claws snapped out, flexing at my sides. "Hm… Maybe."

_THAMP!_

_She's quick… _I noted, glowering as I held off her blocked fist with an arm by my head. Her amused mouth quirked into a sneer.

"Then let's _play_, puppy."

I struck out, and fluidly she dodged; a following kick and palm were similarly evaded as she rolled along on her feet, shifting smoothly as if her limbs and spine were composed of weightless liquid. Abruptly she struck out in the midst of the disarming evasions, and her fist popped me in the chin. The blow was light however, even weak, as if a playful feint or jest; all the same, I found myself hard-pressed to return attack as she sprang into a boxing flurry of strikes, getting me to backpedal under pressure. What blows did slip and flow past my defense were the same light, testing jabs whose force did little if anything to wear on me. That was what I thought, at least – but aside from confusion as to the purpose of her peculiar gentleness, I felt, nonsensically, as if I were slowly weakening with every touch.

_Something's not right… _I of all people knew of the danger that often lurked in subtler fighting forms, but I sensed no chakra, no manner of trick or illusion to her strikes. So what was happening?

I struck. She whirled. My fist hit a billow of her black cloak, and her foot snapped up to ram her boot sole into my face.

My lip busted; my nose burned and bled, and I staggered, though even that blow seemed as if it had been thrown more lightly than it could've been. My adversary's form blurred and duplicated as she darted aside, converging as she rushed toward me in a flicker – and vanished.

An angry yowl raked at my ears. My fist hit empty air. A black cat scratched at my arm and went for my face – I yelped and managed to knock the hissing feline away. And, with a chirp of "Whoopsies!" two hands clamped down on my tail with malice in their grip.

A strangled yell jumped from my throat as joints locked up, body going rigid with the jolt of pain. Then my yell seized up – cut to a growl, and then a roar – as I snapped around on a single, tremendous surge of power to bring the back of my fist into square contact with the assailant's cheek.

_CRAK…_

I felt her neck snapping just before I heard it. A delayed instant after her body went shooting away, off into the storm. I watched a tree shudder and fall as I wheezed, trying to catch my breath and keep on my feet what with the strength I'd squandered.

I wheeled at a hiss in front of me. The cat – her cat was a ninja, too, every bit as much as Akamaru. What I saw before me, however, was not for long one cat, but two; the lone angry feline burst into flame and smoke to suddenly be left barely a tiny kit. Beside it a second puff of smoke bloomed and faded to reveal a cat identical to what the first had just been, large, slender, and with fury in its bright eyes. Suddenly, in a familiar voice, it spoke.

"You're being more _difficult_ than I expected…"

With no further warning the larger cat pounced, morphing at once into the Oto kunoichi to bring a downward strike of a kunai toward my head. My claws rose, moved to successfully catch and halt her incoming blade with a sharp clang of force.

Pain crackled through my hands. My black claws shifted of their own accord into harmless, fully human nails.

There was nothing I could do in my shock but to catch the freed blade tightly in my hands before it could slam down into my throat or gut. My teeth clenched up as the metal bit into sizzling flesh, setting my ears ringing, my vision quaking. My eyes widened as my youki dropped into worthless tumult.

_A silver kunai–? !_

She yanked it free of my hands in a hacking motion, slicing invisible fire into my fingers and palm, and the meat of my thumb. I yelled aloud, withdrawing my bleeding hands and trying to move away, but before I could she kicked me harshly in the stomach and lunged to wrap her arms around me, pinching two points in my neck with her left hand, so sharply that I flinched, and touching the fingers of her right to the back of my shoulder.

"I can only use that eight times in a lifetime, you bitch," she hissed venomously, and what I could only guess were claws protracted from her fingers, five needling keen points small but sharp and hooked latching into my back – and raking across it, shoulder to hip, as deeply as she possible could. I screamed, head thrown back in pain. "Ya' like that?" she taunted viciously at my cry, throwing an arm behind my neck to force my head down under her arm. With a short hop she raised her knee, striking a quick but sharp blow into my stomach.

I staggered, winded, gasping and dizzy as she released me. My _hands_ – they wouldn't stop burning! My energy was too disorderly to mend the slices in my back. I clenched my teeth carefully. "Wh– who are you?"

"Ara? Neko, but you can call me Koneko – everyone does!" she chirped.

I glowered darkly, and looked past her in the direction of the main battleground. _I need help…_

"Oh, no you don't," she purred, appearing before me to tweak my nose in her fingers. In retaliation I slapped her hand away and threw a wild punch. No – perhaps she'd only let me hit her hand. Completely prepared for the punch, she dodged my fist and fell back, hooking biting claws into my outstretched arm and opposite hip – and in a neat, rolling motion redirected my strength to throw me over herself. She herself was in something of a backbend as she slammed my back to the earth; then she flipped her legs up and around. Her left foot touched down first to the ground beside me, and then she dropped neatly, knees straddling my sides and her rump landing at my belly so abruptly that I grunted.

I hadn't noticed it when she, at some point, looped the strong cord around my neck. I certainly noticed now.

"So you see," the self-proclaimed Kitten began with an innocent smile, speaking sweetly as if she weren't currently attempting to strangle the life out of someone. "I've taken a fancy to a certain silly Wolfboy back at home. I live for battle, see; I thirst constantly for that rush, that heat, like you couldn't even imagine. I think my Wolfboy would make quite a delightful fight – but all he's interested in is _you_–," I fought as she pulled the wire tighter still, "And I don't know _why_."

My nails snapped the cord at my throat. Undeterred, she gripped my neck in a strong hand, pressing my windpipe hard with a thumb, before I could so much as draw a full breath. I gagged and choked in protest. She merely leaned over me, smirking.

"You managed to take my third life from me, and that's impressive… _but_… I still don't understand his obsession in someone like you. So I was thinking…" The kunai, that horrendous, sickening kunai, was pulled from her cloak.

"Maybe, if I cut you up with _this_…"

The burning silver tip was pressed threateningly below my chin, its foul aura firing a paralysis down my spine. I grimaced, helpless as the woman ran her rasping tongue sensually along my jawline, and up across where I knew the old claw scars resided on my cheek.

"If I twist your cursed head off and present it to him…"

Wide-eyed, I fought not to shiver as her tongue passed now over the ridge of my nose, and continued to flick and slide at the skin below my eye. With a final flick she pulled away.

"I think he'll get a lot more _interested_ in me, don't you?"

She drew back, flipped the blade sharply around her hand – and plunged the silver deep into my stomach.

My head was flung back in agony, vision flashing, neck muscles straining as blood was thrown from my mouth on a silent scream. Before I could do a thing my arms were knocked firmly aside – her hands darted into her cloak as her feet landed atop my wrists – and two more blasts of monstrous pain gripped and thrashed at my jarred soul as she thrust two silver knives into my palms.

As I got past the initial shocking pain, my unsteady vision focused well enough to see the woman rise to full height. I was too enfeebled to react with any more than a sharp grunt as she muttered to herself and kicked me in the face, snapping my head to one side. For sheer stubbornness I would have liked to turn my head back and meet her eyes with my coldest glare in challenge. My body proved reluctant to listen. It blazed afresh with every thump of my heart. All I could do now was lie there in the mud, pitiful, struggling with each short, shallow breath.

"Does it hurt?" she crooned as I lay sweating and shivering, teeth clenched. "Oh, you poor, poor wolf-bitch! I'd love to put you out of this miserable state, but, unfortunately, I _am_ supposed to attempt to bring you in alive…"

My locked teeth shakily parted as she walked past me, pacing in thought.

"Still, even the best can make a 'mistake' once in a while… I think I can afford one…"

"Y…you…"

"Aha, here's an idea! I'll let the naughty dog decide. Want me to kill you, or slice it up some more and drag you into custody… Hm? You say something?"

"_You_…" My body shook.

By all accounts, I was beaten.

…I hadn't let that stop me in a long time.

With a roar I lifted my pinned hands from the earth and sprang to my feet upon a surge of solid willpower. I swept my arms out to fling the piercing knives aside, and with a snarl planted a hand on the barely protruding handle at my stomach. My fingers steamed on contact with the cursed metal, but I shut an eye and pulled it free in a single jerk, casting the knife to the ground.

A feline smile curled across the kunoichi's lips. "We're not done playing, then?" she purred. "But by the look of it, your arms are out."

"N-not quite…" My youki was all messed up: if I tried to use it now, I really wouldn't be able to move. _But if I concentrate, and draw on only my chakra…!_

My hands rose, and twitched into a seal.

_Mi-Hitsuji-Saru-I-Uma-Tora! Katon–!_

"Goukakyuu no Jutsu!" I yelled, spewing a Grand Fireball her way.

She dodged – but in the moment her view of me had been obstructed by the blast of fire, I had darted to the treeline.

Byakugan blazing, I sailed toward her from behind in a Konoha Sempuu kick. She ducked just before my heel could sweep into the back of her head, and turned to block the follow-up on her forearm.

Block though she did, I heard something crack. Then the force overwhelmed her entirely, shooting her to the dirt five yards off where she hit and rolled, sliding a ways before collecting herself and tumbling into a crouch.

By the time she did I was charging straight toward her, practically on top of her again. Her eyes grew.

"You won't hurt my comrades!" I cried, springing into a flurry of kicks. My arms _were_ weak, and the pain that clung to my gut pressed me to hunch a bit even as I fought. I tore on regardless, pushing the Oto woman to keep up with a barrage of kicks Gentle and Ferocious alike. My bare left sole jabbed three quick times, for her head, then torso, then head again, and all were blocked – but with the third I sent a burst of chakra jolting into her arm. She hissed, and I swept my foot down and back as I lowered to the earth, spinning in a whirlwind of a combo to hack left heel for her ankles – she jumped – rising right foot for her gut – dodged – and at last leaving the earth in a sharp but smooth leap to launch my left foot toward her skull. Her toes had barely reached the ground when her arms snapped to block; she was thrown off her feet to roll back once, begin to stand–

And block my furious roundhouse kick at her side. Foot not returning to ground, I now struck out rapidly thrice more to be blocked beside her head and at her side again, once more at the head – and then I lurched to headbutt her fiercely in the gut. Toned abdominals gave under the sudden ram of force, and I heard her lose her breath in a sharp, outward wheeze. I snapped up so that my hard skull clipped her dropping chin, straightening her out once more, and then lunged to snag her wrist hard in my teeth. Growling, I pulled and whirled, releasing to hurl her to the ground again. She slid a ways, opened her eyes – and rolled to the side as my two strong feet slammed down heavily beneath me from a leap, demolishing the earth, in a crippling strike where her hips would have been. You crush both of someone's hips, and they're not going anywhere.

A strange twist of fear and excitement was glinting in her eye as she hurriedly guarded her head from my kick while she was down. The blocked blow sent her rolling again, and she rose as her back met a tree; my foot impacted the trunk with a crack as she slipped above the strike and nimbly scrambled up the tree. Whatever time she sought in which to recollect herself was lost as I launched a tremendous kick, hacking the fractured trunk in two in a single clean sweep.

I tackled her as she jumped from the falling tree, and we rolled. Ending on top, I bared my fangs and went for her throat. A quick fist rapped the side of my jaw, thwarting this attempt, as she jammed her knees up sharply below my ribs. I recoiled, and she gathered her feet against my belly and rolled back strongly, flinging me away with the shove of her legs.

I was upside-down when my back hit a tree, but I rolled as I fell to land upright – and drop beneath the swipe of her claws, ramming into her ankles to take her off her feet. She caught herself on her hands, however, and her feet touched down as she scrambled away to rise again, face me – and receive a solid boot to the gut.

My bare foot fell. Her knees buckled as she grunted through locked teeth, and I knew I had her as she doubled up, crumpling gradually to the ground. She fought for breath and swore quietly, but froze as I slipped to twist an arm behind her and roughly pin her down.

"It's over…" I panted.

"_Nyaaa_…" she complained with a note of pain. "You're so _cruel_, Wolfpuppy…"

"Save it," I growled, forcing her arm further. My claws – I would've preferred to end it quickly, but I didn't carry knives, her knives were silver, and trying to reform my claws now only made the silver wounds throb. It required either cursed chakra or my natural Youki, both of which were thrown into disarray by silver. For now I'd just have to knock her out–

"Well, you're actually right there – it _is_ over, you see? Owari da!" she chirped, easily wrapping her free arm suddenly up behind her, astounding in her flexibility, and pressing a finger to her gloved palm. I heard a click, and ducked back reflexively as some sort of pellet was shot from her sleeve, sailing up just before my face.

My nose tingled.

The pellet began to smoke as it drifted past my eyes.

…_Aconite?_

_BOOM!_

An explosion of gas went off in my face, surrounding me – searing, tearing, clawing out my strength. For a moment I thrashed and staggered – threw open my mouth in horror as my lungs blazed, my throat itched, my nose dripped, my screwed-shut eyes ran and burned and burned and burned. The more raging power I summoned instinctively, uncontrollably to save myself, the more pain I was dealt. The poison felt like acid to my skin, gouging power from my pores or boiling it from the inside out. My arms flailed stupidly for anything to grab hold of; I lost all sense and found myself meeting the ground, stripped of all strength, choking and writhing as the world roiled and shook around me.

It was all I could do to scream.

I barely heard the voice crying my name.

* * *

**Naruto ****ナルト**

"_Hinataaaa!_"

I plunged into the thick cloud of poison without thought, heart racing both from the rush here and from something else. She'd been taking too long, but this… No question – this was Wolfsbane. The girl was in here screeching in the purest agony.

Locating her quickly both from her screams and chaotic energy, I slid to the ground at her side. She writhed on the ground, hands covering her eyes, pulling her hair and clawing her scalp as she shrieked like a mad demon, saliva running from her mouth. The markings of the han'you pattered her skin and squirmed as she convulsed, fading and expanding again as if forcibly inflamed only to be wrenched from her body.

"Hinata…!" Breathing this smoke could very well kill her. I tore out my sleeve, pressing the cloth over her nose and mouth, but she thrashed in alarm, catching me with a flailing hand. The breath I had been holding now slipped, and I coughed and choked; even if the poison wouldn't affect me long, it could still irritate for the time being. "G-get a hold of yourself, Hinata!" I cried. It probably went unheard. Grunting, I took the back of her shirt in both hands to clear myself from the range of her seizure-like flailing and dragged her along, streaming eyes shut against the volatile mist. Her energy was going nuts; I couldn't swap her along with me. It didn't matter. I had to get her out of there, and if I just ran straight we'd hit open air soon enough.

We emerged from the heavy cloud and into the safety of clean air, and I gulped in a grateful breath, blinking painfully. We made it–

"Oi."

I turned my head at the call, and glimpsed only a moment the Oto ANBU who had given it before her foot slammed across my face.

My neck popped; I lost hold of Hinata. Before I could react I felt two hands capture the neck of my shirt – and the woman rammed her knee into a place I really ought not mention.

I saw stars.

I howled in pain as my gut clenched, as my legs gave out and I went down, holding myself. A kick to the shoulder sprawled me on my back, and she was over me, pinning my forehead down with one hand.

"Lucky me," she snickered, and drove the heel of her palm into my jaw. "Another bounty for my trouble…"

I groaned as my vision swam, darkening, lilting. I turned my head a bit, parting bloody lips as my unfocused eyes found the face of the stunned, motionless figure beside me.

I wanted to reach out, to wrap her up in the safety of my arms. I yearned to. After that jaw strike, my body… wasn't responding…

"Hina…ta…"

It went black.

* * *

The air was dank and stale. My eyelids fluttered. It was dark… no, it must've been indoors. A guttural groan crawled up my thick throat.

"Holy – I think he's waking up again!"

"Calm down. We'll just double the next one…"

I lay flat on something cold and hard. I was tired… but a sense of urgency buzzed dully in the back of my skull. I turned my head, groggy eyes falling on a couple of blurry men putting something hot on my wrist.

"He's already getting eight times the regular dose…"

"And it's obviously not working. Double it again."

"Hai…"

I felt a needle pierce my arm. Suddenly it was getting darker in there…

* * *

When my eyes opened, I was moving. Definitely not on my own. A strong grip held either of my arms as I was dragged between two shinobi…

My eyes widened.

_Chakra… Where's my chakra?_

"Wh-where… What's going on?" I demanded, making my voice strong.

"Huh? Aren't you in quite the position to talk tough?" one of the men chuckled.

I ground my teeth, looking at the chakra-suppressing shackle on my right wrist. _They actually caught us…_

My breath froze.

Us.

"What've you done to Hinata? !" I shouted. "Where is she? I swear, if you–!"

I was thrown to the floor at the end of the dim hallway. I shuddered weakly, starting to push to my hands and knees – until a boot slammed down at my upper back, knocking my breath out and giving me a face-ful of the dirty stone floor.

"Shut your gab," the Oto-nin growled. He proceeded to clean his boot on my back. "We don't _care_ that you're the Demon Illusionist. Get it?" he grunted, stomping again. "No tricks for you anymore. Right now you're just one loudmouthed brat."

He moved his foot, and the other man grabbed my arm and hauled me to my feet, shoving my cheek up against the wall. We were at the end of the hall, but there were no doors in sight; rather, the wall I was being pushed against was inked up with some kind of seal spell.

I heard the first man run through a quick set of handseals. Then his hand slammed onto the back of my skull – the markings on the wall lit up – I was gripped in some transportation jutsu–

And I was flung, stumbling, into a doorless room.

"Ch…" I rubbed my cheek as I looked up, examining my surroundings. Solid stone room, ten feet by six feet, average ceiling. Dim lighting, but I could see well enough. Barely noticeable, two grill-covered vents were a ways apart on the ceiling, one to pump air in, down what seemed to be a long shaft, and the other to let it out, I assumed. Neither was more than the size of my fist. The sole other ornament to the stone box was a bucket in one corner.

And the only other person in the room…

"Hinata," I breathed, hurrying to her prone form. I rolled her from her side onto her back. Her face was flushed and feverish, but chill with sweat; her hands shook steadily, and her entire body gave to trembles at its own uncertain intervals. She mewled and whimpered in her sleep like a small creature in pain. I bit my lip.

Gently I felt for wounds after confirming a faint but steady pulse, and lifted her plain prison shirt only enough to get a look at the nasty stab mark in her stomach. Strange – it was on the way, but why wouldn't it have healed by now? Normally it would've been handled in minutes at most.

I shook my head, lowering her shirt again and bending to place my ear by her parted lips. Her breaths were short, but also steady. I hugged her in relief, so carefully, whispering my thanks to whatever kami could hear.

Sighing, I sat back against the wall and rested her head in my lap, hoping she would be comfortable. I stroked her cheek once and spoke at a whisper; we were in a mess, but for now only one thing was important.

"You're alive…"

* * *

"Naruto-kun…?"

"Hey, you're awake?" I said gently. "How do you feel?"

Her eyes were bloodshot, pained as she cracked them enough to look up at me a moment. Nonetheless she managed a smile as she shut them. "I've felt better…" she said honestly. Her brow wrinkled. "So… they caught us, then?"

I nodded, looking to the chakra-suppressing bangles tight around both our right wrists. "Yeah…"

"I'm sorry."

"Don't you even," I scolded lightly. "That ANBU girl was prepared for you, ready to strike at all your weaknesses. Don't think about it too much; what's happened has happened. I don't know what they plan to do with us, but I'll bust us out before we have to worry about it, ne?" I said, stroking a stray hair from her face.

She placed her hand over mine, smiling. "Yes…"

I smiled back fondly, though her eyes were shut. _That's right…_

"We have each other. Together we'll figure a way out of here – I know it."

* * *

**Lee ****リー**

"What are you _saying_?" I hissed where I sat. My wrapped fists clenched at my sides. I was very angry.

"You heard me," Jiraiya said again, as Tsunade nodded solemnly. Kakashi-sensei listened silently without giving tell of his stance on the discussion. Kurenai-sensei's eyes were upset, at times lit with clear anger, but she held her tongue before the two sannin. At my side Gaara said not a word, but the shadowy scowl he maintained held all the impact of striking the toad sage with an eloquent bombardment of the most piercing of words. Jiraiya went on, his face firm. "You did well in getting your force and the prisoners out of there safely, Lee. You did all you could. It's unfortunate, but we don't have the time right now to split off a force to head back for them. _We're almost done_," he said slowly, as if to once more spell it out for me. "We slow down, we give them time to think, to organize – or if they're desperate, even slaughter every jounin we haven't gotten to. Besides, a rescue mission is exactly what they'll be prepared for. We aren't so reckless. Those two are important; you know it, and the enemy knows it. They'll be kept alive long enough for us to strike the remaining prisons on the agenda before we double back for them."

"How can you be so certain? !" I demanded. My hand clapped onto my chest. "Those two, as well as I, have become the face of hope for the resistance, have we not? ! The Sound may be marching them to a public execution as we speak! Do you realize what will happen to us if they fall–?"

"What, you think I don't know that?" Jiraiya roared, silencing me. His eyes were dangerous. "You think we're not all as worried about them as you are? You think I'm happy to leave them behind? They're strong – both of them. And if you know them as well as you claim to, don't you think they'd sooner suffer than be used against us? We all are shinobi, and we all risk sacrifice. For their sake, see this operation through to the end before you render all your sacrifices up to this point wasted!"

I challenged the man's gaze for a moment, teeth gritted. Then I looked away. "Excuse me," I muttered sharply, rising to my feet.

"Where are you going?" the sage called as I stormed away.

"To get some exercise!" I halted, however, fists clenching. Glaring, I looked back once more, meeting in turn the eyes of Kakashi, of Kurenai, of Tsunade, and at last those of Jiraiya as I spoke evenly. "I would like you – and you – and you – _and_ you, to stop and for one moment think of where you would be, right now, without Naruto-kun and Hinata-san."

With that I strode away. Gaara hesitated, but his footsteps soon followed after me as he ran to catch up, stopping at my side, and blinked in surprise.

Water spilled from my chin.

I was… very angry.

* * *

**Naruto ****ナルト**

"Come on…"

From what I could reckon, about three days had gone by; good mental clock or not, I couldn't much keep track of time as I slept, and no sunlight could reach us down here, never mind that I'd been unconscious for an uncertain length of time before they tossed me in the cell.

Once a day… then again, maybe it was once a day, or maybe our captors went by some other interval – though I couldn't see why, unless for the express purpose of screwing with us… It irked me that my sense of time was slipping in here. Anyways, I can say for certain that once in a _while_ a small bowl of rice and paper cup of water poofed into the room through the same means by which we'd been sent here. Each time Hinata took a few bites, perhaps a third or fourth of it, and allowed me the rest, insisting she wasn't very hungry. I figured it was the lingering effect of the poison. Whether it was or wasn't, I'd need to get her to eat her share sooner or later, or she wouldn't last.

Hinata was healing well enough; the silver-inflicted wounds in her hands had taken on the appearance of burns, the direct path of the knife itself lined on either side by a stretch of raw, glossy red. Tending such wounds was tricky, and wrapping them could worsen their condition; still, slowly but steadily, her hands and stomach mended themselves as all her wounds did.

Currently I was focusing my chakra. The bangle on my wrist hindered its flow, but the more I practiced, the more use I could get out of it. At this point I could create a shadow clone by focusing chakra in my center and applying the same mental conjuration I had before. Still, I could do little else.

Naturally the fox had been happy to offer a simple solution; I could draw on its chakra until the restraint was overwhelmed, and then, with its power, be able to smash my way out of here easily. It had overlooked that the other individual in the small room would likely be killed the moment its chakra broke the restraint and battered everything around me with the probable fiery explosion of energy that would ensue, but I hadn't. The Kyuubi had told me that at least one of us would escape. I had shortly told it to shut up.

Hinata looked up from where she sat, ears standing. "Someone's coming."

I released the seal I was holding the moment before two Oto-nin popped into the cell. Seeing that I was standing, the one with a graying mustache and beard frowned and nodded toward the wall. "You – sit down," he grumbled.

Resisting an impulse to snort, I played good prisoner and lifted my hands before sitting at the wall. "You're the warden, then?" I asked, trying to keep their attention. If they were here to take one of us for questioning, or just to harass us – if they wanted to mess with us, I'd rather it be me. "To what do we owe the honor of your visit to our cozy abode?" I inquired tartly.

"Yeh talk a lot, don't you?" the old man scoffed. He looked to his comrade. "Well, Captain? You came to look at 'em; here they are."

"So…" There was something dangerous in the younger man's eyes. "That's the Purple Fox… then this one's…" He turned, eyes falling on the small form sitting at the far wall.

My skin prickled as he stepped toward her.

"You? _You're_ the Black Wolf Fang?" he shouted.

Hinata met his eyes slowly. "I am…"

"Now, Captain, we're not here to kill anyone. Our lord Hokage–,"

"Oh, I won't kill her," the captain seethed. "Death is too merciful for the monster who took my little sister from me!"

Realization entered Hinata's stoic eyes, filling them with emotion as she regarded the angry Sound shinobi anew. "…I'm sorry."

SMAK!

"Oi!" I protested as a heavy hand knocked her onto her side. The older Oto-nin drew a straight sword sharply as I rose to my feet.

"_Back_," he spat. "Try to fight, and there will be consequences, boy. If you know what's good for your friend, you'll sit down…"

Scowling, I obeyed. Across the room Hinata opened her eye above a bruised cheek. She was too weak to move as he brought his foot to her gut.

My teeth ground as he yelled and kicked her again. And again. And again.

"The fearsome beast of nightmare that's terrorized us – the most gruesome murderer walking the face of the earth – You're only a sniveling brat, kuso! You filthy _demon_!"

A kick smashed deep into her side; Hinata's eyes burst open as blood escaped her mouth. My teeth were clenched so hard they hurt.

"Well, you sorry piece of sXXX? ! Killing, and then hiding behind the face of an innocent child…! Where're your claws now, Kurouga? Not so tough anymore, are you? !"

THUD!

"_Guhf_–!"

He stamped his boot against the side of her head and planted it there, pinning her skull at the junction of wall and floor and grinding his foot viciously. "Don't you have anything to say, bakemono? !" He stomped again. "You _enjoy_ what you do, don't you? Answer me, dammit–! !"

He quieted a moment, his foot still on her head, to observe a peculiar rumble mounting in the air. Then Hinata turned her head the smallest degree, lifting her eyes from shadow and petrifying everyone in the room. Ten feet away though I was, my blood froze over at the palpable malice she directed at her tormentor from deathly black-and-white eyes as her teeth bared in a bloody snarl and fired a sharp and wicked growl that slashed horribly into the air. My stomach clenched. She was splayed on the ground, a boot at her head, and she alone gripped the room in the claws of nightmarish terror, declared all life unquestionably at her unstable mercy with a look and a growl, bottomless depths of her madly wide eyes offering a premonition of certain death.

The man screamed and staggered back as if burned, fear dripping from his face in streams of sweat, but he could not escape the chaotic violence of those eyes. He froze, perhaps under the weight of the air, and stared, knees shaking, as a high, cracking whimper was drawn from his lips.

The warden got a hold of himself, enough so to grab the frozen man's arm. "L–let's get out of here!" he grunted, and the two vanished from the room.

Silence followed. My throat was dry. I swallowed. Then my mouth moved.

"H-Hinata!" I hurried over. "Are you okay?"

Pained breaths passed through her mouth as she lay there, face turned down, shivering as if with cold. My hand met her shoulder, and in a sudden move she jerked from my touch, pushing partially upright and turning frightened white eyes on me. I shrank back, momentarily uncertain, but she shook her head wearily. "Sorry…" she whispered, eyes downcast. "I'm… fine."

"Hinata…" She started in surprise as I wrapped my arms carefully but snugly around her. Then the tension melted off, and she rested her head on my shoulder as she returned the embrace.

* * *

**Lee ****リー**

My face broke the surface in a chilled crash, and then hovered in the near silence. My eyes opened to take in patterns of rippling light, and I observed a school of the tiniest of fish as it passed by.

I withdrew my head from the pool with a full gasp, and water flicked from my hair. Lightly I shook my head, but I made little more an effort in drying it and looked up, hands fisted by my knees, letting the cool water run down and cut through some of the sweat that covered my bare chest and back. My head fell again, and I blinked at my image on the water's surface. Then my fist dropped so sharply to the bank that a quake of disturbance shook the water, casting my reflection from sight.

"Kuso…"

Gaara sat up where he lay a few yards off and looked toward me, his face glum. The wind blew, stirring at the water and sending a few small leaves fluttering to its surface. I shut my eyes and spoke.

"What is it, Guy-sensei?"

The redhead by my side started and turned big, surprised teals on the one who stood behind me.

"I… heard what happened, Lee," the jounin said softly.

"I see…"

"How are you handling it?"

"Well enough…" I muttered, setting about removing the worn and tattered wrap, speckled red at the knuckles, from my hands to replace. I hesitated, wincing. "It … _hurts_," I confided at last. "It hurts, to be so powerless…"

Though my eyes were not on him, I could practically sense his slow nod. "What does your gut tell you?"

I shivered once, clenching and unclenching my fingers in the grass. Gaara observed but remained silent as I thought. "It tells me…

"It tells me something is wrong, sir. That those two are not at my sides at this moment is a wrong in itself; even more so, something awful, unprecedented, is approaching them. My heart screams to act, before they are lost…"

"Then what are you doing sitting here?"

I turned my head a bit. "You are telling me to go against the judgment of a sannin?" I asked, painfully bitter.

"No. I'm telling you to follow your heart, and do what you must do."

My breath caught.

"You have become a splendid shinobi, Lee, as well as a man. You've earned the right," he finished, his voice stern but brim with warmth.

I stared ahead, a fire kindling in my eyes.

"Yes, sir."

* * *

**Twenty-Two, Part Two: Imprisoned**

**Naruto ****ナルト**

The first time it happened was one day – or night – there was really no way to tell – after I tried to break the wall.

"Okay…!" I grunted, sweat dripping from my face. I'd been at this for some time. My left hand darted rapidly about the right, molding released chakra until a whirring sphere took form in my palm. And now…

_Rasengan! _I thought, though in the wordless depths of my mind perhaps it was flung forth as a half-cocked prayer.

_WHAM…!_

The Spiraling Sphere ground and fluctuated a moment, barely weathering the stone, and burst, blasting dust clear of the wall.

I lowered my shaking hand, resting my head a moment on the stone. Even I could tell it was futile; with the restraint it was impossible to emit chakra in enough force to meet the jutsu's most basic requirements, let alone get it molded correctly. At least we now had one very clean wall.

With a sigh I straightened. "Looks like the Rasengan's a no-go," I said, turning. "We'll have to find some other…"

I trailed off, and paused.

Hinata was … looking at me. But not in the polite way you direct your attention at someone who's speaking. This was… odd. Intense.

"Hinata…?" I took a fraction of a step toward the girl seated in the corner and faltered, unnerved. She hadn't so much as blinked at her name. Her pale face was unreadable, but something told me not to approach.

_If… if this is a joke, it's not funny… _I swallowed hard. Those _eyes_… It was too strange. Finally I shook my head. "Hey, Hinata!"

She started, and in the blink of her eyes that alien gaze vanished and was again familiar. Pale lavender eyes focused a moment on my perturbed face, and she looked away, a hand rubbing her head. "It's nothing…"

I shrugged it off with a little effort; we were both getting antsy with the dark, dark stretch of time spent in this small, bare room. Coming to her side, I put a comforting hand on her shoulder – and was roughly shoved off as she glared at me from the corner of her eye, teeth bared in a small scowl.

My face didn't immediately betray my shock. As if she were a stranger, I automatically hid it from her, without so much as a thought.

When … had this happened?

Arms wrapped around her folded legs, Hinata directed her eyes toward the wall beside her. Okay. She was in a cross mood. That was all.

Hurt but not showing it, I retreated to the other side of the cell. She wanted to be left alone. I would leave her alone. She'd come around.

When we grew tired – it may have been night or midday – for the first time in a long time, Hinata declined to sleep next to me. She offered no explanation. She cried as she slept.

This strange instance was the first.

And as the days crawled on, she would continue to languish in there.

* * *

**Lee ****リー**

"I cannot."

Gaara crossed his arms, his face cold. I sighed.

"Stop that, will you?" I said. "This will be dangerous, Gaara-kun – more than dangerous. I will not have–,"

"So dangerous that you think you can go in alone?" he demanded roughly.

I frowned. "I will figure something out. Trust me. I will not have time to worry about protecting you…"

"Then don't," he said simply. "You've trained me yourself; all three of you have. You know I've grown stronger!" He paused, mouth wrinkling a moment as his eyes fell. His face was warm as his hand came to rest upon the pendant of the choker around his neck. "You three have taught me… have given me so much… and…" He met my eyes, resolute. "I can't leave my friends to suffer any more than you can. Besides," he added, "you're impulsive. You could use someone with a level head to keep you out of trouble…"

"Gaara-kun…"

"I've made up my mind. When you go after them, I will follow."

I held his raccoon eyes for a moment; luminous in the dark of night, they dared me to challenge. When he showed no sign of wavering, I finally had to nod.

"Alright."

* * *

**Naruto ****ナルト**

I woke to a crash.

My arms flopped out to steady myself as the floor seemed to shudder under me; blinking frantically, I looked to see Hinata at the far wall, low from a lunge, her powerful shoulder at the wall. She broke away, sliding a few feet on her toes, and with a yell leapt forward again to bring her fist to the stone. Blood spattered to the wall and floor.

She tore on in a rage, bringing obsidian claws screeching across the surface with little effect, throwing all her weight into a bombardment of reckless, angry fists, pounding and pounding to no avail. I snapped out of my confusion when I heard the crack of bone.

"Hinata!" I rose to my feet, appalled as she continued to thrash, blind and numb with rage. I swept to grab her from behind, and struggled to pull her away. "Hinata, snap out of it! You're hurting yourself!"

She twisted and got an elbow in my face before shoving me off with a growl, storming to the wall again. Before she could do herself more damage I grabbed at her shoulder, pulled hard, and slapped her sharply across the face.

I grimaced. I'd _slapped_ her…

She grunted and swayed an unsteady moment, but the outraged han'you's fit of madness evaporated from her wild eyes. Then, with an airy exhalation, she stumbled and collapsed exhausted into my arms.

"Shh…" I soothed, lowering her to the ground. Her eyes were groggy as I lifted one of her hands and swore silently. Her clawed fingers dribbled blood, as did her knuckles; the sores on her palms had split and cracked, and now wept heavily. Her left arm was fractured; a region of her shoulder and back was bruising purple. "Okay," I said, tearing the left sleeve from my plain shirt. I bit it for a rip to start with, and began tearing the long sleeve into an inch-and-a-half thick strip. She shivered feebly and steadily, hollow eyes watching in silence as I set to wrapping her hands. "Why would you do that, Hinata-chan…?" I muttered, tearing off my other sleeve.

To my surprise she answered, though it seemed it took her a sizeable effort. "We have … to get out… Have to get _out_ of here…"

"I know," I said. I warned her, and then pulled and set her arm bone in place. She hissed, teeth parting, face white. I got to wrapping it up in the coarse grey cloth. "We will. We'll find a way. Trust me…" For the moment, however, as I got a good look at her I frowned at the darkness under her eyes, the pallor of her face and her too-white lips. I felt at her ribs and swore at how sharply they stood out. Hinata only looked aside with a scowl.

I swallowed my shock and spoke. She'd been losing her appetite, but surely we hadn't been in here _that_ long. "Hinata," I scolded, "the next bowl that comes, you need to eat."

"I told you, I'm not…"

"I don't care if you're not hungry. You're going to _starve_ yourself, Hinata. Besides, when we do break out of here you'll need your strength."

Something was in her eyes as she looked wearily up at me. Still she didn't answer, but for a slight nod.

* * *

When the small wooden bowl of rice and cup of water came, I sprang up to bring it to her. I paused as her gaze met me with something like a glare. I set my jaw, eyes firm.

"Eat all of it," I said, placing it at her side but not helping her to sit up as I normally would've. Her tired face softened, and with an effort she turned over onto her front, pushed up, and sat. She eyed it for a moment; then her fingers dug into the bowl. I watched.

She brought a small bit to her lips. Her mouth came open oddly as she chewed. It was a careful, awkward affair, and reminded me of someone trying to eat something very hot, though I knew the rice was cold. She seemed not to want it to touch her tongue.

Finally she swallowed the morsel. Without a word but with much care, occasional moving of her head, cringing, and putting her hand by her mouth to catch bits that fell, she continued. There was something like anger – dull, but angry all the same – in the way she ate, lips drawn back, sharp teeth gradually breaking up the grains, with an occasional snap. Her tongue flicked oddly, squirmed with apparent discomfort; thick saliva began to run from a corner of her mouth.

Then, on her fourth small bite, her body rejected it. Eyes widening briefly, she shuddered and turned, retching out a white splash of mushy rice and fluid. It hit the ground with a splat; after grunting and heaving emptily once, she ducked her head and vomited again, losing all she'd taken in.

Suddenly I understood.

"Hinata… before they caught us… When was the last time you went hunting?"

Panting after a few coughs, she looked up at me a moment and cast her gaze down again, shutting her eyes, slowly shaking her head.

"Why didn't you say anything?" I demanded in concern, bringing my hand to the back of my arm. A sip of blood was to her like skipping breakfast for a spoonful of sugar, but it would be better for her than nothing–

The moment before my nail could nick my flesh, Hinata's gaze came smashing against me.

"_NO!_"

With her booming cry there was a flurry of movement – the wind was knocked from my lungs by a crash of force – the bowl of rice went careening, breaking against the wall. And my back was slammed into stone as I was pinned to the wall, hands locked firmly above my head. I kept very still, daring not breathe.

Hinata's head was low, her face hidden from me. Her breath shook. "Do… _not_…"

"Hinata…" I whispered quietly. A bead of sweat rolled down between my eyes.

"Y-you… _reek_." She looked up, eyes wild as they met my own, salivating as she gripped my arms now painfully. I withheld a tiny grunt. "Your s-scent is too much – it's strong enough – as _IS_–!"

She shuddered and growled, ducking her head – and at once flung me across the cell. My skull rang as I collided sharply with the wall and flopped to the ground on my side, gasping for breath. I coughed, trying to push myself up. "Hinata–!"

"_Stay back._"

Hinata remained facing the far wall I'd been pinned against, hands spread, her tense form twitching. "I – I know you want to h-_help_ – Naruto-kun – but don't do anything stupid."

She slammed her head loudly into the wall – was still a moment – and crumpled boneless to the ground.

For several minutes I did not move.

When I did … I couldn't get myself to check if she was alright.

* * *

**Hinata ****ヒナタ**

When I woke, he looked at me once and only once from where he sat. I didn't look away from him as I sat up, and at my first movement I caught it – a flicker of wariness in those sharp violet eyes. I held his gaze for a bit once I settled, not sure what he was thinking, not sure what to say.

Before I could figure it out he looked away, resting his eyes on a corner of the room. He may as well have walked through a door, and shut it quietly behind him.

I watched him only a moment longer. Then I looked away, scratched my head a moment, and got to my feet.

* * *

**Naruto ****ナルト**

When she woke, I looked at her only once. She looked at me as she sat up, and inwardly I cringed.

I looked away, for fear of conveying something I felt but did not want conveyed.

It… wasn't her fault. She couldn't help instinct. Still, I – I had to think…

I watched discreetly from the corner of my eye as she stood up. In a few steps she bent to pick up the largest fragment of the bowl that had been kicked across the room. She trudged back to her wall and sat down, turning to the side. I looked down again, and the cell was left silent save for the chipping of claws on wood. I resigned myself to thinking.

Eventually something clattered across the cell floor to land near me. She'd tossed it.

"I want you … to keep that with you."

This was what she'd fashioned: a curved wooden stake, whittled to a wickedly sharp point. I met Hinata's stern eyes and answered simply.

"I won't."

I started as her eyes flashed threateningly, but I held my ground. "I'm not afraid of you, Hinata."

"Of course not," she growled lowly, something of an amused chuckle in her voice. Her mouth snapped shut, but my skin was crawling. "I'm not asking you to be afraid of me," she pressed again, "Just keep it on you. As a… deterrent."

She was standing; our eyes were locked as she slowly crossed the cell. Her teeth were bared slightly as she stopped a short step away, looming over me. Her claws twitched. I held firm. The untouched stake was the only thing between us.

"You won't hurt me, Hinata."

"You…" She looked to be seething silently. Her pale face was glum, but coolly fierce with frustrated anger. Softly, she spoke. "Are you sure about that?"

We held each other's eyes.

I did not answer.

* * *

There was no way out.

As we had no other means of gauging time and no solid guarantee that the food was really sent once a day, I took to counting the rice bowls.

I had arranged the bowls that I alone had emptied at one spot in the cell, stacked them up by a wall. In the last two bowls we had tried everything we had. The Chakra Concussion Blast, a number of attempts at Rasengan, a Weight of Spirit laden shoulder smash (Hinata's restraint didn't so strongly hamper her youki, at least) that simply didn't have enough charging space for her to do more than reach the wall at a fast walk and turn her shoulder against it, shaking room (or simply tripping) – all of this, and the wall stood strong, barely scratched.

There were now eight bowls that we'd spent in here – seven stacked aside and the broken one that had been reduced in one part to a stake and the rest material for Hinata to hone her teeth on – wait.

Wait.

Eight…? The last time I'd counted it had been eight bowls, but surely one had come since then? I'd thought…

I counted again. Seven plus the stake on the floor. I looked up–

She was staring at me from across the room.

She didn't even flinch at being caught; rather, Hinata continued exercising razor sharp teeth on a piece of wood in her hand, absently eyeing me. She was like a puppy – a very hungry puppy. Restless. Anxious.

But…

That fragment she was gnawing – it was bigger than the one she'd been working on a bowl or so ago. I looked at the stack of bowls at my side, and back to her again.

"…Did you … take a bowl from over here?"

"Yup."

Not 'I did,' not 'yes,' not even 'yeah.' Just 'yup.' Why would she even… Surely she knew I was using them to keep time, right? No – maybe she hadn't realized. I was being paranoid. "I didn't notice…"

"You were 'sleep."

I gulped. She kept on watching me and sharpening her fangs.

My mouth opened, dry. She'd snuck up right next to me – while I was asleep. "Could you not… mess with stuff–," Like the room had so much to mess with, "–while I'm asleep?"

Full consciousness sparked in her eyes. For the first time she lowered the fragment to speak. "Okay…"

I nodded. She went back to watching me and sharpening her fangs.

I could only stand to watch her watch me and sharpen her fangs for so long. Silently I wove my fingers behind my skull, rested my forehead on my knees.

In the next few bowls she spent less time helping me brainstorm and more time watching me brainstorm – and sharpening her fangs.

There really _was_ no way out…

* * *

But there _had_ to be a way out.

I would find it.

We had to get out of here, before Hinata either starved or lost contr– starved.

* * *

This bowl was also here off-schedule, no question. The last had been late, and then this one comes early. I knew it.

They really _were_ just screwing with us!

* * *

There were twelve bowls – nine stacked up, an untouched stake, and two that had been torn up – when Hinata first mentioned autocannibalism.

She was in an awfully laid-back mood as we sat across from each other, I thinking, her drawing a clean cut across a bowl fragment with a fang. She'd been talking to herself, on and off, since we'd woken up. She was getting delirious, I guessed. But at some point, her rambling musings turned… unnerving.

"You know… I could take a sip of my own blood, a nibble of my own flesh – but the energy gained would hardly make up for the energy spent regenerating it…" Her bitterly amused tone was that of one who doesn't know whether to laugh or curl up and cry, steady and pitiful. She looked at her hand, and at the shiver that was becoming its constant companion. "'Conservation of energy' or whatever, right? Hehe… You must think I'm _sick_."

I opted not to reply.

"But then… I can live without an arm," she fancied grimly, tossing the idea around. I saw her look briefly at her right arm and left in turn, debating.

"All it's doing… is using up energy. But if I were to…"

Her eyes were intent; her claws hovered at her left shoulder as the thought trailed off, hanging in the air. That was when I blew up.

"Shut the fXXX up, will you? ! Just stop it already!"

She jumped in surprise, as if snapping out of a daze. "Naruto…?"

"Just – stop talking, Hinata. Please."

Without waiting for a response I buried my forehead in my hands. What the hell. What the _hell_.

Was she seriously considering it, or had it been an act? What game was she playing with me here?

What the hell do you do when she starts talking like that? Offer your own goddamned arm?

* * *

When I opened my eyes, it was dark.

It was dark, and the air stank of copper.

I turned my head as a splash of blood peppered the floor. The wet crunch of flesh met my ears as a demon tore into her prey. Her tail flicked, knocking into a heap of fresh-stripped bones – what had recently been a left hand and arm – as she snapped and snarled, feasting on her victim's shoulder. The dark figure pulled away with a deep moan, head tilting back – and then lifted her own remaining arm and slammed claws across the corpse's torso, so violently that blood splashed against me. Greedy fangs dived and attacked hungrily, crunching and slurping, before she lifted her head with a dripping length of intestine in her teeth, tore it loose, and snapped it up until it was gathered in her mouth to swallow.

I wanted to speak. No words came out. Heart pounding, I drifted nearer.

The body was splayed in the part of the cell where I typically slept. His entrails were being made a meal of as the contents of his open belly were devoured. The torso, the shredded shirt, and the ground around it were little more than a mess of deep crimson. The arm I could see had been stripped nearly bare of flesh; across the throat lay a vicious, jagged gouge. And as I saw the face…

I saw my own gore-spattered face and glassy purple eyes, and opened my mouth in a soundless scream.

* * *

When I really woke up, I was really screaming.

I slapped my hand over my mouth – felt about my sweat-soaked face, my intact neck – breathing – I needed to slow down. I would hyperventilate. My arm was undamaged. I was alive. She – she'd never do that to me! I was alive! Of course I was alive!

"What's wrong?"

I looked across the room and didn't even care that she had probably been staring at me. Both arms attached – she was in one piece. I ran across the room and threw my arms around her. She whipped her head around in surprise, striking it so sharply against mine that I recoiled with a grunt and toppled to the floor. She scowled, confused. It didn't matter. ShXt!

I scrambled back to my spot and fell over on my back, hands grasping my hair as I laughed aloud and bawled in terror.

* * *

Oh my gods. Oh my _gods_.

If her actions were being dictated by survival…

–"_You can have the rice. I'm not hungry…"–_

Even way back then – had she been looking out for me, or already looking out for the food chain?

No-no-no-no-_no_. I was _not_ being fattened up. With so little food, I was actually losing weight. Surely surely surely I wouldn't taste any better than I would've before.

* * *

On second thought, the above doesn't make much sense. Logically she could just be planning to stay alive for as long as possible. Hypothetically speaking, of course, if she were to wait until the brink of starvation, twist off my arm while I slept, and stopped the bleeding before taking her meal, she could last however long until she was hungry again, lop off the other arm, keep feeding me rice, hack off a leg, and, and … yeah.

If she _were_ to hypothetically do that and eat me bit by bit, just imagine how long it could hypothetically take me to hypothetically die!

I buried my face in my hands.

* * *

"Stop pacing."

I halted, blinking as I looked up. "Huh?"

My companion's eyes were stony; she sat with her arms around her knees, head down so I couldn't quite see her mouth as she spoke. "It's bothering me. Stop it."

My brow furrowed; Hinata had never been one to give _orders_ to someone. Still, I had to shake my head. "It helps me think. If it bothers you that much why not stop gawking at me?"

She snorted roughly. Like that would be happening.

Teeth clenched, I continued to pace longwise down the ten feet of cell floor. Far from looking away from me, the girl seemed to study me all the more intently as I inevitably approached her on my course; she traced every muscle with every step, every move of my arms, every breath in my lungs.

I paused before the wall, a short arm's reach from her side, and my eyes edged down.

The predator's icy eyes were studying my movement, and the pattern of course demanded that I now turn my back.

If I showed her fear, all would be lost.

My back turned. I counted my steps to the far wall, ten feet away.

_Tmp…_

Her eyes, boring through me.

_Tmp…_

Her teeth, bared.

_Tmp…_

Seeing her rising to her feet, claws out.

_Tmp…_

And now springing surely, silently, across the room.

_Tmp._

The wall. I would turn. I would now turn, and with deathly precision her claws would be slitting my throat.

She was sitting at the far wall, staring at me, unchanged.

I fell back against the wall and slid dizzily to the floor, unblinking. I resisted letting myself breathe fast as my body wanted to. We had to get out of here. We had to get out.

* * *

**Lee ****リー**

I moved through the treetops at a noiseless dash, sandaled feet meeting and leaving branch after branch in blinding succession as my body cleared the distances between them with swiftness but unerring precision. Eyes set determinedly ahead, I darted forward along a number of trunks before springing in a final grand leap, flipping once in the air before my feet meshed silently into a branch shadowed by foliage.

I was upon my destination.

The guard had been upped dramatically since the raid that had freed fifteen jounin nearly two weeks prior; that I could tell so easily it had doubled gave tell of the importance of the ones held captive inside. Quickly I counted the number of Sound shinobi overtly stationed in the open about the building's parameter, and in a moment more picked out a number well to poorly hidden. I also took note of patrols.

Of particular interest to me was a lone Oto-nin passing with a yawn beneath my branch.

I slid from my perch; he never looked up. Before he knew what had hit him the man was greeted near soundlessly by the damp earth, my hand locked over his mouth. With him I shoved quickly into the cover of a large tree trunk and the bushes that lined its back.

An intended yell died young in his throat as he felt the cold steel resting keenly across the corners of his mouth. My voice was stone.

"I will move this blade, and _you will_ _not_ cry out for help."

I did my part, and he did his. Before he could so much as sigh in relief the wakizashi in my hand was under his chin, pointed at his throat. He blinked at me, fear in his eyes. "Y-you're the…!"

"Never mind who I am. Where are they?"

"U-um… who–?"

The steel tip was pressed so firmly at his throat that he dared not speak another word. "You know of whom I speak. Now if you please, make both of our lives easier – well, in honesty, make my life easier and your life longer."

The moment I eased up on the pressure he sang like a fast-whispering bird.

"Four levels down – it's the cell we call the Coffin. The third basement level, actually, there's only one path – there's a trapdoor on the east side, a short drop into a hallway that leads to a dead end. The Coffin's on the other side of three feet of stone, sealed up from the inside and out for reinforcement– only authorized personnel can activate the transportation spell to move to or fro-o-om–!" He croaked to a halt as the flat of the blade pressed hard against his windpipe.

"Arigatou," I said, and withdrew the blade whilst shoving the back of his skull into the base of the tree trunk.

My arm and leg weights were stacked neatly on the ground. I rose, slipping the short sword back into its sheath. Then I strode into the open air and sunlight.

Dozens of sets of eyes were on me in seconds. Whether prison raids were as of late becoming a regular threat or not, never before had they seen one walk as I now walked, alone, calmly into the open.

The mark of the Leaf glinted at my forehead. Snapping to, the guards about the perimeter gathered at the side of the prison I faced to confront me, weapons up. I halted twenty yards away; my level eyes slipped left and right momentarily as whispers crept into the air.

Finally, a man at the prison wall spoke. "Who… Who are you? !"

My mouth opened. "I am called … the Green Beast…"

I met their eyes, fierce.

"I am, now and forever, a shinobi of the Village Hidden in the Leaves!" I bellowed. "With these two blades of Kozue Kuri of Stone, with this wakizashi passed down from the harsh lands of the samurai – with the discipline of Might Guy-sensei and Washi-shishou of Mist and Iron that has been beaten and tempered into these bones, and with this one body that I make as strong as it may possibly be – with these two callused fists, with one unconquerable spirit, and with the fearless HEART of a FRIEND I stand now before you! And I, ROCK LEE, with all that I am, hereby CHALLENGE EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU! !"

For many seconds there was silence. None moved; none blinked. Then, with a snarl of scorn, the shinobi who had demanded my identity sprinted toward me, darting left and right, slipping a dagger from his belt.

My fingers were brushing a katana hilt as he lunged, furious.

_SNCKT…_

The dagger clattered to the earth as he staggered past me. The man's eyes edged toward me, his mouth open as he lost his footing.

At my side his slit throat exploded with crimson. A sharp streak of blood met my face. He thumped to the ground.

I was confident none had glimpsed more than perhaps a flash of light in the instants the sword was drawn. Such was Iaidou.

_Art of the Quickdraw…_

Ignoring the blood on my face, I looked up. "Next."

The next came from behind. I turned my head. The shuriken he hurled were repelled by a wave of invisible steel before I turned halfway, shoulders to the side, my calm eyes alone facing him head-on.

…His running form was poor.

My foot snapped around high, and he was thrown away from me with his jaw soundly crushed.

"Well?" I called, glancing around. I spread my arms. "I am alone. I have not a single ninjutsu nor genjutsu; all I have I have already told you. I will not engage someone who intends not to attack me, but by all means, if you feel you are a match for me, come forward!"

Four blurring forms scattered and approached, racing from different directions. One was apparently the leader.

"You three! Get ready to–!"

At this point a shuriken in the ground near my foot had been caught under the lip of my sandal, flicked curtly upward, plucked by my fingers from the air, and loosed powerfully. It lodged deeply in his throat, and his rage-red face went white as he fell.

"Gozu-san–!" a kunoichi cried. Letting their attention flicker toward their dropping comrade as they stumbled unwittingly into range was their last mistake. A Quickdraw later my katana clicked into its sheath as I resumed full height. Gouges at once riddled their bodies and the earth, and the three fell.

Then my hands were grazing both hilts; another was charging, head-on, with impressive speed. The man was speared on my blades as I ducked forward and whisked them out; the right-hand blade was hilt-deep through his abdomen just to the left of the left-hand one: they were crossed, as were my wrists. The man sputtered.

"Acceleration," I muttered, and swept my arms out to scissor him in two.

I stepped over the divided body after both pieces had thudded to the earth, curved swords spinning at my sides as the hilts were rolled about my hands. I caught them with a snap of metal on air, whipping blood clear. My gaze challenged stunned onlookers.

"Well?" I demanded again. "Who else can match me? You?" A man twenty-five yards away staggered back in fear under my firm gaze and the katana suddenly leveled at him. He stumbled and tore off his weapons holsters, casting them to the ground. "Then you, perhaps?" I tried, pointing to another. The kunoichi jumped in terror, as if my eye and blade combined held the potential to smite her where she stood.

I lowered my weapon. "Is that it, then?" I asked of them all. "If no more are willing to step forth upon my challenge, I will be on my way."

My stepping in the direction of the prison woke them up. "Idiots!" a shinobi barked. "If we fail, Orochimaru-sama will throw us to the beasts!"

_Beasts…? _I puzzled, observing as a chill of fright swept through their faces. I frowned. "Throw down your weapons if you do not wish to face me," I ordered. "Better yet, give me what I seek before I am made to take them from you. Oto or New Oto, if you will fight for Konoha we will shelter you."

They wavered. The one who had spoken was white-faced, teeth clenched. "Liar!" he hissed, "You _lie_!"

Together, furious and desperate, he and many others charged.

_Kuso… _I flung a katana into the air and darted ten meters in a flash. The surprised Oto-nin's punch was dodged as I slipped aside, folding my left arm over and around the attacking one so that I could plant left hand on the back of his skull and force his head against my shoulder. My right snatched the spinning blade from the air as it fell – and plunged it heavily into his back. My right foot lashed up at his side, kicking another rusher even as I pulled the sword free and pointed it high in the air. The man was doubling over at his gut as the first fell, and my falling blade Accelerated to a slash, gouging its length beside his neck.

Sharply I flipped the blade in my left hand, pointing it right. I lunged into an attacker coming at my right side, meeting his throat with an upraised elbow and his abdomen with a stabbing sword; kicking away to free my weapon, I spun sharply to run my other katana across his throat before snapping into a jump kick that sent his body crashing hard into a living comrade's. I landed sheathing both swords, and turned to draw my wakizashi whilst cutting blindingly past another. The blade held level, I slid to a halt in a low crouch; the man's head and body landed quite separately behind me.

"Come!"

I rose, leaning outside a stabbing kunai knife and grabbing a firm hold of the back of my attacker's shoulder. I whirled, spread my feet in the dirt, and with a roar of might swung my arm around and hurled him away.

The man's flung form collided with a charging kunoichi with a dully solid crack. After a pause of resistance both went shooting into the wall of the prison twenty more meters away with a tremendous crash, blasting a plume of smoke into the air.

* * *

**Naruto ****ナルト**

"_Rasen_–!"

BOOM!

Thirteen stacked wooden bowls fell over as the room shook; the feeble Rasengan burst in my hands, and the shadow clone I'd thought to have help me shape it dispelled with my surprise as I stumbled off my feet. "Wh– what the heck was that?"

Hinata had sat for the last hour with her back at the wall, leaning into it with her head back, sometimes staring into the ceiling, sometimes shutting her eyes while awake. Now her ears twitched; slowly she got to her feet, still looking up. "Something happening… above," she muttered, blinking dully.

"Above…?" Getting to my feet, I grinned. "They're coming for us! That's got to be it!" I exclaimed, grabbing the girl's shoulders gently. "We're getting out of here, Hinata! Isn't that great? You'll be okay – pretty soon you'll be able to get some meat in your belly–!"

She hadn't looked at me since she stood up; her head hung, and messy bangs hid any view of her eyes. She had grabbed my arm a little after I'd taken her shoulders, but still I wondered if she was hearing me. Whether she was or was not, at the word 'meat' her weak hand clenched at my forearm with bruising intensity.

Coincidence. It was just a coincidence. Her head was a little mixed up – she'd gotten dizzy, and so had tightened her grip. That was it. There really was no reason for the sweat that broke out at the back of my neck.

Still I moved my hands slowly from her shoulders. Her hand followed, staying at my forearm even when my hands had fallen to my sides. I swallowed.

"Hinata-chan … so, you can let go of my arm now…" When she gave no answer I tugged carefully, a spontaneous flailing of instinct – escape. Still, an unyielding moment after, I tugged harder. Silently the girl who hung her head wearily, who had been feeble and lethargic minutes prior jerked my arm back, and as she reaffirmed her grip I felt my bones soon to breaking.

She would not let go.

I opened my mouth to speak her name, but no sound came out. I meant to try again. Before I could, it happened.

She looked up at me with murder in her gleaming eyes, hot breath steaming past two pointed fangs just barely visible in the shadows.

I can tell not if she lunged then or if my recoiling from the sight pulled her along, but she came toward me. Training took over. I flipped over her, twisting her arm behind her back as I knocked and pinned her to the ground. I paused a moment, breath catching – and levered my elbow clean into the base of her neck. She stiffened, and dropped unconscious to the floor.

I stared at her for a minute, breathing too fast. Never… never had I been looked at in such a way. This wasn't a scornful old villager glaring at me as I passed – this was sheer starving bloodlust, the wild hunter sighting prey.

She'd been too weak – she wasn't that weak. I knew for a fact. I'd been able to knock her out – this time – because she let me, I realized, whether fully to her consciousness or not.

But when she woke – when she woke, who would she be? The girl, or the beast? And I her friend, or little more than a heap of fresh meat?

I shook my head, lips parted, a hand sliding down my sweat-streaked face and resting about my mouth as my teeth trembled, my stomach shook.

Calm down. Calm down. My eyes focused.

My eyes focused, and I found myself looking at a curved wooden stake, untouched on the floor.

* * *

**Hinata ****ヒナタ**

When my mind stirred, the first thing I felt was the perpetual hunger twisting a gaping hole into my gut. It _hurt_. If I got pulled in by it, I forgot to breathe…

I groaned and opened my eyes. I was situated against a wall.

At the opposite wall Naruto was sitting with his legs folded up to his chest, arms around his knees. I couldn't see his mouth or much of his nose. Only wide, wary purple eyes, studying me carefully.

I cringed, eyes trying not to water. I remembered. I had looked at him, but I hadn't been me – and he hadn't been Naruto at that moment, not to my eyes. Just… just… What could I say? How could I explain it in words the human would understand?

No – no, no, no, not _the human_. He was human. I was human. We were no different. Humans. So he was not _the_ human. He was Naruto-kun, just Naruto-kun, and everything that made him just that had drawn me to love and to stand by him. And now…

He thought I was a monster. I could see it. Even as emotions cowered in my eyes, his objective gaze did not let up, not for a second.

No words were spoken; I wanted to, I knew I could, but I simply could not. I had to look away.

The stake. It was nowhere to be seen. So, he'd taken it, had it on him. That was good, I told myself, even as my heart sank. I'd told him to hold onto it from the start. I was dangerous; I shouldn't be trusted, as I was. Timidly I met his staring eyes, trying to convey … something. Approval? I couldn't trust my own mouth. If I opened it, would I tell him I was glad he had finally taken my advice, or would I sneer, taunt the fear he concealed, and chuckle that he might think that thing enough to overcome me if I so chose to end his miserable existence?

My teeth clenched hard. I looked down; perhaps I could not trust my eyes.

The great moon was coming, stoking my wild half, rousing it and demanding action. I could feel it. It would rise tonight, but already I could feel it, rising, howling in my veins. I had to fight it. I wrapped my arms around my aching stomach. I had to fight.

I looked at him again with yearning in my eyes, yearning for him to understand what I felt. It was useless. I didn't need sympathy now, and I didn't need trust.

I needed him to fear me. Even to hate me. If he did, he wouldn't lower his guard. And if it came down to it, he would put himself first. He had to…

Whatever I may have been trying to convey was lost to us both. Still not a word was spoken.

We could get little more than ten feet away from each other.

We had never been so far apart.

* * *

**Lee ****リー**

My weighted sword crashed into a blocking blade at a man's side, and I pushed my chakra to void the first weight magnification seal. The shinobi was in turn driven into another Oto-nin as I whirled, and the two into another; with each impact I released one additional seal. Then, with all three stacked up, my chakra surged to nullify the remainder. "_Acceleration!_"

The blocking knife shattered under the blast of force; the three were slashed and sent sailing away.

_I… _Sweat burned in my eyes. _I must not lose._

The sturdy wakizashi flashed from its sheath, darting, hacking, parrying in coordination with a katana as I fended off and felled enemies in opposite directions. Not a movement was wasted.

_For those two…!_

Something impacted the back of my skull; the second I flinched they were falling upon me. I blocked a knife, and a fist met my cheek. Shoving out hard with both katana, I forced most a few steps away and whirled in time to leap clear above the lunging stab of a longsword. I locked the blade passing beneath me between two notched hilts above and the crossed blades below. Then my feet shot forward into his face, and with a cracked neck he fell. I backflipped over a flurry of shuriken, twisting into an axe kick that smashed the thrower's skull. My feet met the earth for an instant, and I sprang high, away from the converging mass – and plunged into a Dynamic Entry that wiped out two more, driving them through the dirt.

I rolled as I hit ground, rising to my feet and whipping out blades, backpedalling swiftly to parry furious blows thrown by the rushing straightsword of an elite. I blinked – blocked with one sword, gutted him with another – and turned to two more elites on the attack. They wielded their knives in concert and with fury, and I fought to parry both with my twin blades. Converging – I was not moving around enough. More were closing in. I would be trapped. White-hot pain nicked my shoulder.

_But… I must not LOSE–!_

With deadly speed a wave of sand blasted past me, veered and whipped around – snatching up enemies in a radius about me and diving, twisting up into the air. Gaara materialized in sand before me, sliding a short way in a crouch on his feet, arms crossed and straight as the great missile shaped at its fore a draconic head. It gaped only a moment as if to roar, and then doubled and twisted in on itself, the entire mass of sand and bodies corkscrewing as it fell–

"_Hah!_" Gaara grunted, flinging his fists out – and with a booming crack the sand compressed and exploded, a bloody firecracker, flinging a shockwave across the earth. It rained red.

The Suna boy looked back crossly. "You snuck off…"

"I… I did. I am sorry."

"You're sure you wouldn't like to order me to flee?" he sneered, turning his back to mine and glaring at a scattered bunch of enemies on his side.

"Yes, now let us fight!" I cried.

The boy actually smirked as he raised his arms, wrapping himself in a column of sand and melting to the earth. The sand puddle spread thin as it swept forward along the ground – and erupted in the midst of the foes he'd been eyeing, throwing five into the air to be shredded to pieces. Churning sand surged beneath Gaara's feet at his bidding, carrying him toward others in a wickedly curved path, and he surfed a ways before kicking it forward to blast them away. The missile then arced skyward, forming a cloud a ways above before unleashing a deluge of violent rain. "_SAND Shower!"_

BOOM-BOOM-B-BOOM-BOOM-_BOOM_!

_That is right…! _I thought, readying my sword as I faced another throng of foes. Together they charged.

_Whether or not it is my fault as the older brother for allowing them to be captured… trying to do this on my own…!_

I leapt and slashed, leapt and slashed, kicked, hacked, leapt and slashed – dancing madly about them as a beast of battle, felling each rusher as he or she came in one valiantly sharp stroke of my sword. _Trying to save them on my own…_

_Would just be selfish!_

I shouted, cutting another down.

Many remained yet. The guard here was ridiculous, a testament to how highly the Sound valued its possession of these prisoners. Still I fought, with Gaara at my side, with all that I was and all that I had.

And still they fought, half-mad with the fury born of desperation.

One of my arms dripped with blood; they pressed on in attempt to overwhelm me with sheer numbers. A kunoichi I stabbed gripped my sword in her dying breaths to keep me from pulling it free. I felt the depths of their desperation, the height of their ardent fury, their incredible oneness as hands grabbed at my arms and clothes and hair, fighting to immobilize me as others punched and kicked and brought weapons to my flesh. With a roar I thrashed like a man possessed, lifting clinging people from the earth; I stomped, and the earth quailed; I kicked and shoved and swung with all my might, beating and pounding them back in a struggle to break free.

When all were flung off in a heave of force, I lashed my katana instinctively toward a new rusher barreling in fast. Having had ample time to prepare his jutsu, the shinobi stood hulking in an armor of stone, but still charged at great speed.

My sword glanced off an armored arm. Then a stone-coated fist smashed my stomach in.

Blood shot from my mouth. I barely felt him grab a hold of my head before a huge foot kicked up, nailing me in the gut and lifting my feet from the earth.

_N-no!_

A hand at my upper back – and I was shoved and smashed straight into the earth. A horrible crash of shattering stone and shattering bone struck the air. I broke in more than one place.

_Chikusho…! _I thought as crimson exploded from my mouth. People shouted and ran up. I lay shaking as some stepped on me, grabbed my arms, as one pressed a knife to my neck, barking at me not to move.

_It cannot… end like this–!_

"LEAF! GREAT! _HURRICANE! ! !_"

Whop-thak-crk-thop-_bam!_

"_Haha_! That's _four_ for me, _Ka_-kashi! Make sure you keep count – you're already behind!"

"Yeah, yeah…"

_Is this… happening? _I wondered, blinking at the sandaled feet that had landed in front of me. Gingerly I pushed myself up, turning my head to see the messy-haired man look my way with warm eyes, face strong and proud… of me? "S-sensei…?"

He flashed a thumbs-up, giving me a top-notch smile. "No student of mine's going to charge into a maximum security enemy prison without a little backup!"

Moisture pooled in my eyes, and I sniffled. _S-so cool!_

"Can you stand?" A hand came to my shoulder, and I looked to see Yuuhi Kurenai knelt at my side, red eyes trained calmly on our daunted foes. Gaara blurred in and backed nearer to us all, staying alert.

"I – I think so. Sensei, you three – how are you here? Jiraiya-sama…"

"It would be poor form on our part to turn our backs on our students…" Kurenai-sensei began coolly.

Hatake Kakashi nodded, popping his neck. "No matter what Lord Jiraiya may think of our actions, I'm not particularly fond of leaving a comrade behind. As soon as one person – one crazy kid set off after them, my mind was made up. Now I realize how foolish we were. We've called you three the face of the resistance, but you're not just some trophy image for us to brandish and flaunt as we please. You're not our face; you're our heart. Our spirit. They thought so, too," he added offhandedly, glancing back.

"They…?" I looked back confusedly. In a few moments my searching eyes widened. Hidden among the leaves were dozens of pairs of cool eyes, rugged and menacing figures huddled motionless in the shadows. "For us…?"

"The idea of following you was met with remarkable enthusiasm back at base," Kurenai explained with a hint of a smile. She helped me to my feet.

"Exactly," Guy-sensei growled heartily. "They think to demoralize us, but we're not the scared pile of prisoners we were. As Kakashi said, you three splendid youths embody our heart, the roaring flame of our spirit! We're here to inform the Sound that we do _not_ appreciate them messing with that…"

I could hardly believe it; still, I was unable to shake a sense of urgency. "We need to hurry," I said, though not even certain what exactly inspired me to voice it. It was a gut feeling, then. I would follow it.

Kakashi nodded at me. "Your orders, then, Commander?"

I was startled a moment; there was no sarcasm in his tone when he addressed me then, no jesting mockery in his eye. There was calm and honest loyalty, nothing more.

My jaw set; I drew a katana from its sheath. _That is right; we are not alone anymore._

The blade was thrust skyward. I inhaled deeply.

_We have become shinobi … that people can believe in._

"_CHAAAARGE!_"

"_**Aa!**_**"**

* * *

**Naruto ****ナルト**

I stood up quickly – maybe too quickly, I realized belatedly, perspiration at my brow.

_S-sudden movements…_

But what was I supposed to do, keep seated while she trudged toward me? By the look of it, though, my startled slip hadn't provoked her as it could. I still couldn't relax. That didn't necessarily have to mean anything.

_Who… who are you, right now? _Hinata the girl, Hinata the beast – I couldn't tell. Her head hung as she walked – a short ten feet, and she closed the distance slowly, so slowly, while fully capable of crossing it in a single strong bound. My shoulder blades pressed tensely against stone. My mouth fought to open – my throat fumbled with the air–

"You don't like me anymore, do you?"

I blinked. The sunken eyes that had met mine were milky, blankly woeful and distraught. There was a strange light to them, an intensity without focus; they betrayed nothing more, but still they drew me into their unnerving depths with a petrifying allure. I wanted to reach out, to fold her in my arms and rock all her sorrows away – to shelter this hapless, desolate being from harm. So striking was this urge that I nearly forgot she'd spoken.

"No… no, of course I do! I love you, Hinata… Why – why would you say that?"

"You're lying…!" Her voice was a whimper; the nymph's quivering eyes made my heart fold. "I can smell it on you – fear, disgust… I'm nothing b-but some repulsive _creature_ to you now…"

I gripped her shoulders. "Don't say that – that's not how I feel…!"

Her smile was watery as she looked up at me and brightened tentatively. "Th-then…!" She pressed forward suddenly, resting her hands on my chest; her eyes sparkled with yearning, but beyond their pained depths something like unforetold mischief arose. "Then would you… kiss me, Naruto-kun?"

Her nymph's voice lured me in. Before I could answer my head was moving forward, and she met my parted lips passionately with her own. A thrill went through me as the kiss deepened quickly, fiercely, and our bodies pulled together. There was no tenderness here; there was yearning, lust, and strife. I gripped her short hair in my hand and quite possibly bruised her pale lips with mine, and she murmured serenely. I didn't even care that she could probably feel my excitement against her. It was the hottest exchange we'd ever shared.

Then, in the midst of this glory, with a certain uncanny deliberateness – her arms moving to encircle my ribcage, in a manner just a bit too peculiar for the standard embrace, and a keen point brushing along my lip – these sensations combined to scream at me so sharply that I broke the kiss and shoved her away, hard.

She stumbled, but gathered her footing too swiftly, with far too much ease in lightfooted grace for someone in her condition. She cocked her head playfully, looking to me with laughter in those tired eyes. I hadn't been able to tell before, but now that I'd gotten a hold of myself that alien kiss made it clear enough. This wasn't my Hinata – not right now. Her voice came to me from weeks past; it was this knowledge I had chanced to call on now, and it had probably saved my life.

–"_One of the worst things you can do, if I'm not myself … is to let me get my arms around you. Your ribcage or your neck, and you're as good as dead…"–_

"What's wrong?" she asked sweetly. She didn't even bother to hide her prominent fangs now when she smiled softly, as she had before.

"You – did something to me," I managed, throat dry.

"What, that?" she asked with a nod toward my pants, and I frowned through a startled blush. She stepped toward me again, arms hanging, back hunched, and again offered a smile. "Come on, can't I just breathe you in for a bit, Naruto-kun? Won't you let me listen to the music of your heart? It's beating so _quickly_…"

"I don't think that's a good idea just now, y'know?" I said, trying to stay calm as I backed along the wall and the focus wavered in and out of her eyes. She followed with that weary but lilting gait, fumbling forward as I stepped back – that watery smile not once leaving her face. My back met resistance, and in a single motion at once rough and silken she was before me, hands meeting the perpendicular walls beside my head. I was in a corner.

Her left hand met my face fondly and rose to play at my hair as she placed her head against my chest, breathing in deeply. "You're sweating, Naruto-kun…" she observed at a whisper, her breath rolling hot along my collarbone. Her nose nuzzled softly and drifted up along my neck, trailed gently by the tip of her tongue; she lapped again, tongue sliding hungrily from the corner of my mouth to my temple. "I don't mind, though… It's _salty_…"

She'd cracked.

I ducked under her upraised arm and slipped by before her tantalizing breath and strong, captivating tongue could caress my neck again. My hands were fisted as I backed up my safe few feet, and she turned her head with a smile before shuffling on in gradual pursuit, breath ragged, eyes aglow, an arm at the wall for support.

–"_If it's big prey, or something likely to put up a good fight… well, that's where the Demon's Bite comes in…"–_

"Hinata," I tried carefully, ducking neatly to change direction, stepping back again. "You _know_ who I am…" She snarled in response, apparently unwilling or unable to speak. Her lips drew back from her cracked grin; her dripping tongue flashed across a row of sharp teeth. Each breath was frantic. We were moving faster.

–"_It only takes seconds … for it to be weakened, and finally subdued, by the daze."–_

Now or never. I was stepping back – she was stepping forward – I would dart past, capture her arm–

My foot slipped on a fragment of wood.

It was all she needed. A living mass of force bulldozed violently into my torso, smashing the wind from my lungs; my back hit the floor with a crash. She was on top of me, straddling my sides, heavy claws biting into my shoulders as she tossed her head back with a cutting snarl that boiled with ferocity. Then she lunged, and her fangs slammed savagely into my neck.

I screamed.

My teeth snapped shut, along with my eyes. I turned my head away as best I could as my eyes stretched wide, and a groan rose in my throat; my neck muscles strained and tensed as I gasped for breath. It was happening – I was going under, and the world was turning mad. It was a feeling so attractive that the idea of resisting it suddenly became the epitome of insanity. Through the pain of her jaw's steel grip I was assailed by wave after wave of giddiness, so strongly that I was brought nearly to laughing in elation as she drank. But this wasn't a sip or quick boost. She was draining me, body and soul. The adrenaline was pumping from the moment I'd been pinned down, but that wouldn't last me long. I had to act _now_.

"S-st-stop it – stop…! You're hurting me! Hinata!" My pleading fell on deaf ears. I tried to push her away, futilely; I kneed her in the gut, but the blow was weak. Clammy hands pulled uselessly at her hair as I called her name again and again. It was useless, everything useless.

"H-Hinata… _Hinata_…_!_"

I was going … to die in there–

'_Let me OUT! Let me kill her!'_

I shuddered at the feral roar that seared in my skull. _F-fox–! _Suddenly I was warring with two demons; the Kyuubi's power surged and flared, claws of burning pain twisting and writhing furiously at my gut, thrashing to break free, but I suppressed it. The great beast screamed, trying to wrest my mind from me. _I never – asked for your help!_

'_I'm NOT dying in here, fool! It's us or her! Dammit, I'll take off the wolf-bitch's _head_–!'_

With a shove of will the fox was silenced.

_Do not…_

…_Call her that…_

My hand fell from her hair, shaking.

I blinked slowly, taking note of the object pressed against my hip.

A trembling hand quietly drew a sharp, curved wooden stake from the lip of my pants.

_I want… to live…_

My hand rose silently, my grip so intent that my knuckles popped. She was frenzied with her thirst, singularly focused. She didn't see it coming. Darkness danced at the corners of my vision.

_I want… to survive!_

Water fell onto my cheek.

In that moment, my hand faltered.

_Y'know… I freaking hate it when you cry._

Hinata's tears were falling upon me, from wild eyes, even as she drank.

The stake fell to the floor.

"How did… this happen, to us…?" I breathed, feeble hands struggling to rise until they could cradle the head of the one who was killing me. My chin nuzzled against her hair as she wept. "You're still in there, aren't you? You just… can't stop, this time…"

My eyes were watering as I kissed her forehead. I was getting… tired. "And it's not y-your fault, y'know? But still, knowing you… you're gonna do a lot more crying when this is over. Even if I tell you not to… if I say 'It's fine, so don't feel bad…' You're still gonna beat yourself up over it. _Don't_," I reiterated, no matter how pointless it probably was, bopping a knuckle weakly against her head for emphasis. I blinked groggily. It was like … falling asleep…

"But even so… I was a fool, to think any different… when the simple truth is…"

A defeated smile crossed my face as I stared into the ceiling, as exhaustion fell down on me.

"…I can't kill my Hinata-chan."

The ceiling rolled and rippled above me, roiling emptiness drowning in my ears as I drew a hollow breath. My eyelids twitched. My arms were limp around her.

_I guess thisses it, then…_

My shallow breaths grew chaste, useless.

_Well… for me, anyways…_

My mouth was hanging open. My eyes began to drift heavily shut.

_You and Bushy Brow, though… you've still got a village to save…_

_A whole world out there… to conquer…_

I didn't even feel when her fangs left me, but as I registered the sight of her pulling away, I guessed what was coming next.

_Ah… I wonder if Lee… would become Hokage, for me…?_

The anticipated claws tearing open my throat never came.

Instead, my eyes snapped wide in alarm as Hinata cried out over me, wailing in grievous despair.

I … wasn't dead yet. But the blood loss – could the daze from the Demon's Bite have been causing me to black out faster? I blinked dizzily.

The han'you was sobbing as she bent over me again, tongue flicking once across the wound at my bruised neck. My skin prickled there as puncture marks began to seal. "I'm sorry," she kept repeating at a shameful whimper, weeping pale lavenders bright with concern to the point of terror. Her yearning hands cupped the sides of my head, carefully as if she feared she might break me, what with the fragile ol' human I was. "I'm sorry…!" she said, thumbs gently rubbing my temples. "Just s-stay with me, Naruto-kun! I'll do anything – just don't l-leave me…! N-Naruto-kun, say something, please! Naruto–!"

"You… stopped, didn't you?"

Eyes trembling wetly, she shut them and gave a tiny nod with an affirmative-sounding whimper. They remained tightly shut, and her head hung as if she were afraid to look at me.

That wouldn't do. I reached up slowly; it was hard to move my heavy arm, but not impossible. With an amount of effort I folded it above the back of her neck and let it fall again. Her forehead was brought against my chest, and she opened her streaming eyes in surprise. _Honestly, like a bawling puppy…_

"What'd I say to you … about crying?" I asked flatly.

She choked back her tears, seizing up in another sob. "Hai!"

"That's my girl…" I murmured, weak fingers ruffling her hair.

To be honest, I wouldn't have minded staying that way for a time, sprawled lazily with Hinata's warm body half on top of mine; heck, I was woozy enough to fall asleep. Unfortunately, we had more pressing matters to attend to – not to mention, I apparently thought _very_ well under enough pressure.

"Hinata-chan?"

"H-hm?"

"What wouldja' say if I told you… that at the most hopeless moment possible, I figured out the way out of here?"

* * *

**Lee ****リー**

Panting, I raised my head.

"This is your final chance," I addressed at a solid bellow the scarce number of the enemy who remained. "Those who will join us are not to be harmed. Stand aside."

A boy among their thinned ranks who wore the mark of New Oto looked momentarily to those at his sides and stepped forward, unstrapping knife pouch and shuriken holster. These he dropped to the ground, and he turned, watching his Sound comrades warily as he backed away from them, and finally strode to join the group standing at the side.

He was like a trigger; all but a few of the New Oto-nin, the former Leaf shinobi who remained, as well as a few Old Sound ninja, lobbed their weapons to the earth between our forces and moved to stand clear of our path. My force stood still, steadily observant but all at the ready; our level gazes were strong. Eventually the migration from enemy to comrade trickled down and ceased. Seven Oto-nin faced us.

Then, teeth clenched, the frontmost one turned and bolted for the prison. The others scattered smoke bombs and followed suit. My line surged, and a rain of shuriken shot into the smoke to no avail but the ring of metal on metal. The screen faded to reveal land littered with deflected throwing stars, the shinobi nowhere to be seen.

I took off in pursuit. "Kakashi, Kurenai, and Guy-sensei! We are going in!"

"Right!"

_Could it be that those Sound shinobi … are going after them?_

* * *

**Hinata ****ヒナタ**

"_Youkai Hou: Weight of Spirit._"

My body felt airy and insubstantial as our bleak cell's walls were blanketed in light by the innumerable luminous droplets expelled from my being. Naruto started; I gasped, suddenly lightheaded, and blinked carefully.

My body was weak and shaky, my stomach all hollowed out but for what I'd stolen of Naruto's powerful blood, but this much I could do. I had to. We were getting out of here.

"…_Weight of Gut._"

Naruto's half-limp weight on my back grew abruptly insignificant as the reinforced floor buckled under my squared feet. I growled and fought not to drop where I stood, raising my head and glaring determinedly at the wall a short ten feet away.

"Ready?" I grunted.

Naruto nodded, weak arms draped about my neck tightening securely. "Let's go!"

I started gradually forward with my passenger, face burning with effort as I got moving. By the time I'd crossed the room I'd come only to a sluggish walk, but ignored when I was about to collide with the wall; my job was to simply keep moving.

Naruto's was to swap us both back across the cell.

I felt the effort it took him to pull along my body with his, laden with strange power as it was, but with weakened chakra or not he successfully deposited us back at the starting point, momentum uninterrupted. Acceleration was painfully gradual in the confines of the cramped space, but it continued slowly and steadily. The interval between Shadow Substitutions plummeted as the ten feet were covered with rapidly increasing speed; the imprisoning room that for a time had comprised the glum extent of our world was shaking around us as recently solid stone was beaten and weathered, torn asunder beneath my racing feet.

"_Ready!_" I growled, rearing my shoulder back, and after one final substitution Naruto pushed from my back – before I cleared the floor in one strong bound to bludgeon my shoulder into the wall.

* * *

**Naruto ****ナルト**

I coughed on the dusty air as I got to my feet. Leaning on the wall for support, I started shakily forward and on through the exit that had been bulldozed through three feet of solid stone. With haste I staggered up the bare hallway I'd been dragged down what seemed like ages ago, blinking dizzily. At the end of the twenty meter path, Hinata was easing herself from a sizeable crater she'd blown into the wall, but slipped and stumbled, toppling onto the ground and panting with fatigue.

_We actually… made it…_

Hinata's weary gaze turned upward with a flutter of her ears – and her eyes focused. She rolled sharply aside just as an Oto-nin fell from the trapdoor above, boots crashing down where she'd just been. On all fours she sprang back and darted over to rise into a low crouch in front of me, facing the enemy with a protective arm out as six more Sound-nin joined the first. Hinata's knees shook, however, and her threatening growl wavered; as she fell to one knee and coughed weakly, the seven who'd been initially daunted by the han'you's display of ferocity smirked in confidence.

"What do you think you're doing out here, huh?" the first who'd come down asked, stepping forward and beginning a string of hand seals.

I was critically low on blood, and she was half-starved. Kneeling by Hinata, my hands at her slumped shoulders, I met the shinobi's sneer and swore quietly.

The man finished on the sign of the Snake. "Doton: Great Crusher–!"

In a flash of cascading green and deadly silver, the man was torn apart by a slash from shoulder to side. Drenched in sweat and more than a little bloody at the mouth, Lee lifted fierce eyes from behind the wild spattering of crimson. Brief emotion flickered across his face as he met our shocked stares – and he whirled to engage another foe as Kakashi, Kurenai, and Guy dropped into the fray. Every wet slice, sharp thud, airy evasion, and forceful crack of elite ninja clashing in such close quarters was audible; Hinata and I stayed out of the way, huddled on the ground, and in a minute the final Oto-nin was felled.

Lee's eyes found us again.

"Naruto-kun, Hinata-san!"

* * *

**Twenty-Two, Part Three: Encounter**

The comfortable grip I had on my naginata tightened for a second when we stepped outside. Squinting, I blinked my blinded eyes.

_Sunlight…_

Kami – we'd only been locked up for some two weeks! What it had been like for Jiraiya or for our jounin I dared not imagine. Gaunt and dark-eyed, the girl leaning on Kurenai-sensei for support looked similarly dazzled by the afternoon sun. I shook my head, and with my arm around Lee's shoulders continued forward after Kakashi and Guy, who'd been first to exit.

My eyes adjusted, and I blinked in surprise. I looked to Hinata, managing a smile, and feeble though she was she mustered up one in return. Then we looked forward upon the Leaf shinobi again, and I raised my staff to rouse from the army a collective bellow rife with fighting spirit.

_Our nightmare… is finally over…_

With a prepared seal scroll, Kakashi nullified the effects of Hinata's chakra inhibitor before moving on to me. The first thing the girl did was summon Kurogiba, who nearly tackled his little sister for the worry she'd given him; she wrapped her arms around his strong neck in an embrace, and I knew they could only be connecting mind-to-mind as she rested her head for several moments against his. Soon he nodded, looking to us as Kakashi worked on my restraint.

"The two of us need to go hunting. Immediately." He wasn't asking anyone's permission. "Shouldn't take too long, but if you've moved we'll catch up by scent."

"Okay," I said, not leaving anyone room to object. The jounin didn't know of Hinata's dietary needs. I'd wager _no_ _one_ knew what it was like to be stuck in a box with a hungry wolf demon, and I prayed none ever found out. I caught the silent han'you's eerily dull white eyes, and she shrank uncertainly under my gaze. I shook my head, smiling. "It's gonna be fine now. Get better, okay?"

She wrought up a pale but sincere smile and nodded slightly. "Yeah…"

Her right ear twitched in the most delicate of flutters; her eyes blinked as she absently turned her head.

It happened so quickly. The nervous group of surrendering Oto and New Oto-nin were run through by a blast of violent wind. Those few who had narrowly leapt from the path of the blinding ninjutsu weren't given time to notice one of their number turning against them with the smoothness of certain premeditation; by the time we could cry out, they were finished by a blur of knife work.

The cat ANBU known only as Koneko slid back on her toes from her handiwork – and fell to one knee, ducking her head slightly in deference, though a sly smile remained on her face. Before I could wonder to whom she bowed a grand nightmarish snake exploded from the earth, harsh purple scales glinting red in the sun. It screamed once, stretched to an enormous height, and tore down into the scattered bodies of Sound shinobi, some dead, most merely wounded. It lunged in a vicious snap, and a man howled in terror as he was seized and lifted within massive jaws. Crimson rained from the serpent's maw as it clamped down firmly, teeth piercing his body, and an agonized scream was at last drowned as the beast threw back its head and swallowed whole.

Lee was shouting. Kakashi-sensei swore, and I was shocked to see his wide eye lit with dread as he spoke. "That _snake_…!"

"Easy, pup," Kurogiba was saying. Hinata's hands were grasping at her face, her forehead, as if to steady her; I saw her grimace behind her hand, eyes bulging, as she opened and shut her mouth, took a sharp whiff through her nose.

"Th-that's a – l-lot of _blood_…"

"What's going on?" I asked Kakashi. "What's that snake mean? Who summoned it – was it the catgirl, or–?"

"No. She… didn't summon it." The man lifted his arm, pointing a finger bleakly forward. I'd expected him to continue; when he did not, I followed his gaze.

My eyes first found again the towering snake that feasted on the wounded or dead, and the Leaf shinobi who fought to stop it. In confusion my lips parted; then I noticed the solitary figure walking before the beast, imposed before this background of carnage, coolly passing the kneeling ANBU girl, and my lips pressed into a firm line. An obscene word crossed my mind.

"Kukukukuku… Honestly, these _people_ let such very special prisoners be freed right before my visit, and _then_ they try to cozy up to the enemy…"

He spoke loftily to a Sound-nin who lay bleeding at his feet, gouged and immobile from the hacking of his wind jutsu. The girl couldn't have been out of her teens.

"Ahh, _you_… I have trouble remembering… Who was it exactly who picked you, a frail, sniveling child, from a gutter in the streets…?"

"Y… you, my lord, my glorious ruler, in your unmatched benevolence…"

A serpent's sneer crossed the man's face. "You're pitiful…" he said simply, golden eyes flashing so casually with murder. The sole of his sandal nudged and settled on the shivering girl's head. None moved. The man went on uninterrupted, as he'd known he would. "I _loathe_ pitiful creatures."

A sharp, wet crunch cracked into the air.

_His own… shinobi…_

Orochimaru lifted his gaze and presented before us all a sleek smile that teemed with mirth. His eyes were laughing as us – we were an army, and he one man, and yet he laughed at us with our stunned faces, our fear-frozen joints. He surveyed our number in a lazy flick of the eyes – and then his gaze shifted alarmingly toward Lee, Hinata, and I. "So… _these_ are the famed pups who oppose me so…? _Kukuku_… I must say, I'm disappointed!"

A chill hit the air and flushed the wind from my lungs. Murderous intent became a tangible pressure on the air. But this was not of the snake's doing.

I could not see Hinata's face well from where I stood, but she and Kurogiba were very, very still. Darkness thickened in the air around her. Her head was down when her lips moved.

"Hmm…?" Orochimaru prompted in a voice like syrup, "Speak up, child. I didn't hear–,"

"_**You**__._"

It was barely a whisper, but held all the wrathful might of a great and foul being's utmost rage. She lowered her head, slouching. Something bad was happening here.

"H… Hinat–?"

"_GWOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAARRRR! ! !_"

Her roar was the resonant shrieking of a thousand maddened otherworldly beasts; it shook the earth beneath our feet and erupted in a piercing pillar of ghastly black that darkened the world, struck into and shattered the heavens above. My soul was gripped and rattled by the monstrous utterance – I pinned my hands to my ears as my skull hammered, as the Kyuubi yowled in sudden rage. I saw Gaara crumple, curl into a ball with his hands in his hair. All around us jounin sank or toppled enfeebled to their knees, buckling under the sheer and brutal force of immeasurable and unadulterated hatred.

I blinked with a start as I remembered to breathe. I was on the ground – the air was leaden with malice. Still I shakily lifted my head … to look upon the young demon who stood, fantastically terrible, ears back, tail down, black hair standing and stark white fur bristling as murder rumbled past bared black fangs, from the depths of her throat. Her eyes were insane as they were intent, matching those of a blazing wolf poised at her side, hackles up, pawing the earth and tensed to attack. Only one other person existed to them now.

The object of their hatred only smiled a disgusting smile. Excitement glinted in his evil eyes. "Ohh? So you would be the dear child my Neji-kun regards with such fixation? You seem rather angry about something, but–,"

The ground exploded by me in a blast of dust and wind – and with this fearsome shockwave she was gone.

"Hinata, no–!"

"Milord–!"

An all but invisible blast of force that resounded like the crash of boulders shattering against a cliffside tore the ANBU Koneko from her feet, swatting her aside to send her tumbling rapidly for a harsh distance. With this horrific backhand Hinata came into brief focus with claws drawn back – inches from Orochimaru's face.

**BOOM!**

Her momentous strike sent the man shooting and skipping along the earth, in a flash lost in the trees and great buffets of dust his thrown body had shocked from the battered earth. Hinata landed on all fours with a savage snarl, simmering in an aura of darkness as she glowered into the distance.

My eyes widened as a blur smoothly took form a few yards from her back.

"Behind you–!"

_THAM!_

Her head turned just in time to squarely receive the lunging blow of a smashing fist.

Blood was strewn from her mouth by the solid strike – and her hand snapped onto Orochimaru's forearm. Without delay his free hand fired a terrible punch deep into her stomach, but if he had thought to cause a waver in her grip he'd thought wrong. The small demon was moved perhaps an inch – a gurgle of black spilled from her lips. And her other hand latched onto his wrist.

Both arms seized in a crushing grip of steel, he met rising black-and-white eyes, dangerous and feral, and cringed.

Orochimaru's mouth burst open in a yell as Kurogiba's razor-lined jaws closed on his torso with devastating force. The blazing wolf flashed red. Then Orochimaru's skin rippled with the texture of bubbles crawling and swelling beneath it, darkened and steamed from every pore, and with Kurogiba's fierce growl the howling man vomited fire, convulsed, and exploded in flame, all as Hinata ripped his arms in one violent wrench from his body, casting both aside. With this the executioners released the disfigured heap of burning flesh, letting it topple to the earth.

"D–did they get him?"

Apparently Hinata felt otherwise. Claws sank into her right shoulder and withdrew dripping with blood; she growled as her fingers spread. The armless form on the ground swelled grotesquely, and his chin jerked straight out. She lashed down at him with the blades of darkness, but the instant before they could hit his jaws parted impossibly – _unhinged_ – and a fresh new Orochimaru, coated in a film of slime, dived out and beyond harm's way in a flash, slithering in swift retreat. He reared up as the pair of demons lit off in pursuit, opening his mouth to vomit upon the ground, from who knows what corner of Hell, an incredible number of darting serpents that rushed upon his foes in a mass of long, hissing, writhing bodies.

Roaring in scorn, Hinata swung her arm sharply to send blades of raw energy hacking into them once and then again, battering and blasting the speeding reptiles back before they could reach her. Kurogiba came to her side, and together they hurled from their mouths a single barreling jet of flame that seared a gap though the serpents' ranks.

The man himself formed the sign of the Snake and brought a fist to the earth, erecting a wall of stone to block the heavy fireball. Kurogiba's charging form leapt ahead, morphing to spiral and rocket full force into the shield as a missile that shattered it in a blaze of black. As the barrier was felled Hinata blurred past with a mad shriek, launching into a dynamically whirling, thrashing flurry of blows even as she sailed. The laughing sannin sidestepped, shifted, backpedalled, escaping it all in a deathly dance of evasion.

He leapt high above a strike, flinging a trio of knives down at the girl; no more than a roar of might – a rippling shockwave of power, tearing at the air – sent them careening off-course before she spat three bursts of flame in response. Thrown upward, Orochimaru spun in the air to dodge them all before his tongue shot and extended from his mouth with pinpoint accuracy, locking around her neck. He landed and turned, slinging her high into the air before slamming her into the earth. Once more he lifted her – now to throw her down hard against the lunging Kurogiba, sending both to the dirt. His tongue withdrew, and he flung out his arms to send serpents stretching from his sleeves, binding girl and wolf alike.

"Kuso!" I swore, "She needs help–!"

Lee, a number of jounin, and I leapt from the path of a massive, sweeping scaled tail as the great snake lashed out. The Oto-nin that it had gotten to were nowhere to be seen: only their blood remained where they'd been.

"_Not so ffassst_…" the kingly serpent grumbled. "I haven't yet eaten my fill; you lot will have to do…"

"Naruto…" Kakashi-sensei said, tensing in his stance.

"Yeah, I know!"

* * *

**Hinata ****ヒナタ**

"Have you calmed down? Honestly… My Neji-kun has given me more challenging _sparring_ matches…"

"_B…Bastard…! You give him BACK!_"

"What's this…?" Another snake slid around my thigh, my waist, and sank burning fangs into my side. Already others were wrapped around my limbs, waist, and neck, biting beneath my jaw, in the meat of my shoulder, in the back of my thigh, my bicep, and I panted as my body burned their pathetic venom. I thrashed once; their cumulative strength held me fast. "Kukuku… You mean to challenge him, don't you…? As you are now, you won't be able to entertain him for long…"

Kill – I had to KILL this foul man! This filthy, festering _disease_ of a creature that had turned everything so wrong, that had nested in my home and set it to rot, that–!

"Still, what a delightful specimen you are…" he mused, the swine. "I only wish I had time on my hands to study you… You've done strange and amazing things with my mark, and acquired a handful of traits and tricks my Neji-kun may never know–,"

"_He's not 'yours.'" _My voice was a roughly shaped growl, low and dangerous.

"Hm?"

"_Don't you __**dare**__ speak of my cousin like he belongs_ _to you!_" I snarled out, "_Especially not in front of me! With what you've __**done**__ to him– Your stinking lips aren't fit to utter his NAME!_"

With a growl Kurogiba evaporated in flame, escaping his bonds and reforming in a blazing crack to slash the murderer in two.

Shocked golden eyes stretched wide as the snake's upper body began to sail, independent of the lower.

The snakes around me did not weaken.

"Just kidding."

What was he, _made_ of goddamned snakes? ! They stretched between the two halves, interlocked and pulled, and with much hissing, clicking, and a sharp, moist crunch his body was reunited. A blur of seals – without releasing his hold on the vile serpents that restrained me – and he whipped his neck around to spew a bullet of water straight through Ani-ue's body. He yelled and staggered, fighting to reshape his medium before he was dispelled.

"_You're not human…!_"

"And what are _you_, child, hm?" Orochimaru chuckled. "So _this_ is the finest force that bothersome old wolf could summon to stand against me, to thwart me? She herself could not compare… so she sends two fool pups, one of whom has _already_ perished at my hand? She's doomed you to failure!"

My gaze went wild, my face contorting itself in an animalistic snarl, as something clenched and reignited within me, within us both, thundering and screeching.

_This man–!_

'–_Must DIE! !'_

"_BERSERKERGANG!"_

"_POSSESSION!"_

Never had we made the shift so smoothly, so seamlessly. It may have been in part that I forgot in my fury to concern myself with safeguarding our souls, and he didn't have the caution to check. More than anything, though, that was because we were never so purely as one as in that moment when we seized both upon a singular desire.

Kill.

The snakes were shredded as my body thrashed with new and boundless vigor, with new might, with new intensity. Then we were attacking, dissolving into a chaotic chain of assault by fang and claw, fist and foot, every inch of one body being brought to its fullest capacity to hurt that man, to inflict pain, to kill. He slipped and flitted from our thrashing rage, mocking us with the laughter rich in his eyes. We raged on insanely, striking on scent and sound, breathing the very flow of his aura.

The snake tried at some manner of illusion, and I scorched it from our mind – and at last our claws tasted his side – caught upon his flesh and violently gouged it open in a shower, a crimson explosion of splitting life as we blazed past – he turned, to see his thigh muscle mauled in a single jagged pass of spread claws, great veins ruptured to loose their gloriously filthy bounty in great gouts upon the dirt – we sprang from behind, both feet impacting his back in a supreme crunch of snapping ribs – arm hooked around his neck, and wild hand smashed into his skull, fingers spread, unimaginable strength soundly cracking, twisting his shattered neck.

We pinned his body to the ground, drew back our claws – and he shot from beneath us, along the earth, his body liquid as he righted himself, head snapping upright and around, twisting into place – the tongue shot out, around our waist, yanked us to him to be thrown by a heavy swing to the face. Taste of blood, a bounce, a roll – on our feet – yowling, lunging, slashing.

Behind.

"You say you want me to give him back, but Neji-kun joined New Sound of his own free will. What have _I _done, really, but grant the fool boy his own desires?"

"_You MANIPULATE him–! !_"

He vanished again as we lashed around. A stride from our back. "Perhaps. But that troubled child had curled up and found his solace deep within the folded palm of Darkness _well_ before I became his world. His regal hatred… his blackest outrage… I was truly fortunate to chance upon so rare and fine a gem. I have merely… _refined_ it."

"_You… YOU BASTARD–!_"

I grunted, body snapping rigid as pain surged like lightning from the base of my neck, a clot of agony twisting, tightening, locking me in place. The man only smiled; he began to tease an outstretched obsidian claw in his fingers, taking a lofty moment of observation.

"_What is this? !_"

"You don't understand…?" He chuckled, and then laughed aloud. "You mean to bring him to the light, yet you yourself dance with darkness?"

"_Grrrr…!"_ I withheld a yell as pain jolted through me, again and again, tearing me apart.

"What a tragic case you are!" he laughed, delighted in my suffering. "When the fight began I couldn't so much as touch your curse, but look now at how swiftly you've fallen! You mean to destroy yourself, body and soul, in this worthless endeavor?" He laughed aloud with mirth, piercingly.

"I will…"

"Hm?"

"I will s-_save_ him! _Whatever the cost!"_

Incredibly – miraculously – I broke free of his hold.

And I brought my claws heavily across his face.

He leaned away and rolled with the gouging blow, so that my claws only grazed his flesh. He had turned, a sharp spin of evasion – and savagely snapped the rest of the way around, a sword protruding from his mouth.

I hadn't had time to move a muscle. Wide eyes blinked once – I shuddered – and pain lit along from my hip to my shoulder as a blast of black sprayed out from my torn body, splattered profusely to the earth.

The longsword was released from his mouth, and caught in his hand at the peak of the swing. Pained and enraged, I began to move – to attack – when pulsing agony drilled into my neck, locked my joints, rooted me in place. In a violent flash he whirled in place, and a level blade slashed me deeply across the abdomen, drenching my fur, painting the earth with a second outpouring of black blood.

I grimaced. My knees were giving out. He was drawing back again, glee in his eyes.

_SHLUGK! ! _

"_A-ah…!_"

The sword's thrust had speared my stomach, all the way to the hilt. With this my collapse was caught short, and with only the cutting edge to support me he lifted me to full height and then onto the tips of my toes. One eye screwed shut, I stifled a cough that stained locked fangs and fought to glare at my tormentor. He smirked coldly.

"Hmph…"

With a curt move of the wrist he angled the sword upward rather than straight out – and I screamed as the keen edge beneath my ribcage extended rapidly through me, sawing against my own weight. My eyes spasmed in their sockets and tipped upward, hazy vision flashing as my body seared, but I could not pass out.

I was choking on blood, rigid body shaking and eyes bulging as I sensed he'd stopped – when he dug his cold fingers into my hair, clasping to jerk my neck back before he leaned to whisper into my ear.

"It was fun, wolf-child… I do hope we can do it again sometime."

My mouth stretched wide, every muscle in my body tensing as he at once freed his sword and roughly kicked me away.

I drifted through the air, sailing, sinking, falling… I hit the ground with a heavy thud, splayed and strengthless, mouth hugely agape, and there I lay stunned.

"I'm sure my Neji-kun will enjoy toying with you even _more_ than I have…"

_Can't… move… …_

"Lightning BLADE!"

* * *

**Naruto ****ナルト**

Gamabunta crashed down with a sneer of triumph, the earth roaring at the impact. Beneath the Chief Toad the great snake Manda screeched once, and was dispelled.

"Nice one, Chief!" I yelled. _Now…!_

Already accustomed as a team though they were, Kakashi, Guy, and Kurenai-sensei were taking a bruising as they fought valiantly to hold Orochimaru off; they were good, but already worn from battle. The battling shinobi moved in blurs, slinging an occasional jutsu on the fly as they rushed and attacked. The sannin was cautious with them, but maintained his grin as he taunted and occasionally lashed out at his foes. They weren't doing much damage.

Even if they could land a few blows, what good would it do? He was a freak; Hinata's most brutal efforts to tear him apart had barely fazed him. If we were going to defeat this guy, we'd need to hit him hard.

My teeth clenched. "Bushy Brow! I've got an idea!"

"What is it?" he demanded, coming to my side.

I held up my hand, palm up, as I met his eyes. "Rasengan."

He frowned, but then something in his eyes flickered as it clicked. "You mean…?"

"Yeah," I said, getting chakra to seep from my hand. "We'll need to get on the same wavelength, but for us that part shouldn't be much of a challenge!"

"Yosh!" he said, extending his hands.

_Why didn't we think of this sooner? He's got the speed, but not the right chakra output. I've got plenty of power in chakra, but not the speed to shape it, and Hinata was landing somewhere in between. But if I just let loose on chakra, and Lee shapes it…_

_Then maybe…!_

"Here we go!" I said, blasting one final surge of chakra as Lee's darting hands blurred near invisibly about my palm, long-accustomed as he was to the speed and precision needed to wield Infinity's Blade. The air hummed as a compacted sphere of spiraling chakra, violet and flashing blue, took form in my hand. Controlling my chakra, I held it steady and maintained it as Lee pulled away.

"It worked…" he murmured, and I nodded.

"This is it!" I said, raising my free hand. I paused as at that particular moment an uncanny thought occurred to me. Well, why not go nuts with it?

My hand swept down as if to strum a guitar, and as it passed the intense Spiraling Sphere in the direction of rotation three briefly extant clones joined around me in at once brushing a sharp burst of wind chakra into the sphere.

"Shoot!" I yelped as the earth buckled, the jutsu jumping in fury and the hum in the air at swiftly intensifying to a strange, ethereal buzz. Lee had jumped away in surprise.

"What did you do? !"

"I don't know!" I answered, steadying myself and keeping control of the cyclonic chakra, one hand above it and the other below working to maintain it. A few prickles of energy, like four tiny shark's fins of searing white light, danced about its circumference. "But I think it worked! Cover me, Lee!"

Together we charged to the battle, Lee in the lead while I trailed fifteen meters, directly behind. Orochimaru kicked Kurenai aside as she lunged to Kakashi's aid – before his eyes settled upon Lee, leaping fantastically into the air, swords flashing from their sheaths as he whirled and extravagantly fell.

The sannin was looking up, at the faster runner, at the nearer and more immediate threat. He would have to have spotted me. However, I'd bet he had never seen a Shadow Substitution before.

If not for my recent practice in swapping Hinata's youki-laden body with mine, I might have actually lost the compressed cyclone of chakra that was the Rasengan in the transition.

Orochimaru was preparing to engage the sailing swordsman when I drew both hands back at my side, lunged, and thrust forward. For a single instant a shadow clone appeared just before the man, thrust-out palms stretched forward. Then I swapped, and the speeding Rasengan plunged into contact with his gut.

_WHAM-AM-A-A-AM-AM-AM–!_

The bright violet sphere began to sink into him, shredding flesh with sheer intensity of whipping, cataclysmic energy. The ground depressed beneath us as the air shook with the impact – freezing a moment, and then caught up in the flow of energy and flung to whirl in a rapid tumble of wind around us. The man's eyes grew, his mouth opening as he grimaced furiously at me.

"_Th-that… jutsu is–? !_"

I hastened the flow of my chakra, and the slashing sphere expanded, flickering crazily, beginning to lift his feet from the earth. I growled.

"RASENGAN!" I shouted, and with a final surge of violet chakra from both my hands the sannin was blasted away.

Orochimaru's body cracked into a tree – and went up in smoke. Splintered fragments of what had probably recently been a log thudded dustily to the earth.

"Kuso…" I swore, panting, as Lee landed behind me.

"Naruto…" I turned to see Kakashi-sensei, whose eyes were shocked. "That– You just… your first Rasengan, a-and you…!"

"Save it for later, sensei," I said, focusing on the figure that trudged into the open.

His hand covered a severe and bloodied burn at his stomach; with a grunt he straightened. "A close call… _almost_," he mused, smiling though his face was taut with pain.

_This guy…_

Orochimaru's eyes surveyed the Leaf shinobi. "_Now_… What to do with you–?"

He snapped to the side. An arrow of some sort pierced his shoulder, passing through in a flash and tearing off into the trees. He grunted, glowering with a frown of confusion. "You…!"

"What was that?" I cried, chancing a look around. Lee turned, and gasped.

"What– what are you doing here? !"

* * *

**Lee ****リー**

"Hah! So, we finally catch up with you three punks, and look at what a jam you're in!" Sakon sneered from the prison rooftop, arms crossed as a frowning Kidoumaru lowered his bow.

"I can't believe we're actually doing this," Tayuya muttered sourly as she scooped Hinata's stunned form into her arms. Jiroubo stood at her side, ready to defend her if need be, before both leapt back to stand level with Naruto and I. The two on the roof followed suit, flickering to join us; I bit my lip uncertainly.

"If you four have an explanation for this treachery, do tell…" Orochimaru said darkly. The Sound Four apparently held no fear for him, however – or if they did, they did not show it.

"Are ya' really all that surprised, old man?" Kidoumaru spat. "We've had it with being yesterday's news!"

"It was our mistake falling for all those empty promises you used to reel us in," Tayuya continued crossly. "Maybe we were of value to you at one time, but all you're interested in now are your New Sound brats, and your fXXXXXX wolf-boy and Uchiha!"

Sakon nodded. "We thought perhaps you might resume interest in us as the next best thing when Kimimaro's disease finally got the better of him, but we regarded your word too highly back then. Now you've already got your perfect vessels in order, and your true nature shows through! Gathering a posse of little Leaf morons for your image, and sending us – us! – to guard outta' the way prisons like scraps of bothersome trash under your feet–?"

"But _no one_ plays us for worthless extras!" Kidoumaru pitched in. "See, we don't quite _appreciate_ being discarded so easily…"

"Not to mention…" the sturdy Jiroubo added, glancing down toward me a moment. "These guys… aren't half-bad, we think. So we decided: you wanted us out of your way, Orochimaru, and now we are."

"So, reintroducing…!"

"Kidoumaru, of the East Gate!"

"Sakon, of the West Gate!"

"Tayuya, of the North Gate!"

"And Jiroubo, of the South Gate!"

"The Leaf Ninja Four!" they declared together.

_No way…_

Still glaring gruffly toward Orochimaru, Jiroubo lowered his voice to whisper behind his hand. "So, will you protect us if… well…?" he asked toward me, and I sweatdropped. Well, they probably had good information to offer…

An unnatural chill permeated the air. Orochimaru was flaunting his chakra, and a foul chakra it was.

"Kukukukuku… _Gaaahahahahahaa_!" he howled aloud, a wicked smile of unending amusement splitting his face. "_The _temerity_ of you _ingrates_! No – I know not whether to name it temerity or IDIOCY! !"_

I tensed nervously, muscles preparing. At least, I hoped they were prepared, but was unwilling to test it. The madman only chuckled in mirth.

"I won't kill you now; the appropriate time and place are not upon us. You Leaf people may gather your armies as you please, but no amount of preparation can ready you for the battle to come! You've fallen so tragically beyond salvation, naught can be done for you anymore. Strike New Sound when you will, and you shall crumble under the full horror of my limitless power! Come, Leaf shinobi, you who will resist me! Your fall, your noble charge and dying roar, shall herald the blazing DAWN of the New World – _MY world! !"_

With that he threw back his head and laughed once more. His terrible cries were resounding across the land even as he melted in white flames, evaporated and vanished.

* * *

**Naruto ****ナルト**

The round moon shone starkly above our quiet camp in the chilled night. Base had moved to us with the rest of our shinobi when the day's work was fulfilled, so we hadn't had to travel far. I guess I should've felt rejuvenated, what with this and the square meal I'd worked to get under my belt, but I didn't feel it. Maybe it would take a little while.

"Hey."

I didn't shift when he joined us by our campfire, didn't look at him as he spoke, but I think he could tell it wasn't to be rude. "Hi…"

"Kakashi says you mastered the Rasengan."

"…I guess I did. Huh…" My gaze left the moon now, but not to study Jiraiya. My eyes fell from the full moon overhead, and rested upon Hinata.

The girl lay ill and shivering, eyes clouded heavily, hardly strong enough to speak. I had tended the grievous that would have long since killed any other girl before Tsunade arrived with base and took over. Her torn-up body was effectively mummified from the waist to the neck. She would bear scars, and bad ones. Her skin was a white to rival the bandaging, but aside from bruises and old scars completely unmarked: now beneath the full moon though she was, she appeared perfectly human but for the telltale wolf ears and tail of the han'you. Complete exhaustion.

_Why… why would you charge in alone…?_

Kurenai's eyes remained upon her as if to ensure she made each breath; Asuma-sensei sat at the woman's side, a big hand resting atop her smaller one. Lee's eyes were lost in the crackling flames he tended. Gaara peered over a bridge of fingers, deep in thought. It was Kurogiba who finally spoke. Not a word had risen from him in a long while.

"This is… the product of my own weakness," he began, his voice a solemn overtone to the gently rolling flame around which we all were seated. "I should have _stopped_ her. I shouldn't have let her Berserk. But the moment we saw him, and our boiling hatred overlapped… erupting in the pup, and thus inflaming my own… we were lost." He shook his head, eyes downcast. "Difference is, she can die. I can't." Whether he was speaking more to us all, to his sister, or to himself was unclear.

The youkai picked up the hare he'd been roughly skinning and dropped it in front of the trembling han'you. Kurenai alone began to protest in confusion, but fell silent as the girl's weary eyes lit up hungrily, as she reached out and accepted the fresh kill and tore from a strip of raw flesh in her fangs. Kurenai could only gaze on in wonder as the hungry child, with a frail but certain fierceness, continued to eat.

"He seemed…" My eyes slid to Lee as the older boy spoke. "He just, sounded… so sure of himself. _Why_? At this point, could he truly have some ace up his sleeve? Or…"

"It doesn't _matter_ what he's got."

"Naruto…"

"But…" Gaara began. "You saw how the monster fought, and he's got a village behind him. It may be that we aren't strong enough after all… And if that is so, what will we do?"

My eyes were on Hinata, her bloodstained mouth as she worked steadily on her hare, quietly ravenous. She was grievously wounded – but she would get through this, if not simply because that's who she was. She was a fighter; she had made herself one. She knew her goal. Surely as she was eating right now, surely as she had the will to survive, she would get up tomorrow, or just maybe the next day, and she would keep fighting.

I looked around the ring of uncertain faces, and I sighed. "Really…

"It doesn't matter what stands in our path – we'll keep at what we've been doing all along, since the very beginning."

"Oh…" Lee said, understanding. He cracked a grin. "Of course – it is the very thing that makes us dangerous, after all. So, you mean…?"

I nodded, my gaze set.

"We get stronger. And then, we fight."

* * *

**ナルト ****/ ****リー ****/ ****ヒナタ ****\ ****ハナビ ****\ ****ネジ**

**End Chapter Twenty-Two**

**Lee: **I will defeat you… because I am a master of the Quicksword and the Windcutter!

**Hinata:** What does that even mean?

**Lee:** I have no idea!

**Naruto:** Gen'ei no Naruto – the Phantom has arrived!

**Miria:** Nickname thief!

**Hanabi:** Whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa – who the heck is that? ! It's like she's in a totally different style!

**Neji:** A real, actual character from an, an… (looks dramatically to audience) other… anime–? (Brick to the head)

**Hanabi:** NO! We are NOT doing this again – I'm too young to find out my life is a lie!

**Lee:** Okay, just do not make eye contact!

**Hinata:** G-guys, the fourth wall is–

**Miria:** Alright! Let's find out which of us deserves the name Phantom!

**Naruto:** We could do that, or we could FUUTON-RASEN-KAMEHAMEHA! !

BLAM!

**Hanabi:** And don't come back, please!

**Claire:** Miria, who are these strange looking– oh _no_. Don't tell me they're characters from another ani–?

**Neji:** JUST RUN AWAY!

**Goku** (instant transmissions in)**:** Hey! Did someone say Kamehameha?

**Naruto, Lee, Hinata, Hanabi, Neji: **NOOOOO–!

_(–static–!)_

**Jiroubo:** That girl… how do you think it is that she wields Orochimaru's curse, even without being bound to Orochimaru?

**Tayuya:** How should I know?

**Jiroubo:** It is kind of interesting… Hey, Kidoumaru, do you wanna ask her?

**Kidoumaru:** What? If you're so curious, why don't you ask her?

**Hinata:** …I wonder if I should tell them I can hear them from here…

**Neji:** The rebels are getting full of themselves, m'lord… We can't let them get away with this.

**Orochimaru:** Oh? What do you have in mind, Neji-kun…?

**Hanabi:** Sasuke… Just what are you _saying_?

**Neji:** Now watch, chuunin – watch from among them as New Konoha trembles…

**Naruto:** Next up is Chapter Twenty-Three.

**Neji:** Uchiha, Uchiha… What will you choose…?

Finished! (boogie) This turned out a lot longer than I thought it was while it was still in the notebook, you know? I guess I'm not used to college rule XD

So, now you see why some guesses had me cracking up a bit, mostly because I didn't see them coming. From the preview last chapter, a lot seemed to be expecting 'trapped in a box with a bitch in heat.' However, a few _did_ guess 'trapped in a box with a hungry wolf' would be the scenario. But don't feel bad if you were off a bit! Your only hint last chapter was the point toward the end of it in which Naruto mentions something along the lines of 'We were so busy these days, I practically had to bark at Hinata to remind her to hunt.' ;P

Goood times. XD I am sorry to break up some of the positive mojo that was going throughout the last chapter, but we still have a little more adversity to get through before the big conclusion.

How was the chapter? The angst, the drama, the pinch of horror? I feel like it was a bit sloppy… It didn't turn out exactly how I envisioned it, but stuff rarely does T.T Not my best, but not the worst… Okay, I'm not even sure what I think of this one. So, time to spew some memory refreshers and hope you'll tell me what you thought!

Was the pace alright? The opening, with the storm (I know it was a couple several thousand words ago). Hinata versus Koneko/Kitten? Lee's personal journey, and Gaara's support? Of course a huge part is the interaction between Naruto and Hinata in the prison; was it smooth/ believable? How was the emotion, the tension, the estrangement, the climax? Nice and disturbing? Or just plain weird? I had a blast writing Lee going all beast mode at the prison, but did you enjoy reading it? Thoughts on the Quickdraw? Was his action good, bad, confusing? Were the jounin believable? How was Hinata vs. Orochimaru? Naruto mastering the Rasengan with change in nature – any thoughts on that? How about the Sound Four? Overall view, or details, or questions, or comments, favorite part, least favorite part, etc – Please feel free to review, about anything!

See ya!

Hinata0321


	23. Encroaching

J3F\\\ Journey of the Three Failures

Chapter Twenty-Three

Yo!

I know, it's been waaay too long. T_T Since last time, I've become a senior! :D …And I'm taking five AP classes this year D:

At 7 AM, AP Physics B! (this one isn't so bad, actually)

Second period, AP Literature and Composition! (with every timed writing, I think I die a little bit inside)

Third period, AP Psychology! (The teacher. Is senile. And a simpleton. And doesn't realize it)

Fourth, AP Calculus BC! (Gotta love the daily brain explosion)

Fifth, Painting. (My mind still hurts from calculus…)

Next up, AP Statistics! (Math class number two. _Three_, if you count physics)

And finally, government/economics. (regular and fabulous, albeit occasionally disturbing)

So balancing the homework tsunami with volunteer work, college apps, scholarship apps, interviews, etc. makes for a pretty exhausted fanfictioneer. But, I'm back! Sorry if I made any worry, but again, I will finish this story. So don't fret. Or… threaten me with anime characters, either. That's _kind_ of weird o,_,O'

Thanks for reviewing, **Omega the darkness, TwiliFay, KoreanGal5, DialACow, Shizuka Taiyou, BronzeButterfly18 **(songs mentioned were awesome and hilarious, respectively XD)**, digitalflame192, PokemonKnight, lg1514, kurokazeryuu, Echo Uchiha, Malix2, Pagen Goddess, Soraya the All Speaker, Sir Nyan of Spamalot, kitsunetenshi, Hipster Otaku **(Zack-kun! ^^)**, alethiophile, crusader 5643, UnlimitedFreeIceCream, Draco Oblivion, freewolf17, The Night's Rain Ablaze, NAIgurl4everz, Ascaisil, **and anons signing _narutos vixen, Danielle, Xion, Dan, hinalover, _and_ M_! Love you guys! :D

Now presenting chapter 23! Enjoy!

**Disclaimer: **Owneth _NARUTO_ I do not.

* * *

**Journey of the Three Failures**

**Chapter Twenty-Three: Encroaching**

**Part One: Course of Action  
**

**Neji ****ネジ**

"_Orochimaru!_"

My lord frowned thinly behind his desk at the grizzled voice that came booming up the hallway outside. Kabuto merely sighed with a low mutter. "I'd actually forgotten about that one since my death. It was nice…"

I turned with the sharpest scowl I dared to face the one who barged through the double doors uninvited – an old man sporting dulling brown hair atop the mess of bandaging that masked half his face, an old scar on the hard chin below it. I bristled as he lifted his nose at my lord; still, it was a trial not to smirk at the yowling, heavily bandaged Koneko, flailing in disagreement as he towed her by ear into the office. He flung her to the ground before us. The ANBU was dressed casually on her day off, clearly not having anticipated this sudden audience with the Hokage.

"_Danzo_." Unimpressed with the spectacle, said Hokage drew the name out in an oily drizzle of something hinging on contempt. "What brings you here in so sour a mood, good friend? I don't recall myself ever manhandling _your_ darling ANBU."

"Is what your Cat says true, Orochimaru?" Danzo demanded gruffly. "Never mind that you concealed your trip to the prison from me – such an opportune situation unfolded around you, and you chose to pass it by? Perhaps you are not so powerful as you claim…"

"Neji-kun," my Lord said calmly, catching me as my mouth opened. I bit back the venom on my tongue. My lord knew best; he understood things that we could not. I relaxed and contented myself in regarding the old geezer with a cool eye, confident he would be subdued swiftly enough by whatever intricacy may lie at the heart of Orochimaru's brilliance.

"For one thing, I did not have my visit concealed from you – you simply needn't have known. And for another… why would you suppose I am Hokage, and you reside yet in command of the underground, dealing only in shadows?"

Danzo's lip began to curl. Cold and efficient in a manner very unlike m'lord, he was a man of limited patience for the adornments of rhetoric. He desired his facts – his answers – straight information and nothing more.

Orochimaru paused to let the words sink in. Only when Danzo began to scowl pointedly did he continue.

"There are times, you will find, when crushing mere men is not enough. Crushing a life is simple; crushing a heart, a mind, a generation – an entire culture – is a matter of the utmost delicacy. It requires time and thoroughness…"

"I've had enough of your games, Orochimaru. Get to the point."

"_Kukuku_… Is your ancient mind so rigid in its wisdom that you still do not see it? You're right – I _could_ have killed quite the number of them, but I did not. My power arises in that they _know_ I could have. To be drawn taut and yet spared at the very foot of destruction – do you know of such unimaginable torment? Every waking moment, every beat of their hearts left to echo hollowly upon a dread and hopelessness of _my_ creation…!"

"You merely toy around for your own satisfaction," Danzo growled. "We suffered casualties at that prison, and you neglected to recompense for this? Instead you used the lives of our own shinobi to demonstrate to them your cruelty, but to what gain? This blethering of _hearts_ and illusion…"

My lord only shook his head. "We may have lost lives, but we have gained something of far greater worth. You sorely underestimate how very real these things can become, if devised properly; you'll simply have to believe me for now, good friend. When you hold a shinobi's heart in your hands, and leave it beating at your mercy… Knowing this powerlessness, and continuing to live it, that shinobi will imprison and drown himself in the very futility of his existence…" The weight of the calmly chilled words on the air seemed only to affirm the assertion. The Hokage's tongue slid across his lips. "We will not lose this war, Danzo."

The older man suppressed a groan of annoyance. "You have such an inclination for the dramatic." It was not intended as a compliment, but by my lord's smirk he had chosen to receive it as one. "What do you lot think of this?" he asked scornfully, turning to me.

I met his eyes simply. "Orochimaru-sama is the only man alive capable of doing this. He will unite the lands in the only manner possible, doing what must be done to achieve this end. Due sacrifices will be made when they must."

"My people are my children," Orochimaru added sincerely, nodding; "they must know love and admiration, and they must also learn fear for a father's wrath. Our people need a firm and charismatic leader… and _their_ people…" A grin slit his face as he chuckled darkly. "They need the incursion of such a beautiful anguish as only an artist of my caliber could devise. Let them walk in their condemned shoes until they bleed with excess of terror… Let their every minute of struggle be shadowed by doubt and apprehension. Then, and only then, will consummate victory be ours. _Humans_… are such simple and amusing creatures, are they not…?"

Danzo simply shook his head, turning away. "You are a twisted man, Orochimaru… Do as you will."

He strode from the room; double doors swung shut behind him.

"Swell guy," Neko grumbled from the chair she had taken; Kabuto gave an equally sarcastic agreement.

"I rather like him; he has his uses…" My lord leaned back in his chair before he addressed me. "What are your thoughts on that man, Neji-kun?"

"I think … he intends to kill you someday," I realized flatly.

"Clever boy," he remarked with a grimly fond smile, "but what else should I have expected from my dearest vessel, my protégée?"

I bowed my head, and met his grim smile with my own.

"Of course, Lord Orochimaru."

* * *

**Lee ****リー**

What an enemy it was we faced.

His words of terror had reached us loudly and clearly when he proclaimed us free to strike when we would, but it seemed so outlandish a suggestion that few if any had initially considered the implication if Orochimaru meant so truthfully. The blatant, foremost and frontal value of the snake's words had not at the time occurred to us.

Once it had, however, it became quite evident that we had, implicitly, been granted the first strike – invited, even welcomed to approach the enemy's doorstep at the time of our choosing. It appeared we could attack at our own convenience. The backwardness to it held a stealthily adverse effect. To be so cordially beckoned forth, one cannot help the pervading sense that on the other side of the unlocked door he opens a loaded cannon quietly awaits, ever-prepared and patient to blast.

"Sounds like Orochimaru, all right," Kidoumaru-san said, yawning. "If he said all that, he probably means it. Just the sort of game he'd cook up, to set the field for his opponents to charge of their own volition to their deaths…"

"So…" I began, grappling to get a handle on the situation. "He really _meant_ it?"

"Makes it even more disturbing, right?" the six-armed man pointed out.

"Then what about you?" It was a hoarse utterance; Hinata paused, taking up a cautious breath and trying not to cough. "You four don't seem at all troubled by this…"

"Whatcha' trying to say?" Tayuya shot back, eyes narrowing as she scowled.

"I meant no disrespect; if it came off with the sound of suspicion, I apologize…"

Sakon just shook his head, waving. "We're more accustomed to the snake's twisted ways than's probably altogether healthy. You could say our heads are more insulated to this sort of duplicity." He stood and stretched. "So, if you're at a loss for what the heck to do now, here's the way I see it – instead of wallowing around twisting your nerves in a knot, focus on the things that need doing around here. Needless to say, keep him waiting long enough and he won't hold up his party for you; in which case that New Konoha he's been trading jabs with will be the first to go. For the time being, however, you can slow it down and work in relative peace. Use it."

With that the supposed Leaf Ninja Four skulked off a ways; not few a jounin's wary eye followed them away, watching until they settled down again.

Naruto's sigh broke a minute of stillness. "He's right, in any case," the blond said, "Fretting is a luxury we don't have the energy to indulge. So – shoes," he said, nodding toward a bespectacled jounin seated nearby.

Blinking at the abrupt subject change, the man flipped through a notepad and cleared his throat. "Hai… Only about a twentieth of our force is adequately shod at present. Among civilian refugees, we have three capable shoemakers and plenty of willing hands who know how to work leather, but materials are scarce. A day's run west-southwest, however, near the border, we have confirmed a town sympathetic to our cause and, possibly… in intermittent correspondence with New Konoha."

"Right…" Eyes sharp with color, Naruto rolled a senbon absently across his fingers as he thought. "The last thing we want is to draw attention to them. We'll have the shoemakers write up an order of the materials they need, get a small squad to deliver it, and have another squad pick it up after we've kept moving a bit – keep the enemy guessing as to our intentions. Kakashi-sensei?" he said, the needle balanced upright at a fingertip as he looked to the Hatake to check him.

"Sounds good," the man approved. "Now, on the matter of the adjustment in the week's hunting groups…"

* * *

**Hanabi ****ハナビ**

My heartbeat thrummed over the dull roar in my ears, panging unpleasantly against the tightness in my throat and chest. Still I sat and stared determinedly forward, back straight, hands folded in my lap. It took a conscious effort to control my breathing as he reached closer; my lip squirmed as the roaring clouds in my ears took form.

–"_Imouto-chan…"–_

–"_It… hurts…"–_

No – no, this had nothing to do with – That happened a long time ago. _It's just… Still…_

"Can you still hear me, Lady Hanabi?"

"H-hai."

"And can you tell me what this is…?"

I wrestled back a grimace as I stared at his outstretched hand, inches away, and the bright splotch of life that leaked from his thumb. My stomach was in knots; my skin, prickling with sweat. My throat became tense and uncooperative, unwilling to admit and thus affirm the identity of the substance I feared so completely.

"Take your time…"

My breath was getting fast, almost painful. I opened my mouth and shut it. _Come on… _I already knew what it was. I could say it…

"I–i-it's… bl… b-blu-_uh_… No, stop, stop!"

It was reaching that point again, when the mounting tension was finally too great to withstand and the fear wouldn't be faced off any longer; something shattered. And I flung myself aside, an arm across my middle as I heaved with sickness. It was dry; this phobia work had with good reason become a before-breakfast routine.

Hiryuu tried to hide the disappointment on his face as he sighed. "I… think you lasted a bit longer than yesterday."

"D-don't patronize me," I snapped, but my teeth shut as if trying belatedly to catch the frustrated words. I looked down. "Sorry."

"Hm…"

Thankfully done with this for the day, I followed him to the door.

As I stepped out into the sun I blinked – sensed something coming from the side – and was doused in an explosion of crimson.

I recoiled instantly, my knees weakening, my form shrinking in horror. My eyes were wide, and my mouth, open in shock, was assailed by a familiar taste…

Then I caught myself, my strength and balance recovered as if it had not for just a moment abandoned me. Bewildered, I sniffed.

"…Tomato sauce?"

"Yup!" Hikujaku chirped, tucking a dripping bucket under his arm. He looked so pleased with himself I wanted to scream.

"I'm glad to see you so entertained at my expense!" I spat, flustered, and rounded on Hiryuu with a pretty good feeling as to whose idea this had been. "And you! That scared me half to death!"

"Well, fortunately it was no more than half." He held up a hand in defense as I fumed, embarrassed and smelly and dripping with watery tomato sauce. "Calm, my lady. We meant neither harm nor disrespect. _Look_," he said, "look how frightened you were over nothing at all."

"W-well… I mean, I thought it was blood…"

Uncle nodded, crouching to my level. "So you did. But I want you to think – what can blood do to you that this tomato sauce can't? Will contact physically harm you in any way?"

"Well… no," I admitted at a mutter, blinking. "I guess it won't…"

"You see? What else can it do? On your hands, it can make your fingers wrinkle temporarily…"

"It's kind of uncomfortable, but it's not like it's unbearable or anything. It can make my clothes dirty…"

"But can it _hurt_ you?"

"No, sir."

Hiryuu patted my shoulder with a big hand, a rare, good-humored smile on his face. "So, if you look at it this way – is blood all that different from tomato sauce?"

His humor was catching; I had to smile as I chuckled, "No, sir, I guess not."

"Atta girl!" he laughed heartily. "Nothing worth being afraid of, for certain! Now go and wash up. Harumi is waiting for you in the baths."

"Hai, Oji-san!" I said, still grinning as I started off. It really was kind of funny – to think how scared I had been, even for a moment, by tomato sauce of all things!

"Oh – and, Lady Hanabi?" Uncle called.

"Hm?"

"What if I revealed that that liquid is more than half pig's blood, with tomato sauce merely masking the scent?"

I probably then came far closer to a heart attack than an eight-year-old reasonably should – and collapsed.

"M– my lady? Milady!"

"Shoot! I _told_ you, old man! What if we've just taught her to fear tomato sauce – or even pigs, or doorways, or–!"

"G-g-get– It– _Off_. Get it off, get it off, getitoff…!"

"It's not even human blood – just a pig's! You might even eat some of the same one for breakfast today–!"

"Blazes, Uncle! Are you trying to make a vegetarian of her? !"

* * *

**Hinata ****ヒナタ**

I worked slowly, easing my body through forms that had grown as natural to me as my breath. Rather, they were not forms of one martial art, but a charmingly strange blend of many. Even calling the exercises forms or kata would be misleading, for such would suggest a certain pattern of steps and moves entailing the principles of a style and laid out by its founder. My light path followed nothing but the whim of my heart, rolling on steadily with the unfailing guidance of instinct; if it could be called a style, its principle was freedom – and survival. I strung the moves as they felt right, noted combinations that had served me well in battles past… Here a short hop, jab, blocking an imaginary foe as the Crouching Wolf – seamlessly, a leg sweep, and now rising, tearing into a wild burst of the concentrated ferocity so characteristic of Ookami Style – and here flowing into a palm strike, spinning into a deceptively gentle kick with the cool discipline of the Juuken that was too my right and the Hyuuga blood that flowed forever in my veins – and now a parried blow, a solid fist that stirred the air with force, a strong leap to quickly kick forward, another leap, fiery with vigor, spin, kick–

A short tearing, sliding feeling in my gut sent a spurt of blood slipping up my throat, spraying from my lips on an exhalation and surprised grunt. A knee smacked to the earth.

_C-curse you… Orochimaru… _I coughed a few times, eyes shut. Exceptional recovery capabilities or not, my body had been torn up pretty badly. It would be a few days still before I could hope to go a hundred percent.

I ducked my head. An odd projectile whizzed over it and thunked solidly into the ground a meter from where I sat.

"Good morning, Kidoumaru-san."

"Yo." The spidery ninja dropped from a tree, landing lightly on his feet with a smirk, and I noted the clean slash through the mark of the Sound that rested on his brow. "Impressive reaction speed, there."

I shrugged nondescriptly. "How did you know I'd dodge it?"

"I didn't. Just figured you wouldn't be snuffed out so easily."

"You don't say…" I smiled. "While I am flattered by your faith in my abilities, if you want to sneak up on me you would do better to at least approach from downwind."

"Oh?"

CRASH!

A monstrous fist was shattering the earth where I'd been as I rolled forward and to my feet; Jiroubo lunged powerfully, and I hopped back to dampen the impact as my forearm took a blow. The moment my back foot touched down I was twisting his arm, my other leg thrown in a sweep that took his feet from under him; he yelled as his back met the earth with a sharp thud.

_Huh…_

Thread caught against my shoulders, forearms, and waist, and I was yanked backwards until my back hit a tree. Controlled spikes of chakra snapped the webbing that bound me – a moment before Kidoumaru shoved in, gripping my wrists and upper arms in four hands to pin me to the tree.

"Got you!" he laughed, drawing back a tight right fist of his third pair of arms.

"Nope!" I grunted, my foot jumping to catch his fist easily as might a hand. My other foot snapped to capture his free hand's surprised jab, and I pumped strong legs out hard to shove him away.

I was about to rush to engage him while he was off-balance when another came racing from the side. His blows were blocked and parried, but as a fist was shunted aside another hand sprouted from Sakon's forearm, locking onto my wrist. He twisted and ducked swiftly behind me, in a moment capturing my arms in a secure hold and holding me, immobile, against himself.

Tayuya was smiling as she walked toward us, popping the knuckles of a raised fist with relish. She drew far back, ready to deck me full in the stomach. "I owe you a little something–!"

"I insist, it's my _treat_!" One foot quickly steadied itself against Sakon's thigh behind me as my leg struck out: the kick having greater reach than her punch, she collided with the heel that sent a tiny knife of chakra screeching into a tenketsu on her abdomen. She yowled, and with a half-Tora of my hand and some mental chakra working I spat a burst of flame to dust at her feet, setting her staggering as she stumbled in hasty retreat.

A second manipulation of chakra within me, and with a shout I expelled a flare of fiery energy from chakra points all across my back. No sooner had Sakon released me with a surprised grunt than I turned with a hop, lifted right hand high, and slammed it down across his face. My left hand rose, explosive, and with a crack of force caught and knocked him upward again. I flung my shoulder into him, pushed forward, and brought a fierce palm squarely into his stomach – then a sharp leap and snapping forward kick, clipping his jaw – then rushing forward low, hands at the earth, a burst of chakra pushing from my tenketsu to front him evenly, keep him on his feet.

And then, finally, I rose – feet darting nimbly along until I pushed upward, off his shoulder. As I fell my open hand, having risen high, struck with monstrous force across his skull.

I landed crouched, an outstretched hand low from the follow-through of the strike, and Sakon struck down and bounced, rolling backwards several times before flopping to a halt. He groaned, turning onto his side.

I rose to full height, turning cold Byakugan on the other three; they might have continued, but thankfully chose not to. "If this is your manner of greeting, soldiers, I shall quickly tire of it."

They held firm under the authoritative edge of my voice. Kidoumaru raised his hands – all six of them, in fact. "Don't worry; we got it. Won't be happening again."

I looked at a rough cough behind me; Sakon was struggling to sit up. "Wh-what he said," he wheezed. "We wanted to check, and now we know. You've gotten strong, kid…" He pulled himself to his knees, only to drop his head in submission. "There's no point in continuing. Half-dead a day ago, and you barely needed to get worked up to handle us. You're fearsome as they say, _Kurouga_," he said mockingly.

I frowned with hesitance. "You say you wanted to 'check'…?"

The others, with some reluctance, had followed suit. Kidoumaru rose from his bow to nod. "We don't hang with losers. What exactly _did_ we just swear loyalty to? We wanted to find out for ourselves. And those friends of yours, every bit as powerful as you are…?" He nodded again, as if completing a mental evaluation. "That about settles it. We'll fight along with you."

Able to relax a little, I dropped onto my rear with a sigh, rubbing my shoulder. "I see… I guess you can't be blamed for that; you four do walk a dangerous path…"

The three in front of me relaxed as well, sitting as the tension died off. Sakon, behind me, I heard stand up. He walked to my side, and when he spoke did not turn his eyes in my direction.

"Just like that, you're cool with us?"

I smiled amiably. "You said yourself that there's no point in continuing to fight me. If you try, I'll probably have to kill you."

He smirked, casting me a glance from the corner of his eye. "Well put, Hyuuga. I think I'm starting to like you already." The young man shuffled on past to join the others. "See, there's something about you and your buddies that struck us odd the first time we fought. We're not sure exactly what it is, but how much you've changed in a relatively short time – the forces you've accumulated, the names you've earned – only goes to reaffirm it. It's like I can sense something in you Leaf folks, but most of all in you three misfits, and you know what it's telling me?"

I waited, a brow quirked the slightest degree.

"You've got the potential to bring Orochimaru's regime to its knees."

Slowly, I nodded. "That's the plan."

Sakon only grinned viciously. "Then we're in the right place.

"On another note, there is a reason we've come singling out you, particularly…"

"And that would be…?"

He pointed a finger at me. "You wield Orochimaru's mark without being bound to Orochimaru. _We_ want to know how you do it."

* * *

**Neji ****ネジ**

I observed coolly, with bated breath, as I watched the graceful figures engaged as they were in their dangerous dance. From the start, perhaps from the very first step, one stood out well above the rest. What the others instinctively curbed, she as naturally seemed to set free; with a perfect wildness, pure and instinctual, she darted and struck, palms whispering on the air, crackling with life as she sent yet another groaning to the dirt. Admittedly with the Change she had first been awkward, powerful, perceptive, but clumsy and wild as a newborn monster – a young monster, but a monster none the less – but now she had flourished – how she had flourished! – and done so under _my_ guiding hand…

_This is the power you've given us… _My neck throbbed; I was nearly smiling openly with the exhilaration that teemed beneath my skin. _The power to fix this clan…_

Blows rained upon her current foe as her form sprang forward, cascading, silken violence. Clear intensity glittered in black-and-white eyes as darting, supple limbs arced, flashed, swept…

"_Gahk–!_"

…And with a sure crack of startling force, the girl's deceptively elegant strike connected with cool mercilessness, palm meeting jaw, sprawling Harumaru's towering form flat on his back. The dance subsided.

"Magnificent," I breathed.

The curse faded from her body and, panting lightly, Hiyuki perked up to smile in my direction, beaming shyly despite any weariness the moment she found my eyes and the rapt satisfaction within them. Facing me, she smoothly sank to kneel, one knee and one fist meeting the floor. "M'lord…" The chaste murmur was a whisper of reverence, relished as it passed between her lips.

"Well done," I said with a gentle nod as I approached. I reached out, and she flushed happily as I ruffled her hair, fingers rubbing the crown of her head in a firm caress. "You continue to impress me, Hiyuki," I said, and bade her to raise her head. Any moment they were allowed to meet my eyes directly was cherished dearly by the Chosen, I had found; and knelt here before her lord's eyes, bowed in the loyal humility of servitude, her eyes took me in and budded with the beginnings of tears of mirth.

She was truly _happy_…

Again I patted her head. Then, as I extended my free hand to her, the others who had watched our exchange with yearning eyes, with stifled murmurs of envy, now cringed or groaned dolefully, tormented, as I ran a clawed thumb across the palm of my hand. The effect to Hiyuki was immediate; she began to salivate, chest heaving once in a shudder of anticipation, as she stared, transfixed, at the blossoming ribbon of scarlet that was offered as her rare and most coveted prize.

Here emotion overtook her face, as it always did. Large white eyes welled with familiar gratitude as she looked to me for approval, panting softly before the scent. I nodded softly, my voice fond.

"Go on."

And with a gasp of bliss she melted, grasping my hand and setting longingly upon the wound. My breath caught a moment, and I sighed delicately as her passion bled into me, permeating, warm, a wave of wellbeing that lapped at my heart in tune with her tongue. My gaze tilted skyward.

"_Yes_…"

This was my coven – its reality, its world, its web of cursed lives so sinfully, beautifully intertwined. I gasped lightly again, shutting my eyes.

"Good girl… good girl…"

* * *

**Hinata ****ヒナタ**

The four were seated in a ring about me; I faced the east and Kidoumaru, my eyes closed meditatively, my forehead against his, my hand flat above his heart. Jiroubo's thick fingers rested at my right shoulder, while Tayua's slender ones hovered at my left. Behind me sat Sakon, his hand draped at the small of my back. Connecting all five of us was a web of markings and symbols scrawled in fresh ink, an intricate circular diagram upon the earth and our bodies, that would hopefully enable me to peer into their hearts.

"Okay," I said quietly – a whisper, but no less doubtless heard by the four in the silence of tranquil unity. Our breaths had synchronized. "If you're ready, it's time we activate our marks…"

My seal's power came to me easily, a familiar burning rumbling briefly about my wrists, ankles, and neck. From practice, they entered the first state with equivalent ease, but for one notable peculiarity – in all four I sensed a darkening of thoughts and soul, an ominous flaring of blackness from their hearts, before their marks would awaken.

I watched with the Byakugan as energy seeped from the marks in perfect concert with the darkening I'd detected. _That's how they activate theirs, _I realized. _It runs on Darkness…_

"Brat…?" Kidoumaru inquired.

"You're all doing fine. I'm going to look into something. Try not to be alarmed…"

The aura of my consciousness was projected. Kidoumaru gasped as I connected to him, and in turn with the other three, but something held the confusion at bay: trust. With a silent fluctuation of thanks I concentrated on my task, peering as gently as possible into his essence – his _soul_.

Something foreign flickered on the edge of my perception; I cast about until my mind settled on a level at which I could see the blossoming of charred flickers, wilted black. It was not chakra; it was sinister. Deathly. Where the substance left itself, identity withered as if with disease; light faded, consumed or corrupted. Left unchecked long enough, I knew, the parasite would ultimately weather away everything that composed the host around it. Inwardly, I swore. What could I do to stop this?

I had to look closer…

_There! _I thought, seizing purely upon a darting, corrosive flash of dark–

It twisted violently from my grasp, reared back and lashed against me in retaliation, biting pain. With it two monstrous golden eyes impressed upon my psyche, an image of nightmare, and my stomach tossed as a razor-like hiss seared against my skull in a voice I detested:

'_FOOL!'_

"Eek!" I yelped, opening my eyes and jerking automatically away – but before the connection could break Kidoumaru's hand flashed out, locking in a steely grip about my neck. I blinked in bewilderment, teeth clenched. "Wh–what are you– doing? !"

"I – can't control my _body_!" he ground out, his voice strained, foggy eyes not his own. He began to lift another hand. "K-_kusooo_…!"

The second my hand moved, the massive strength of Jiroubo's arms caught and restrained it; Tayuya, cursing, threw herself on my other arm, holding it down. They were fighting, but to no avail. Hatred forcibly overtook their eyes. Kidoumaru's other hand smashed onto my throat, redoubling the pressure, and Sakon, forcing out an apology, threw an arm around my waist and buried his other hand in my hair, pulling back until my neck throbbed in protest.

Then, worst of all, _his_ presence enveloped my awareness, serpentine and vile, more suffocating than the hands around my neck. _'Y-you…!'_

'_Naïve wolf-child, oh how you amuse me!' _he cackled madly. His aura was pervasive; an invisible hand groped icily at the deepest, most personal recesses of my mind, tearing maliciously into places no one should know, prying and wrenching without remorse, a horrific claw stripping and laying bare in a disgustingly forced intimacy. My eyes watered at the violation. I clenched my teeth, growling as he picked me apart.

'_Orochimaru!' _my mind snarled angrily. I fought for air. _'Y-you– you're using them to kill me…? !'_

'_Kukuku… not quite, my dear. I'm using you to kill __**them**__!'_

I yelled out with what breath I had as the filthy, grasping fingers prodded and dug, cruel and sickening. _'I w-won't do that!'_

'_Hm? Come now, foolish girl, just think how easily you could destroy them! You said that should they continue to fight you, you would strike them down. Was that a lie…?' _Venom raked a cherished memory with his laugh, opening it to his eyes' fancy.

'_N-no!' _I thought firmly. My vision was swimming – I was losing the strength to breathe past Kidoumaru's trembling grip. My fangs were lengthening, claws thickening, driven on by the mounting urge to survive. I wasn't giving in. _'I stand by what I say, but it's not me they're fighting; they struggle _with_ me, against you! I _won't_ do what you want me to, bastard, so get OUT of my HEAD!' _

With the howling flare of will the darkness that served him a medium was banished again from my being. Glowering intently, I pulled forward against Sakon's restraint until I could meet Kidoumaru's blackened eyes. _'Come on,' _I growled to all of them, _'You're not that weak, are you? Come on! It's five against one! He can't control us!'_

A glimmer of something certain sparked back to life in Kidoumaru's eye. I delved into his soul, an arrow of light firing true, and secured the spark of will, his own, free will; all I'd needed was to find it.

'_Gotcha…'_

'_Th-thanks!'_

Together we pushed back hard, and as the Dark was staggered I sought the fighting sparks of Tayuya, Jiroubo, and Sakon, and reconnected with them.

'_What do you think you're doing? !' _the snake demanded, furious, fighting to reclaim what was escaping him. _'Inconceivable… My mark…!'_

'_NOW!' _I barked, and together with me the four broke free.

At once Darkness burst from them, and dissipated; in my eyes their chakra, for an instant, shone brilliant white. The sealing circle, gleaming brightly, loosed a shockwave outward and left a ring of scorched ground around us where symbols had been. For a moment the air was frozen, suspended. Then their roaring, triumphant energy settled, from blinding white to regular blue, and I collapsed, curse fading, as Kidoumaru's hands at last jolted away from my neck.

"Kid? Sh#t! Hey, kid, are you okay? !" My vision straightened up some; I gradually recognized the four faces peering over me, markings just receding from them. I twisted feebly in Sakon's arms, coughing and hacking before managing a deep swallow of air.

I cracked a grin, fatigued. "Hey…! We beat 'im, huh?" I remarked dully.

Kidoumaru scratched his head, and Jiroubo sighed. Tayuya touched my forehead, and Sakon just rolled his eyes.

"Looks like she's fine."

Trying to move just yet was evidently a lost cause, so I gave up and sank into Sakon's arms. "Glad we've affirmed we're on the same side," I said lightly. "If you felt like killing me just now, I probably couldn't stop you."

Sakon snorted. "You don't have to worry about that. You're… you're not bad, kid."

I chuckled weakly. Then, as a particularly rocky wave of nausea hit me, I blanched and vomited full into Sakon's lap.

"Ugh! Okay, I take it back!" he snapped as Kidoumaru roared with laughter. "You're not cool at all–!"

"What's going on here? !"

I sat up as a sharp blond, leading a group of jounin, burst onto the scene, concern in his eyes. "Naruto-k…" I choked.

I shouldn't have sat up so fast.

Without thinking, I turned – and puked full against Sakon's chest.

"Aaaugh! Seriously? !"

"G-gomen…!"

"Just get away from me!"

* * *

**Naruto ****ナルト**

Her fit of nausea passed, and Hinata was left citing little more trouble than a lingering headache. I wanted to know what the heck had happened – wanted to know the cause of the foul energy we'd felt – but Hinata, though apologetic, wearily deferred; when I turned to the four supposedly _former_ Oto-nin for answers, the girl urged me from my angry interrogation before it could begin, assuring me everything was fine now. Why she was standing up for them, when hours prior she had been indifferent if not equally cautious about the Sound deserters, was lost on me. So grudgingly, without knowing how she'd come to be in the state, I supported her on her left as we headed back to camp. The young woman – Tayuya – had voluntarily provided support on the right, the others falling loosely into step close by.

For a time a contemplative silence hung collectively over the bunch of them, Hinata's weary form included. Finally the han'you sighed.

"I can't really explain it…" she began carefully. "I was looking into their curse marks, trying to see if there wasn't a way to control them, and something… happened. Together we were able to pull through in one piece. What I did discover, though, is what I'd more or less suspected from the start; there really isn't much of a way for you to separate yourselves from the evil in your seals."

"Whoa," Jiroubo butted in, frowning, "you mean you already knew that? From the start?"

Hinata nodded. "Sort of… but I didn't want to tell you until I was sure. I _had_ to check… I wanted there to be hope, for you…"

_Hinata…_

The rotund young man hung his head. "Guess that makes sense…"

Looking up, Hinata went on. "My mark is different because, unbeknownst to Orochimaru when he devised it, he left a loophole… That's why I can choose to align myself to Gobi no Houkou-sama, the Mother of Ookami from whose blood the curse's power is derived, in order to remain free of Orochimaru's sway. Just a chance, really…

"But…"

"But?" Sakon echoed impatiently, interest piqued anew.

Lavender eyes opened after resting for a few moments. "I said there's no way for you four to resist the darkness of your seals, but it might've been more accurate to say there wasn't one."

"What…?"

"It's weird; I'm not entirely sure what happened to us, either, but we may as well make use of it. You all can feel it, too, right? It's faint… but there's a connection."

Now she was losing me; I gave a questioning look, but didn't interrupt. The other four seemed to know what she meant, and a strange, silent sense of acknowledgment passed invisibly through them.

"Somehow, we've opened up a new path – an alternative, like I have. If you must access the curse, choose to align yourselves to me, and if you hold firm Orochimaru won't be able to touch you."

"Hold on," I said, brow furrowing. "You mean some kind of mental link's actually going between you? You don't think that's–," I'd been ready to say the word 'dangerous,' but faltered as I caught more than one pissed-off glare. "This is serious stuff, guys!" I defended. "Even if you four aren't the threat – Orochimaru's already shown that under the right conditions, even Hinata's curse is still susceptible to his sway. She doesn't need any more bonds to that creep than she already has! So how do we know you're all strong enough? How do we know this hasn't opened up a way for him to get at her through you?" My arm around her tightened briefly; my voice hardened with concern. "I won't be at ease until someone gives me an answer."

With this I dared them into a standoff, mutually wary stares clashing silently as all our steps creaked to a halt. Though my voice was held low and calm, my frown and unyielding gaze were undeniably intimidating. They needed to know I was dead serious.

Hinata gave my shoulder a gentle squeeze; then, carefully, she pulled away from the two arms supporting her. "Stop this – all of you," she said, facing us. "Naruto-kun… Are you saying you don't trust my judgment?"

"I'm saying you have a bad habit of sticking your foot into graves," I said flatly. For a moment I feared I'd hurt her; her cringe was brief, however, and she just nodded.

"Fair enough; I can see what you're saying. But there really is nothing to worry about, and that's the truth. I can tell."

"How?"

She turned to Tayuya. After stepping forward and reaching out with a hand, she paused. "Tayuya-san, may I?"

Promptly the Sound girl nodded. Hinata placed a hand on her chest. "It's weird," she began, "but I can _feel_ your heart – the will of your soul. The same for Jiroubo-san, Sakon-san, and Kidoumaru-san. And you can sense me, too, can't you?"

Blushing slightly, Tayuya gave a small nod. Hinata closed her eyes.

"There's purpose here, and determination. They don't mean to betray us, Naruto-kun, and that won't easily change. And as long as the five of us _are_ all on the same side, there's no way Orochimaru can get at us – not all of us, together, and not any one of us, for the other four will rise in defense…" Opening her eyes, she withdrew her hand. "Thank you, Tayuya-san."

The older girl looked away. "Yeah, yeah. You can cut the formal crap already, dweeb."

Hinata nodded, and looked up to address all four of them. "More than anything, you lot are proud – proud of your strength, and proud of your freedom. The only advice I can give you now is to _use_ that pride; remember it always, and let it be your weapon against him. If you can do that, we'll all be fine. That's what I believe…" She smiled. "Will that suffice for you, Naruto-kun?"

I eyed the Four one more time. Finally I met her eyes, and with a sigh I had to nod. "Okay. I'll trust you on this one, Hinata-chan."

* * *

**Neji ****ネジ**

Some time had gone by since the incident at the prison; old Danzo had cooled down reluctantly enough, and my Lord's business was running smoothly again. Cheek propped on the back of my hand, I rolled a pen lightly between my fingers as I listened to the midday bell's toll bellow across the village.

"Lord Neji, what say you on this matter?"

I looked up with a subtle start, blinking at the old faces of twelve clansmen that lined the meeting chamber. "Pardon?"

"The proposal…? The establishment of another training ground in the estate's west wood?"

"Ah – yes, I remember." The topic had come up at the previous meeting. I massaged my temple, sighing drowsily. "Yes – I see no problem with it. It is worth the effort to create it."

The man nodded. "Hamuso will tend to it. Please try to focus, Lord Neji," he said, gruff with his distaste but taking care to fall just short of what could be called 'scolding.'

"Yes. Excuse me if I have been remiss."

The meeting dredged on. Eventually, one elder inquired as to the progress of my Chosen.

"Outstanding," I said honestly. "With my guidance, they master the gift at astonishing rates, and their combined power is impressive – certainly nothing for anyone to sneer at. Even our Lord Orochimaru was quite taken with a demonstration of their ability; the Chosen are a small, elite force, raging power compacted, honed, and made that much more deadly. We look forward to putting this power to use for the village."

"Just a moment… I believe that your Chosen should be made, first and foremost, an asset to the clan. Just think – to have a bastion against Orochimaru's strength…. I know that many of my fellows are of a like mind…? Reserving them as an expression of the Hyuuga's might may serve us well."

I lifted an eyebrow as a few nodded in agreement. "Ultimately, it is I who shall determine how the Chosen are wielded. Either way, Lord Orochimaru's interests and this clan's interest are well aligned, practically one and the same." I lifted a hand as the previous speaker scowled, opening his mouth in protest. "_Enough_. At the end of the day, they report to me; they will follow _my_ orders alone. They serve me; I serve Lord Orochimaru as well as this clan. Be at ease, and consider this; with their power offered to Hokage-sama's disposal, he will hold our clan in even higher regard. Have our close ties to the Lord Hokage not served us well in all this time? It's why we consistently contribute more volunteers for the biweekly Orochimaru Rallies than any of our comrade clans. Do you forget – do you _dare_ to overlook the fruits of the work I do? Our clan's rations are plentiful, our privacy on our grounds unabridged by Old Sound supervision. I wouldn't think you can have too much favor with the man destined to reign supreme over the new world – would you?"

The fool's lips pressed into a thin line, and he nodded in acquiescence.

I smirked. "Very good. If we have nothing more on the agenda to discuss, I declare this session adjourned."

* * *

My brisk step down the walkway set a steady pattern in the soft tap of bare soles on fine wood. On the subject of the biweekly Orochimaru Rallies, one was fast approaching. Before I reported for training today I was to meet with volunteers and assign responsibilities for the various tasks and preparations…

"Hm?"

I was not sure what exactly inspired me to halt, with seeming spontaneity, on the walkway. In a moment my eyes cast to my left, downward – and fell upon a full but modest garden, well-kempt, gentle tumbles of flowery growth that brought the space to life.

How many times could I have overlooked it, on this very walk…?

Stepping from the way after a moment's hesitation, I knelt before a frail lily and brushed a hand against the cool, velvety underside of a petal. My eyes remained stern as my brow furrowed with thought, with calculation; my jaw set.

_Impossible… This garden…_

To have endured so long…

* * *

_A girl like a doll, crouched with her mother amid neat little rows of miniature hills of soil. The tiny girl, so clumsy at play, yet tending her task with loving care._

_A small boy and his father, small bare soles and large ones passing along a walkway. The boy tugging the man's sleeve eagerly, speaking a question, receiving a nod of approval. Scampering to join the happy girl and the kind Lady._

_The smile on the girl's brightening face, fizzling up something nice, warm inside him. The exchange of greetings. The boy's excited words of question._

_The girl's tiny hand on his own. Guiding it carefully, to a fleck of color, overlooked before, in the soil-mound between them. Her nod, encouraging. His thumb, lightly brushing aside a few tender grains of dirt – and some miniscule, delicate green life emerging, unfurling, poking free into the air and sunlight. The boy, laughing in surprise and some other feeling he cannot name. The girl beaming at her cousin. The woman, smiling, silent, crying a little._

_He wonders why…_

* * *

_The first…_

My gaze was bleak. I stood, shortly dusted off my knees, and turned to step back up to the walk. The head gardener's son was coming this way, a few tools and a sloshing watering pail in hand.

"Lord Neji," he said cheerfully, bowing his head in greeting. He looked past me, at the flowers. "Beautiful, isn't it?"

"Are you the one who has been tending this garden?"

"Well, yes, I am."

"Who assigned it to your care?"

He shrugged. "No one was assigned to it. I figured it was a mistake, and couldn't just let the beauty go to waste. Some months back I noticed it wilting and made a personal project of restoring it, nursing it back to health if you would–,"

"Cease tending to this garden."

"Sir?"

I looked up, meeting his eyes. The watering pail shuddered from his hand, spilling on the walk, wetting our feet. He took a step back and ducked his head, for a long moment silent. When he spoke again, it was not in question but in curt affirmation.

"Sir."

* * *

**Twenty Three, Part Two: Rally**

**Hanabi ****ハナビ**

"What, the Rallies?" Kiba said, lightly tossing his dog up and catching Akamaru under the forelegs again. "That's right… Course we've all heard of 'em, but you've never seen one of the shows up close and personal, have ya?"

I eyed the Inuzuka. Akamaru was really getting too big for that tossing business, but it wasn't like he'd be caught complaining. "And you have?" I asked.

"Oh, yeah." He touched his nose to Akamaru's and set the dog down, ruffling his mane of fur. "I mean, not like _our_ kind–," He glanced away from the big baby of a mutt long enough to nod at the proud green kerchief at my sleeve, "–is all too welcome, of course; you either watch from the shadows or slip into the crowd. It's a real sight to see, alright – so ugly you just can't look away. New Oto's citizenry assembles, they recite a pledge to their _glorious_ leader, the snakeman delivers his address – 'New Konoha will fall, the world will be mine, yada, yada' – and the drooling idiots cheer him on madly at every pause." He shook his head with a shiver, looking at me. He twirled a finger by his ear. "It's a freaky atmosphere, for sure. Like the congregation of fanatics of some loony religious cult."

Akamaru tackled him for the lapse in attention, and they launched into a bout of play-wrestling. I shook my head. "But tell me again – about the part where they raise their flag. That's where we come in?"

He sat up, placed a big palm on the crown of my head, and leaned in to gently butt heads with me. His eyes were dancing. "Yes, small one. When Shika-kage-sama and the council okay the plan – and I do think they will – _that_ is where we'll come in."

* * *

**Naruto ****ナルト**

The clash of steel rang amid the ambient rustle of the forest treetops. From well above I observed as a dashing purple-clad youth, fleeing, turned and faced his adversary, narrowly deflecting a lunging knife strike with a shove of his bound staff. At a solid branch the chase paused, and two pairs of light feet danced savagely, soundless beneath the clash of weapons as they fought to gain ground. At once knife and staff locked, and with the moment's stalemate a third figure slipped from the shadows to drive a knife into the blonde's back. His original adversary crumbled into dirt – a ruse.

_How about that, _I thought, preparing to move. Chakra poured smoothly into my right palm.

"Heh! You let your guard down, Murasaki Kitsune…" The outlaw withdrew his knife with a squick, and the blonde hobbled forward.

"Ita…! Ch… Kazuya-san, right? Funny you should say that," my clone said, pointing a finger in my direction. "Good luck dodging."

_Very funny! _I scoffed, leaping as it vanished. My left hand swung down past my right as the latter emitted a surge of chakra – a ring of clones were here and gone in half a heartbeat – and at once a spiraling sphere was ignited in my hand. The nukenin saw me, all right. He didn't move nearly fast enough to escape a Shadow Swap of advance and the accompanying Rasengan that slammed between his shoulder blades.

Dust was settling as I reached the ground. The man lay groaning a short way off; I clicked my tongue and knelt at his side, setting my hands now softly aglow with healing light. "This won't do…"

His eyes cracked open. "Y-you… Darn it. How much stronger have you gotten in such a short time, kid…?"

I shrugged my shoulder a little, keeping focused on my task. "I've been spending a lot of time with a lot of good teachers, lately. What are you doing here? We came out expecting Sound spies, not you guys again. Well – I saw you avoid the vital hit with your knife, even though you thought you had the real me. That's why I held back a good bit on my jutsu…" I explained, watching scorch marks fade from the circular print of damage left on his back.

"You call that holding back?"

"I can show you the all-out version, if you want!"

"I'll use my imagination…"

I chuckled. The Rasengan was impressive – dangerous – and I knew it. Didn't mean it would hurt to joke aloud, though. "But why _did_ you come here? Not still trying to enforce the way of the missing-nin on me, I hope."

"That's not it," he muttered.

"Then what…?"

His gaze shifted. "Ketsuki… Itsuke. Why'm I not surprised?"

Lee and Gaara came into view, guiding two more shame-faced missing-nin. Sand bound their wrists behind their backs. The one called Itsuke chuckled. "I guess you lost, too, huh?" he said as Lee gave a cheery wave.

* * *

**Hinata ****ヒナタ**

A smooth stroke of the brush laid down a straight line from the heart of the small talisman inked into the dirt. After a few more marks were etched in I studied the work momentarily, double-checking for fluidity in the main body of the spell; then I pressed two fingers of my left hand to the end of the lead line. Absorbent seals readily welcomed the burst of chakra, drawing and funneling it down into the system of ink where it infused the formula with a pale glow. At the heart of the design five fingertip-sized shards of obsidian, calm and noiseless, brightened until blue-white to the eye. Then the light faded, leaving the stones lifeless as before.

"…That should do it," I said, plucking a shard from the pile. "Take your pick, and keep it with you."

"Just like that?" Kidoumaru mused, swiping up one of the stones and testing its meager weight in his hand. "Your trinket-spelling isn't too flashy, huh?" He flicked it up from a thumb and caught it again. Jiroubo eyed his own as Tayuya shoved her charm into a pocket and Sakon, startlingly, shrugged and swallowed his up into his hand.

"Remind me again…" Jiroubo muttered, "How exactly are these supposed to help?"

"To augment our connection, if need be…" I began. "Though of course, you can probably feel the truth that some of our higher-up shinobi wanted me to put a leash on you four." Any surprise was mild; the uncanny bond was such that sitting this close, speaking face to face, our eyes became windows to each other's hearts and thoughts. It was a strange intimacy we shared, but not uncomfortable – and it assured the usually wary ninja of my sincerity as I continued. "But they will cause you no harm," I promised, speaking of the charms, "and I will never infringe upon your own free will, no matter the circumstance. Simply put, if you call out to me, I'll hear you. Mind, not in the way I hear Naruto-kun trying to sneak up on me."

A figure materialized at my side with an exaggerated expression of disappointment, falling smoothly to wind up seated beside me with an arm around my shoulders. "I'll get you one of these days," he said playfully, ruffling my hair. Blushing bright in front of the Four, I just shook my head, failing to withhold a grin. So much for professionalism.

"So, I'm guessing you guys took care of them?" I asked, bumping my forehead fondly against his in a lighthearted headbutt. He grinned.

"Even better – the ranks just increased by three."

"Again?" I said in surprise, but upon detecting a certain three scents turned to see a team of missing-nin we'd tangled with a while back. The apparent leader was looking levelly around camp, hands stuffed in his pockets. At his shoulder one comrade chuckled sheepishly; the other's gaze was moodily averted toward nothing in particular, a blush rising through his otherwise indifferent gaze. I shook my head. "I guess I shouldn't be surprised."

"That is us for you!" Lee noted as he approached. He dragged the blond into a headlock. "Always able to win people over!"

"Hey, it doesn't hurt that Orochimaru has a _lot_ of enemies…"

"Ever the modest one, Naruto-kun!"

Naruto chuckled. "Oi, you three," he called back to the newcomers. He waved his arm, taking in the expanse of the camp. "Whaddya' think of the establishment? Home sweet nomadic home, y'know?"

Kazyua, as I remembered him, was disgruntled. "Not sure what to think. I can't figure out how this… establishment even measures up on the nukenindo – don't know how to fit it."

"It's a pretty weird situation, all right," Naruto admitted, shrugging, "but it works. To the Sound's regime, we're outlaws – fugitives, down to the very last. To the revolutionaries holding out back home, we're the allies on the outside. To everyone else, I guess we're just an anomaly – something curious worth keeping an eye on, perhaps. Whatever we're considered, we keep moving, we stay sharp, and we look after our own. We do what we need to survive. Strange as it may sound, in a sense we are a village – a Village of Missing-nin."

The man seemed to consider the phrase a moment before nodding. "Guess that'd about sum it up… The Village of Missing-nin, huh?" He snorted sharply in a laugh. "Either way, looks like you've got the best chance anyone has of taking Orochimaru's head. We want in."

"Common enemies make common friends," Naruto said cheerily to the renegade, and I blinked as a wad of green fabric materialized in his left hand; he must have sent a clone to fetch them. Grinning sharply, he held out three fresh cotton bandanas, colored by green dye made from scratch and each stitched in black with a mark of the Leaf. "For as long as you're committed to this band's cause, we'll need you to wear these. Whatever manner you'd like is fine, as long as it's visible. Gotta have some way of picking out fellow brothers-in-arms, y'know?"

"Got it," Kazuya said, and he and the two others accepted the kerchiefs.

The blond nodded. "Well, unlikely comrades – welcome to the impromptu family."

* * *

**Neji ****ネジ**

I stood exemplary at my lord's shoulder, chin up, arms folded behind a straight back, and my presiding gaze settled over the crowd below. Neat rows of citizens filled the plaza and stretched into the distance, down the alleys and streets, a sea of dingy white ration-issued uniforms. Looking out upon the endless bowed heads and dull garb, I may have experienced a groggy stir of unease – nostalgia for the liveliness of an earlier time – but the sentiment was brief. All before me was in one way or another a manifestation of my lord's brilliance, I knew; without question, a certain cold beauty resided in the scene. The resigned and obedient faces, the eyes quietly attentive and rapt with shared enlightenment – not the sharp enlightenment that strikes as an individual's epiphany, but rather the subtle, mysterious enlightenment that pervades and inevitably prevails upon the group, the mass, once united in words, in thought, in purpose – the uniform cross of arms over hearts as the words of the Pledge were recited by a voice multifaceted yet singular to the flawless notes of the band, clear tones emanating into the sunset of a fading day – a fading era – all of this impressed upon my heart a chilling yet indescribable beauty. Pure. _This_ was order. Efficiency. _Progress_.

Lord Orochimaru was smiling a dark and grand smile as the last testifying lines of the Pledge drew to a close. As one, the liquid mass of bodies descended to one knee and bent its many backs. They were left poised this way for a good while before, lifting his hand, my lord bade them to rise.

"Look upon me, my people!" the man shouted, suddenly, a lone, strong voice projected imperiously into the evening air. "Look now at the humble soul that wishes nothing more intensely than to bestow upon you, my beloved village, the glory of a New World!"

The mass erupted in an uproarious surge of enthusiasm, of rising fists borne upon a frenzied roar – fury, desperation, euphoria, and fervor that would never so much as have surfaced in a solitary individual's heart boomed loud and stark in the baying voice of the whole. Thrills of exhilaration reverberated down my spine. Still I held firm, removed to the observer, a pillar of menace and strength and ideal loyalty overseeing in the shadow of the Godaime's splendor. Scanning engaged faces, I caught an odd flicker of movement in the crowd; when it was locked in such a state, the most insignificant, thoughtless stray motion was oft enough to pinpoint a person out of place – a doubter, or even a rebel. But when my eyes singled out nothing more in the following moments I dismissed it and tuned back into the rolling words of my lord's speech.

"…_I_, who will protect you from the craven parasites who wallow in the shadows, thinking – _daring!_ – to terrorize our streets!"

"_Aah!_"

"Make no mistake – our righteous road is a long one, and the tunnel-dwelling vermin think to lie in wait and hinder us at our every step. But we will not be dragged into ruin by the selfish acts of the few! We will _not_ be denied our destined supremacy – not tonight, not tomorrow, and certainly never by the fumbling hands of these vilest dogs!"

"_Aah!_" –The bellow issued thunderously again, as if at once thrown upon some indeterminate but universally recognized cue.

"We must not waver in our purpose! Did our own brave Koiji-san hesitate, when a mere three days past, in the market precincts, he slit the throat of a thieving terrorist, one who thought to make off with the hard-earned rations that _we_ provide to feed the mouths of your small daughter, your brother, your wife? NO!"

"_AAH!_" –And the beast voiced its outrage at this heartless intent, accordingly yowling and stamping and frothing at the mouth. The whirlwind raged on as the man listed and ladled the thick syrup of glory upon the deeds of more who'd done aught worth praising in the last two weeks. I was listening, and quite contentedly, when a comrade came to my shoulder, hand shielding his mouth from view as he bent to whisper in my ear. His concern was of rebel activity in the area, but I brushed him off; curious rats may creep close in wonder from the shadows, but even such fools as they were would not dare to attack us amid a crowd where the assembled civilians and shinobi outnumbered their population to the point of being laughable, for they knew their inferiority no matter how desperately they strove to deny it. They never had, and simply never would.

The instillation of vigor and pride fulfilled, my lord's address blazed and charged and lambasted and struck on toward its conclusion. The expansive creature splayed before us was thrashing and convulsing, cheering madly. Not a few tears of passion were rolling to the dirt as our Hokage at last spread his arms as if to embrace them and was met with screams of reverence, admiration, and faith. His serpent's smile was serene, confident and inviting. The drums and horns launched into an all-out tirade of triumph – explosive sounds of conquering and liberation thundered and swirled together, crackling in the roil of a divine atmosphere. The back of my neck was cool with a slick of sweat. My breath quivered with the pressure of standing still. My heart raced, ready to burst with pride. It was true, all of it true – the lord I served was the greatest to walk the earth.

Calmly I lifted my hand, and at the signal the flag coordinators stood ready. Orochimaru-sama's voice reigned incredibly above all as he commanded the beast.

"_NOW_, my village! ! _Salute your flag!_"

Tethers were cut, and a vast screen of hanging cloth unfurled behind us.

The beast sputtered, choked as if shot – and with no further warning, dissipated. Eyes blinked, staggered minds reeling and racing behind them. Shock, confusion, fear, disgust, horror, bemusement, excitement, and joy – a thousand reactions on as many alarmingly distinct faces – blossomed in absolute disarray.

A full smile locked on my face, arm still bent at the elbow and raised in signal, I turned my head and saw behind me an expansive stretch of green.

Plastered at its heart, a story tall, was the mark of the Leaf.

My lip twitched in the pounding silence; gradually my smile crumbled away. Whispers darted in the crowd below.

Then my face twisted into a snarl – I screamed orders, gesticulating wildly – an Oto-nin spewed fire upon the repulsive emblem. A number of comrades joined in, but the flames only rolled upon the surface, illuminating the thing and refusing to eat through. Fireproofed. Laughter, low but distinct, bubbled up in the crowd as realization seeped into the cracking façade.

The despicable, belittled cowards of New Konoha had incorporated sabotage into our rally, and pulled it off right under our noses.

Orochimaru was speaking out again with a surprised scowl, twisting words, trying to salvage the situation to no avail.

"Enough!" I yelled, Byakugan bursting to life, "Who is responsible for this–? !"

At that moment a flare of light burst with a throb in the distant sky, erupting in a glimmering shower of green sparks in the air above New Konoha. More firecrackers rained up in succession, and their light set out the silhouettes of two dozen figures, standing tall, lining a rooftop in clear view of the square. Near the center of the dark, proud shapes, one strong form hefted and waved a massive black flag of rebellion.

Set off by the light at their backs, they spoke not a word. Rather, one steady-eyed youth raised a fist, mouths opened in inspiration, and a solidified roar of heart and purpose assailed our ears, shattering. The singular shout was laden with truth, made alarmingly substantial by so many things the endless rally cries, no matter how numerous, were suddenly found devoid of. The sheer earnestness, pure and simple honesty, seemed before my eyes to pierce and strike a chord in every rediscovered heart of the dissolved beast, for at once, unrehearsed, a startling portion of New Oto's people broke into a fearless cry of acclamation.

"_Kuso!_" I screeched, flickering into the crowd's midst and wrenching strong claws across the shoulders of a man – a civilian. His deceived voice was cut short, and he flopped to the ground in pain, crimson spurting from the wound. "_Who else is cheering? !_" I demanded at a roar, fangs bared, claws spread. My eyes were wide in rage; I smelled a splatter of human blood hot on my face. Screams peppered the confused cacophony of music that sailed obnoxiously into the air. People were running, scattering. "Treasonous _worms!_" I grabbed another beguiled man by the arm, and flung him to the earth. A woman, screeching as I approached, was lifted and hurled into a shop window. I appeared before another, boot sailing into his chest. People ran in all directions. Hands were waving in surrender, cheap apology, fear. Voices were shouting in protest. But from some, though backing away, a low but certain chant was warily, steadily taking form.

"_New-Ko! New-Ko! New-Ko…!_"

I yelled, grabbing, pulling and shoving person after person to the dirt. Those who resisted received slashes or Juuken palms for their trouble.

I detected _him _just in time to shift outside the swing of his knife. He had come, lancing at an angle from the sky; gathering himself nimbly upon landing, he flung to ram the knob of the kunai into my back. I hacked and bent, staggering a short way forward, and then whirled to strike. He rolled outside the hit and lashed a foot for my ankle, and I hopped in evasion. For a second he dodged my blows with quick shifts and steps of retreat, before suddenly he leaped into a two-foot jump kick. As I blocked and was pushed back, his fingers formed a seal; a clone surged on the attack, lunging with a dropping knife strike, and I leaned aside, kicked the wrist, and spun out to deliver a solid palm to the chest. The duplicate was launched backward, off its feet, and melted into smoke.

Claws deflected a spray of metal stars, and I blurred with speed before his shadow could capture mine.

Nara Shikamaru's eyes widened as I snapped into being at his side and smashed a sound uppercut into his gut.

As he started to fold over I roughly grasped his hair to help guide his jaw to a rising knee. He staggered back, trying to keep his feet, and I closed in, feinted, struck – plowed a solid fist into his cheek. Blood streaked in his wake as the force kicked him off his feet, sending him corkscrewing through the air before crashing, tumbling, and skipping along the earth. I flickered into his path to catch him: a hand clamped securely over his mouth, obstructing his nose, and what focus his gaze had recovered rattled as I lifted an inch and shoved down again with a snarl, striking the back of his skull sharply against the earth. Only then did I rise, my suffocating grip not relinquished, and lift him easily from the earth. The Hakage grunted, glaring acidly down at me – determined as always to deny his powerlessness…

From the sky a flicker of pink, an axe kick – Haruno, teeth gritted and eyes shut, connected a heel drop to my elbow. My grip faltered in reflex, and Mitarashi Anko's curt shoulder charge pushed me back; she swept to catch Shikamaru's battered form in her arms as he collapsed, and flickered away with a hiss of "Retreat!" Sakura scrambled to her feet and vanished.

They were gone.

My pulse was rapid, my breaths harsh with the fury boiling inside me; my body was shaking with rage. As the singularity of my focus dispersed, however, and began to enfold the scene around me, my eyes grew. My clenched fists fell slack.

Civilians were on the ground, screaming, crying, as Oto- and New Oto-nin fell upon them with batons, cursing, kicking, apparently intent to beat the lurking wickedness out of their hearts. Youths were not spared; naturally, thoughts of treachery could be considered more dangerous in the young. Some bloodied forms were being detained in rope or chains, no doubt soon to be marched off to the unyielding hand of law, of trial by interrogation chamber; whatever the result, a black mark would stain their village residence files to set apart a possible conspirator or signs of enemy sympathizing. The streets leading from the square were in a state of wreckage, market stalls crushed; pro-Orochimaru banners and rally slogans lay in tatters, and broken New Oto flags peppered the number of motionless bodies trampled in the panic.

Shaking lips parted, I looked dumbly again to the crack of bludgeons over deemed traitors' defenseless backs. Some of the yelling, spitting enforcers were young – teens. Fellows I knew. Some were even Hyuuga. I lowered my head with a shake, but could no more shut my eyes against the night than I could my ears. Somewhere an infant was crying. What had we been playing with here? Madness? A wad of sickness weighed heavily on the pit of my stomach. This was too much. Too much.

A slender hand settled on the shoulder of my flak jacket. My lord shook his head, somber. "All of this, for the Leaf vermin to make a statement. It's sad… pitiful, the depths to which they'll sink…"

Was that sorrow I detected in his voice? Somehow I was not certain. Orochimaru folded me in his arm, shushing. "Peace, my child. It may be unfortunate, but for the cause of greater good, sacrifices must be made… Let us head back. Those responsible for this shall get their taste of justice soon enough…"

My eyes were hot. I shut them and nodded. "Yes, milord. I will ensure it."

* * *

"Did you have a hand in this?"

Obsidian eyes blinked simply. "No."

"I'm serious, Uchiha!" I snarled, slamming my fists onto the desk between us as I glared into his expressionless eyes. "Don't you lie to me!"

His eyes narrowed. "Look, I know you're desperate for someone to take the blame, but it wasn't me. They're getting cleverer about keeping secrets while I'm around."

Cursing in frustration, I turned from him and paced the room. The flag committee had been interrogated, as had the volunteers assigned to the flag's setup and coordination for the rally, to no avail. They swore up and down, terrified but honestly, that they had arranged the New Oto flag as always; someone on the inside had coordinated the covert effort to have it switched out. It could only be the boy before me, and he had a knack for _lying to my face_.

"Why not take the optimistic side, like our Lord Orochimaru?" he cut into my thoughts. "'Fewer the half-hearts to undermine our cause'…?"

I cast him a sidelong look. "Agreeing with our lord? How uncharacteristic of you, chuunin."

"Oh, give it a rest–,"

"I wouldn't be so snappy if I were you," I said, a hand at my brow. "If none come forward in connection to this incident, you _will_ take the fall. I'll see to it personally…"

That got through his impassive mask. "With no proof? You can't do that!"

"Actually, I can. Consider it a favor for the trouble you've caused me. Yes…" I mused, a smile taking form as the idea blossomed. "One of our agents, naively tricked and tempted by their foul deceit, grew to commiserate with the enemy…"

"You're going to make me your scapegoat," he said, eyes dark.

I nodded. "To pull off such a ruse on their own… It would seem the rebels are getting bold, aren't they? They need to be put in their place … and who better to strike back at them – to carry out our retribution – than a treasonous young agent who, only now realizing the tragic error of his ways, yearns to make amends for the honor and glory of New Otogakure no Sato?"

His eyes were unreadable, his face pale. "You… really are the serpent's protégée, aren't you…?"

I threw back my head and laughed aloud.

* * *

**Twenty-Three, Part Three: Call of War**

**Naruto ****ナルト**

A double handful of stream water was flung from my hands into my face. A civilian worker, out gathering berries, had wandered too far alone and stumbled upon a wild dog – probably abandoned. It had proven none too happy to be disturbed, but luckily Hinata, overseeing the group, had been close enough to get to the commotion quickly. A stern talking-to had sent the shame-faced pooch off. Presently I had just gotten through assisting Granny Tsunade with the surgery and suturing of the poor oaf's nastily bitten arm – Shizune was available, but Tsunade had me be the right-hand this time around for the experience.

I sighed, running fingers through my dampened hair. The days were passing like dreams; I welcomed compatriots to the cause; I advanced in medical ninjutsu; I guarded scouting or gathering parties; I saw that the civilians' needs were not overlooked. In down time I had picked up sewing, as more than a few shinobi who'd never before threaded a needle had. It was a necessity-oriented existence, but it was somehow unsettlingly peaceful. Time rolled on in an indistinct but pleasant shimmer of mundane occurrences; these were days where the most pressing matter of any immediacy was the still unresolved shortage of passable shoes – but even so, intermediate solutions ranging from woven straw and reeds to cloth soles secured with wrapping tape got us by. That was the kind of peace we had. I wondered if, a hundred-odd years ago, the fledgling beginnings of villages had carried on in such a way, sprouting from the same manner of existence…

I smiled at a presence nearing me, and Hinata's fingers ran through my wet hair. "He's alright?" she asked, kneeling by the stream at my side.

"He'll pull through. A scar, maybe, but nothing a man can't recover from."

She nodded in relief, and bent to lap delicately at the stream water, drinking her fill. A certain natural elegance in the way this was done made it neither awkward nor lowly; it was an odd way to drink, sure, but she carried it out in a way that made her no less human in even the most ignorant eyes. She sat back. "I'm glad… The brother said game has been scarce in his pack's territory lately; he was hungry, and startled, but abashed enough to learn he was infringing upon the mission of an emissary of Okaa-sama." She blushed, scratching her head. "Anyways, the wolves in the area are no danger to us now. We can gather all the fruit we want without worrying; in return, we're not to take any of the area's live game. I've already gotten word around camp."

"They didn't give the wolf-speaker any weird looks, did they?"

"Not too many," she chuckled.

"Oh, dear," I said, a glint in my eye, "Pardon me, Miss; it seems I've made you blush again."

Hiding a grin, she leaned into me and nudged her head against my shoulder, eyes shut. My arm encircled her warmth; I smiled fondly as my hand melded to her side.

As our force climbed in number, of course, the speed at which the nomadic band covered ground steadily declined. Some few weeks ago, when we'd been near Gunromachi – the no-name, innocent little town with clandestine connections to New Konoha – a small squad had made the order and placed a down payment for the supplies, chiefly leather, for our crafters to work with and make shoes of. Naturally, preparing such a large order of material – and keeping its amassment unnoticed by the outside world – took time and no small amount of caution. Since then we'd made a route that swept slowly through a good deal of Hi no Kuni, and doubled back a ways again. Soon enough, we'd be back within a day or so's run of the place – not close enough for anyone unawares to suspect our business with the rebels-in-arms (indeed, only a select few in our force knew there was any transaction with Gunro at hand), but not so far that a small unit, or even an individual ninja, should have much difficulty getting there and safely back to base.

"Be careful, Hinata-chan," I murmured, pecking the forehead beneath a short curtain of bangs.

It served two birds with one stone, for a full moon was on the way and Hinata knew of a lush, spacious wood not far from the town. The girl needed to get some distance from us anyway; she would satiate her needs, and the next morning make way to Gunromachi, seal up the goods, and head back.

"Of course…" She breathed me in lightly, her nose by my chest. "I know how to fend for myself now, just like you and Lee-kun do. It's not like anyone else knows about the mission, either, and if someone did – well, even you have trouble taking me on when I'm all charged up from a good hunt."

"I guess you're right there," I laughed.

"But still…"

"What is it?"

She looked up at me, affectionate. "It's only two days, but I'll miss you every second."

I smiled. "I'll be right here waiting. Just come back to me, Hinata-chan."

She giggled. "Hai!"

* * *

**Hanabi ****ハナビ**

Sasuke had swung by earlier in the day to inform us that, though injuries from the rally riot had numbered in the hundreds, civilian deaths had been mercifully scarce. The exploits of New Konoha didn't quite end at the rally, however; we learned of a follow-up operation that had been carried out in the summer fog of the night, with New Oto's guard stretched thin enforcing a village-wide lockdown and conducting interrogations amongst their own, and the village had thusly woken to find _'THEY'RE AFRAID OF YOU' _plastered in bold letters in the wreckage of the square, on a few battered streets, and on the front door of their Hokage's mansion, a missing New Oto flag heaped and tattered before it. The tunnels were lively with children, convulsing with laughter as they gesticulated and screeched their renditions of the flying rumor of Orochimaru's reaction.

To say the least, the operation was deemed a success. An idea got around, and Izumo, Kotetsu, Anko, and Genma, among others, had wasted no time in talking Shikamaru into calling for a minor celebratory feast. After all, as Anko-sensei put it, it wasn't every day that you struck your enemy's mettle true to the core.

Night was settling aboveground, I knew, and the mess hall was packed, tables laden with salted pork, soup, fresh meat, bread, rice, and vegetables – the kind of luxury NewKo could afford itself only once in a good while. In my finest outfit, which in truth wasn't much, _I _was currently walking through a maze of tunnels _away _from the hot food – walking, because even with none around it would feel undignified to run – and away, because I had managed to forget my chuunin armband in Sakura's room. I needed to present myself as head of New Konoha's Hyuuga, and the proud shinobi of the resistance that I felt pretty damned sure everyone already knew I was. Hiryuu had wanted me accompanied, but I insisted even I wasn't inept enough to trip and die the moment I lacked a bodyguard. Better they didn't have to miss the start of the celebration for my mistake.

My stomach grumbled; I grimaced. Just get the kerchief and head back…

At least I would get to enjoy the gathering, I thought. At the last minute, Sakura had come down with something and been confined to bed rest; it was in fact when I had visited her, not fifteen minutes ago, that I'd set down my leaf-green kerchief and forgotten it. Sakura's condition was odd, and the medics were baffled by a lack of any clear symptom. It was weird, but she simply… felt sick.

I snapped from my thoughts – I was being watched. My hand went for a kunai pouch I wasn't carrying in my formal attire, and I swore softly, stirring sparking energy across my fingertips.

"Easy there," a familiar voice said, and I blinked as a shadowed figure stepped nonchalantly around a corner, a hand waving for peace. I calmed considerably – but for whatever reason found myself unwilling to fully abandon my stance. There was something off, the way he stood… his positioning in the sparsely lit hall left burning eyes just too shadowed to fully discern. A dim heat radiated from that darkness – his eyes – was that black or dark red? I don't know why I didn't activate my Byakugan then and there. Perhaps I sensed, in that moment, that even my eyes would never have been able to pick him apart.

"S… Sasuke-sensei?"

* * *

**Neji ****ネジ**

–"_Tell me, Hiyuki… Are you happy?"–_

Sprawled flat on my futon, arms spread, I thumbed the round, white tablet in my hand. I held it up slowly between a thumb and forefinger, arm reaching up as I gazed on in thought.

–"_Hm? What do you mean, Neji-sama?"–_

They were away – all of them. Lord Orochimaru had asked to put them up to some manner of test run. I could only guess at the type of task for which he should have use for them on the night of a full moon.

–"_Just that. Are you happy with your life here? With me? With the Hyuuga?"_

"_Of course I am. I get to help Neji-sama, and be close to him…"– _

It seemed odd, somehow; it felt this power was not born to be bent to another's will, concerted for controlled destruction.

–"…_Have I done something wrong?"–_

Though the Hokage's request had been at most a formality – we both knew what answer was expected – I probably could've argued it, and he would yield if I felt strongly enough. It was strange, after all, to be apart…

–"_No, not at all! I've just… been thinking… Are you alright with doing as I say?"_

"_I love being a part of your heart. I am your hand, milord. My strength is yours, always…"_

"_Our bond is a pleasure beyond expression… but I want you to be honest, Hiyuki. Does anything – anything at all… hurt you inside?"_

"…_Heehee! You ask such strange things today, Neji-sama!"_

"_I suppose so. Gomen."–_

My hand snapped shut. People could be happy if they didn't realize they had reason to be sad. That was the world we lived in; that was the best we had. Strong over weak. Better that than suffering. Better a thousand blasted times than the scornful injustice of the past. That was our brand of mercy.

A spike of vigor shot through me, prompting a sudden growl. I took the pill, and I faded away.

* * *

**Hanabi ****ハナビ**

He didn't answer. My throat was a knot and I didn't know why.

"Aren't – I thought you left for New Oto earlier…?"

"Did I?"

Two words, and I found I couldn't recall _where_ he was supposed to be right now. Something was very wrong. "I…" I shook my head, as if to clear it of the murk.

"Are you feeling ill, Hanabi?"

"What–?" But now that he mentioned it, though, I was starting to feel a little queasy. "No– how…?"

"Easy, Hanabi. I think you should lie down…"

Lie down… I should–

I slapped myself sharply across the face; my head cleared. "No – what's going on? Something's wrong with _you!_"

"Nothing is going on–,"

"You called me by name," I broke through his smooth voice. "What happened to 'Little Hyuuga'?"

"Does that really matter?" The strength of his eyes intensified. "_You're ill._ You should forget about the celebration and rest."

I broke from the steel of his gaze, shutting my eyes hard and activating the Byakugan. My teeth clenched. It was true, then – without direct eye contact, I was me.

"It was you," I whispered in realization. "Sakura's not really sick, is she?"

He shrugged nondescriptly. "She believes she is; that's all it takes for the body to react. She'll be fine, and so will you. Just get some rest." His eyes pressed again, but I resisted.

"Stop that already!" I cried. Suddenly it clicked into place. "The celebration. What've you _done_ – what's going to happen to them? !"

I saw him move; maybe I could have reacted, but I was far too shocked. His fist popped me in the gut, hard enough that I wheezed, and in an instant his hands had my shoulders pinned to a wall.

"You're making this _difficult_," he growled. "Look at me!"

I shook my head, eyes shut, seeing him without seeing him. A bead of spittle was trailing from my mouth. "Who are you?" I said, trying not to whimper. I knew it was Sasuke-san, but I didn't want to believe it. This hurt. My voice hardened with anger as I demanded, "Was everything a lie, then? Who are you loyal to? !"

"Enough of this!" He hung his head, eyes squeezed shut. Something new was in his voice now; I shuddered, realizing with a start that it was fear – not even for himself, perhaps, but dread for something awful to come. "I can't… _answer_ that, dammit!" he cried. "I'm not safe anymore – not here, not anywhere!"

"You can trust me!"

He groaned in frustration, voice strained with effort. "We're running out of time…"

"For what? Tell me!"

He was hunched, as if in agony; I could feel the heat radiating from his brow. I tried to jerk free of his hold, and his strong hands tightened automatically. "I can't – I want to, but I've already made it so I _can't!_" he blurted, mournful and hopeless. "I could, with more time – it wears off – but there isn't enough…!" He shuddered.

"Stay with me, sensei! There's time – there is. Just tell _me_ – tell me what's happening, if you won't feel safe telling them yourself. I'll think of something – I won't say I heard it from you!" My eyes were watering; I was confused and afraid. Strong people weren't supposed to fall apart like this, weren't supposed to fail you and turn into someone else. "So just… just…!"

"It's not that simple!" he barked. "I can't… _guh_… It's not my choice…!"

"Then if nothing else, tell me who you _are!_ Tell me – where does your loyalty really lie?"

He started with a gasp; his shuddering ceased. Finally, raising clear eyes to a level with mine, he said, simply…

"I am loyal to New Leaf."

And then he kissed me.

My sound of surprise was smothered in his lips as a gale of shock and emotion crashed over me; sensation swirled in my head and my chest. But most significantly of all, my eyes snapped open – and my heart was locked to the will of two coldly crimson Sharingan eyes, open and waiting not one inch away.

He pulled away, straightened. My lips were tingling faintly. A whisper tried to form in my throat.

"Not… fair…"

He opened his mouth, paused. "…Sorry."

His gaze didn't release me as he pulled my green kerchief from his pocket, tying it neatly in place at my shoulder. An icy hand lightly wiped away the thin trails of tears running down my cheeks.

"Go on to the celebration," he said, light, conversational. "You've been talking to Sakura too long; those guys might get worried."

I nodded dumbly in agreement. "Yeah."

He continued, the words spinning like he could see into my heart, speaking my thoughts before I could think them. "You don't like pork, do you? Stew, either. In fact, I don't think you've got much of an appetite at all."

"You're right," I realized, amazed. Of course he was right. This was Sasuke-sensei, after all.

His hand ruffled my hair. Then he took me by the shoulder, gently turning me in the direction of the mess hall. "Go on, then."

A light push on the back.

I walked down the hall. I wasn't really all that hungry, but I did need to make an appearance at the celebration, after all.

* * *

**Hinata ****ヒナタ**

The kill was stripped clean in moments; I licked some spilled life's-syrup and chomped a bone to pieces in one satisfyingly sharp snap, my ears already shifting, searching as I spat.

_Here…_

I launched myself through the woods, feet blurring as I lit off after a small hog, Ani-ue at my heels. In moments I was practically upon it – leapt to a tree trunk– legs tensed, claws spread–

A wind blew, up from the valley. Catching myself, I paused inches from springing to the ground, snapping the creature's neck. I held the tree in one clawed hand's grip, feet braced lightly at its bark. My nostrils flared as the air rolled across my fur.

'_Ani.'_

'_So you sense it, too?'_

I grunted gruffly. _'Trouble.' _My body slipped to the earth, landing sleekly on all fours. _'I'll go. Run back to camp, Ani… get help. Only the strongest.'_

There was blood in the air. Many, many humans' blood. My heart pounded. And over there, I sensed…

'_You shouldn't, Koinu,' _Brother disapproved. _'Especially not alone.'_

I shook my head. No time. _'I must, Brother. Go!' _And I flung off into the night, striding, rising, swinging, sailing, hopping light and swift in the flying branches, a wraith flowing fleet through the wind and trees.

Emerging, I launched alone into the open night, landed on a slope, bounded down with no break in stride. This _feeling_…

I leapt powerfully again. Normally I would avoid human-places, but these streets, these dwellings, didn't seem populated – not anymore.

* * *

**Lee ****リー**

"Oi – wake up!"

I stirred groggily; I was facing to the side. I blinked, registering the sight of Sakon shaking Naruto-kun's shoulder a few feet away. Tayuya and Jiroubo stood close by.

"Focus, Lee!" Kidoumaru said above me, and I started. His eyes were wide with fear – panicked.

"What is wrong?"

"Hinata," he said, rising and staring off into the luminous night. "The kid's in deep."

* * *

**Hanabi ****ハナビ**

"You're sure you wouldn't like to eat, m'lady?" Hiryuu whispered, concerned. I shook my head; I'd taken a bite of bread only to find myself lacking much of an appetite. I regretted that the etiquette of my protectors demanded that they did not indulge themselves in my presence if I chose not to (Hiryuu would not have the point argued), but not as strongly as I felt I should. I was feeling unwell, to the point that the thought of another bite of much of anything sickened me. No matter how disappointed, the four wouldn't hold it against me, I knew. For them, I at least managed to sit straight and proper in my formal robe, smiling in the festivity and hoping the strength of the Hyuuga would keep the sickness in my gut from showing on my face.

A little way down our table, someone began to cough; I glanced over as the hacking continued. Hands thumped him on the back, and his eyes grew wide as he covered his mouth. I blinked dully, brow furrowing.

…_Choking–?_

A tearing noise sent flecks of crimson spattering through his fingers.

My jaw dropped.

What…?

"_AAAAGH!_"

A yowl tore through the room above the crash of breaking glass. The easygoing words of a folk song froze, withered and died on the air. Someone was convulsing, thrashing rigidly in his chair, foam and an indistinguishable thick liquid pouring from his mouth; I saw a woman clutching her head, screaming of burning. A kunoichi stood, heading toward an ailing teammate before abruptly losing her footing with a shudder. Her head cracked into the floor.

Cries were everywhere, filling the hall with a blare of terror and agony. Shikamaru stood, eyes wide – but before a command, a call for order could issue his voice caught – blood spilled from a corner of his mouth. The Hakage coughed and collapsed into his chair in a slouch, like a ragdoll thrown there, eyes spasming, chest shuddering frantically for breath.

Some haze evaporated, and I started to my feet in horror. "Poison – the food's been poisoned!" I yelled stupidly, tears flowing freely from my eyes. Harumi vaulted the table and rushed to Shikamaru's side; Hiryuu's towering form stood guard over me, eyes sweeping the chaos incredulously, as Hitaka and Hikujaku joined the scattering of others unaffected to help, or try to. It didn't matter how much I yelled now – I was too late. People were falling.

I wasn't really ill, and I hadn't been poisoned, but my chest hurt so intensely I wanted to scream. I looked down, hands clenching and unclenching on the table as a murmur passed through my lips. I could still taste him there. The tears wouldn't stop. _You knew…_

"Traitor… Y-you _traitor_…!"

* * *

**Hinata ****ヒナタ**

Growls cracked like whips, dueling in the air between us. Aggression barked and snapped and rumbled with ferocity from their throats. Only my wary posture, the menace in my threatening tone, held them at bay. It would not for long.

This town – this was the place called Gunromachi, and it was in ruins. Structures had been toppled at destructive whim. The mauled bodies of humans, half-devoured and bloody, lay still warm in the streets. Flames roared voraciously in some places, accentuated by the strewn wreckage; their hot tongues triumphantly danced upon the fields and the motionless bodies of the humans' herd-creatures. The smell of blood, the aura of death, was prodding me rapidly into a frenzy.

"_HINATA-SSSAMA…!_" a harsh voice cackled in mockery.

"_KKILLL HERRR…! !_" another called, voice a low, throaty, jeering hiss.

My darting eyes swept the six faces ringed about me, their feral owners hunched or crouched intently, drunk with bloodlust and foul intent. I fired off growls, claws flexing and gnashing as they tested their distance, their black fangs snapping the air in excitement. My fur stood wildly erect.

The earth was shivering – nearly wailing. Raw and primitive strength crackled in the air, stirring up a tumultuous and stinging wind. I exhaled through bared fangs, breath steaming, glowering darkly, and lowered my head as I spoke through a snarl.

"_We are of the greatest Clan of the greatest Village that exists in this Land. How could you let yourselves fall to this state? ! !_"

A savage roar split the blood-soaked night, and, as one, they sprang.

* * *

**ナルト ****/ ****リー ****/ ****ヒナタ ****\ ****ハナビ ****\ ****ネジ**

**End Chapter Twenty-Three**

**Neji: **Rotation!

**Hinata:** Translation!

**Hanabi:** Reflection!

**Neji:** What?

_(–static–)_

**Hinata:** How can this be? How? ! Chikusho! There are too many… I can't…!

But you don't know what you're doing – I won't fight you– _Augh!_

Not… n-not when you haven't done anything _wrong_…!

**Naruto: **A battle of beasts – a blood-soaked night. Voices cry out with none to listen. Without warning, love, hate, and desperation must clash by fang and claw. As a new dawn sheds its light on the horror, we realize what we must do…

**Gaara: **All of us, together…

**Lee: **We will end this.

**Kurogiba: **Next is **Chapter Twenty-Four: Toward the New Age**

**Hinata: **Kuso… _kuso_… I'm NOT about to lose you – _HIYUUUKIIIIIII! ! !_

Chapter, complete! Gosh dang, I actually finished writing this two weeks ago. Just didn't have time to type 'nonstop' like I usually do T.T Still, typed in bits n' pieces, I did it! Hope you enjoyed it. Next chapter's gonna be intense ;)

How was the chapter? I've officially incorporated all the characters I've previously said I would overlook – I incorporated Itachi's true story, brought Tsunade into the mix, and, finally, have fit in Danzo. Was he in character/ reasonable? How about Neji's interactions with/ relationship with the Chosen (mainly Hiyuki)? Any thoughts on the Sound/Leaf Four? The rally scene? Kind of a slow period with our three failures in this one. Sasuke? Hanabi? Favorite part, least favorite part, confusing parts? Et cetera?

Please review! I'll try to write soon!

Laters,

:o)Hinata0321:o)


	24. And the World Goes Mad

J3F\\\ Journey of the Three Failures

Chapter Twenty-Four

Yep, I'm still here!

To say the least, it kind of hurts when the parent you trust, love, and look up to more than anyone in the world, turns into a paranoid, verbally abusive jerk who might at any given moment start screaming at you over any minor, real, or imagined offense. I have no idea what's going on. For the last few months I've jumped between staying at home, with a friend, and with my less than reliable mom and sister. In a few weeks, though, I'm off to college a couple of states away, so at least I won't have to be near a certain grown man's mood swings.

On a lighter note – since the last update, I've graduated from high school! *swag* XD Passed all my AP tests, too (even Calculus. I couldn't believe it). So, pretty soon I'm off to school for engineering. Doesn't mean I won't have time for fanfiction, though ;)

Thanks for reviewing **Omega the Darkness, alethiophile, Godschildtweety, Ascaisil, lil ramen lover, digitalflame192, freewolf17, KoreanGal5, RedRangerBelt, Universal Hope, jayley, Sir Nyan of Canterlot, THE-complete-zelda-fan, Malix2, Shizuka Taiyou, Mulleb, U. May, Chargone, chaosreaver, Veraozao, NarutoFanBoy4Life, chibigirl8, kitsutenshi, callumandcolour, Pikarch, **Rachel, Allison, and the anon who signed _M_! You guys keep this story alive!

Some seem to have forgotten (understandable, as it was quite a while back) that** the Sound Four, Ukon included, have had a prior appearance in the story**. Chapters Ten and Eleven, they were guarding Jiraiya's prison during the first attempt to bust him out, and fought against Lee and Hinata.

Also, the Journey of the Three Failures **fanfic video thing is nearly complete**! About 187 drawings and counting, some detailed, some not, but I only need to finish the last ten seconds now. I plan to finish it before I go off to college, so check my YouTube (KuroHinata0321) within the next couple of weeks for a treat :D

Yeesh, well, you've been sitting on a cliffhanger long enough ^^; Here we go!

Oh, wait! Chapter songs – _In the Middle of the Night (instrumental) _for the battle, and _A Demon's Fate, _both by Within Temptation.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own _NARUTO_.

* * *

**Journey of the Three Failures**

**Twenty-Four: And the World Goes Mad**

**Hinata ****ヒナタ**

The moon was rust red.

Overwhelming hatred and indescribable shock, smoke, ash, and blood thick on the air, and a rust red haze of mad fury hanging over it all – it was under these circumstances, under the round moon's bloody red eye, that eight beings armed with fang and claw had crossed paths. It alone would bear witness to the horrors to come.

**Part One: Monster Fight**

The solid coils of leg muscle poised beneath me bunched and sprang. The earth there buckled – and shattered stone sang as a ring of thick, powerfully clawed hands crashed down upon it. I was safe, high above the ground and their strikes.

Air hissed into my chest as a presence phased up into existence at my back with a hum of swiftness. Twisting in the air – my arm flung around in front of my face to bear the slam of raking claws. For a moment he and I were locked, wicked claw to sputtering flesh, eyes ecstatic to eyes outraged, and then I was shooting backwards, hurled by the sheer wild power loaded in Haritsu's blow.

Ground met my side hard, and I was tumbling, breaking earth at each bounce, limbs splaying as my body flopped along. Barely did my eyes detect the blur of speed that preceded Brother Harumaru's open hand smashing against my cheek. I was not thrown far before another caught my arm in a grasp reinforced by digging claws, and with a groaning of tendons the path of my body was pulled into an arc, momentum redirected to plow my back down into crunching earth.

The sadistic sneer cast down at me by this subduer was swept from his face as my breath ablaze surged upward, and he jumped away with an angry hiss, a patch of snowy fur singed. I sprang to my feet, energy rolling into my mouth even as I sprang in pursuit. A bolt of crimson lanced from my maw – and another figure, screeching to a halt at his side, spat a jet of water, glowing with power and whitened with intensity, without so much as a single seal.

My eyes grew.

The compacted bursts of elemental fury collided explosively, shrouding the lot of us in whipping steam and wind, but I only braced my feet and raised an arm against this battery as my unblinking eyes sprang to life. No sooner had my sight penetrated the swirling mist than my hand snapped outward – her claws lodged heavily into my side – and, my grasp on her wrist the only barrier to her shuddering intent to split my stomach wide, we came eye to eye. My grip tightened.

"_HIYUKI–?_"

For my complacency, I paid dearly. The blow of her free hand was blinding across my skull, claws tearing out great clumps of short hair, savaging my ear. I yowled in outrage, head whirring, and this kind Onee-san delivered a stunning foot to my breast and swung herself aside so that, as another's two feet drove into my back, she was not in my path. Thrown, I finally lost hold of her arm.

_Sh-shimatta…! _Pain – real, screaming pain, breaking through to me. Their blows weren't just landing: they were hurting. Rarely in this form was the threshold so much as approached.

Horo-chan, blitzing in on all fours. My strong body, buckling under force and folding up around the steely shoulder in my gut.

Suddenly it was clear. In this fight, I was far from invulnerable.

I stumbled – stumbled! – rolled back, dug the claws of spread toes into the earth, and caught a forearm on my own, arresting a slash even as my free arm was drawn back, claws splayed to rake. I swung.

As I did so, my hand curled smoothly into a fist.

That was it, then. I was _thinking_, and they were not. They could not; they were wholly wild. I had control that they didn't. And because of this control, no matter how barely, I was thinking, and recognizing, and remembering.

By Okaa-sama's five tails.

This would be the death of me.

The punch threw her backwards with a delicious crack, and I set after her as she reeled, only to be swiftly occupied with fending off another's rushing attack. Rapidly I parried blows, and struck with a palm to push him away so that I might briefly engage another. I lunged at them in turn, fought to push each back to keep them from closing in. Horo had recovered, and at an opportune moment leapt at me; I could only maneuver so that razor claws grazed rather than maimed as I swatted aside another's strike. I twisted, kicked her off, shoved the one before me, flung an elbow back into a face.

I had speed, and strength, and for whatever it was worth, the advantage of thought over these less experienced beasts. It was possible, perhaps even likely, that any one of them I could best individually – but they were in all seven, and I one, and however wild in their moves they were coordinating as a pack, united by shared killer's intent.

'_So kill them before you are killed…'_

I ignored Okaa-sama, teeth gritted as I deflected as many blows as I could. Without warning, a white-hot influx of rage surged up within me and seared through my veins; my power spiked, and Haritsu yowled as his ribcage crunched beneath my shin. He darted away, barely escaping the swing of my claws.

'_Wh-what do you think you're doing? !'_

'_Hush, fool, it's the only way!' _The Gobi's hand was on me, forcing me into a rage, driving darkness into my heart. Never had she been so forceful. She wanted to make me a berserker – to strip away the control I'd learned – to plunge me over that edge herself, and it was terrifying.

'_Stop!' _I pulled a blow, and with a mental heave of vigor broke from her hold. The mother of Ookami was arrested in her attempts, and I felt her regard me with something akin to shock at the fury I directed toward her. _'They may be bound to the Ookami by the marks, but they're Hyuuga as well! I deal with this MY way!'_

'_Foolish pup!' _she growled, dismayed beneath her wrath. _'Fine! You're on your own!' _And her presence evaporated with a smarting snarl, leaving me as I had been – alone, against seven berserkers after my head.

Four were directly around me, and we danced. One or two would back off, poised, baying or snarling, as I drove one way or another, lunged, leapt, hands and feet flashing against my foes, and would jump in before I might push for the upper hand. Someone was always attacking my back. Fully powerful strikes were made impossible to prepare, and the quick hits that repelled them could hardly make one flinch. A string of rapid, speeding blows clashed between Haritsu and I, sparks flying from our claws, and amid this bloody exchange I shifted, fending his intent strikes with one arm as the other caught Hireiki's smashing attack – high strike and low blocked in turn, the ground shaking at my rooted feet – I swung a backfist for Haritsu and hit air, and flying in with a vault of the hands, a third attacker's rushing shin kick hacked my feet from under me.

I was tossed head over heels, and upside-down in the air when someone's snapping kick to the gut sent me sailing a great distance. I bounced, I rolled several times, and I slid to my feet, gasping lowly and hunched over. My body was facing away from them, toward the dying town and rusty moon, as I came lurching to a halt, my head low and feet sliding forward.

They were charging from behind. I flexed my hand and ground down, resolved not to move another inch. With feet spread in a crouch for balance, my upper body wound forward and down, bending along the back, until fingers of one hand brushed the earth.

I snapped around. The back of my open hand produced a splitting shockwave on connection with quick Haritsu's cheek, setting his jaw slack, his tongue lolling, and his eyes showing black sclera alone as his barreling momentum crashed to a forcible halt.

"_**ENOUGH**__!_" I roared. The boy spun rapidly several quick times as he was launched away as if by a cannon, before his limbs splayed and he crashed down, crumpled, shooting well past the others in the blink of an eye. His form punched through a house that promptly felled itself in his wake, and from the rocky valley's edges a _BOOM_ issued before, at once, an explosion of dust and debris erupted in the distance.

Though their eyes didn't leave me, tails and ears dipped uncertainly as three of the snarling rushers were caught cold in their tracks. From the same motion as the whirling strike I was drawing back my arm, feet shifting, claws drawing blood from the palm of my hand. Slicing, black energy streamed into the air as my arm began to move forward…

…To be caught by the wiry strength of Horo, who had vanished to with great speed fling her weight into my arm, locking it in both of her own with my forearm pressed against her side. Her collision with my right arm was dragging me back, beginning to pull me off-balance. Eyes narrowing on her, I growled and lifted my left hand to strike with claws – and found left arm snagged by Harumaru as he came racing by.

The two were passing me on either side; my heels were dragging back, my feet lifting from the earth as tendons in my arms stretched and creaked. I blinked, fangs parting.

Mirror images of one another, their feet touched down. Artfully they made one hop further, adjusted their steel grips on my arms, and with tremendous combined power hurled me away.

I zipped backwards, dust whipping from the earth inches below my heels at the speed with which my body passed. A patch of houses raced up to meet me, and I broke through an uncertain number of walls in the blink of an eye before one, made of sturdier stuff, crackled but held with a solid impact that crushed the wind from my lungs. Barely had I managed to lose my breath before Hireiki's shoulder bludgeoned with malice against my breastbone. My mouth was flung wide, and a yell of pain and outrage tore bloody from my throat as my bones creaked and the wall behind me crackled further at my back – and with unreal speed Hireiki blurred aside as charging Hiyuki's swinging fist connected squarely with my face, sending me through the wall and clean out of the building's other side.

My back met ground roughly, and we slid together into the open, her clawed hands locking at my shoulders. Her sneer was vicious as, with the fervor of the predator upon prey, she lunged for my throat and bit savagely – but into my hand which had snapped to at the last moment cover my neck. She growled, glowering eyes thoughtless, mad but for frenzied malevolence, as she increased the pressure exerted by her jaw; one eye shut, I hissed through clenched teeth as she saw to it that my fingers burned. My teeth parted. There was anger in my eyes, I knew, and hers as well – anger at all that had been done.

"_Hi…yuki…!_"

My hand's skin was shredded as I yanked her upward by the teeth so intently fastened to it. Then, with a clear shot of her torso, I unleashed a roar of force that sent her flying with an angry screech, blasting her backwards into the air at breakneck speed.

She glanced a roof and flipped sharply once, hands and feet sliding as they latched onto the structure. I swung mangled hand, and she leapt upward the very instant that my blood came alive with berserk power, a screeching ribbon of searing black that shot through her former perch, tearing over the roof with the crack of shattering tile and wood. Black-and-white eyes, crazed with excitement and fear, were trained on me as she hovered at the peak of her leap, a silhouette before the blood moon with stained fangs bared and hair splayed wildly, fur dancing in the wind and rotten air – watching raptly as I prepared to swing my hand back again.

One of the others dropped down before me in a blur, grinning hugely into my face – and slammed his hand into my abdomen. I grunted, knocked double and back a few feet, and spun outside a slashing lunge, ducking and extending my leg as I whirled to cut his feet from under him; a sharp palm to the chest sent his back smacking into the dirt. I dropped, hands meeting earth, and kicked back my feet to meet the shins of a charging foe; this one tripped, and I gathered myself to surge upward, striking my shoulders roughly into his torso while he was above me, and grab his arm to hurl him into Horo's rapidly approaching form, sending them tumbling away.

One twitch of my ears – a sound behind, like a knife speeding through air with a whistle of ferocity – I jerked aside, and Hiyuki's hand clipped my ribcage as a sturdy spear of claws. She screeched in delight as she watched my blood fly – and blurred from existence as my elbow swung back for her head. I stumbled, blinked – another was upon me, claws blazing a black to sear the air. Our scuffle rang out in the angry tones of clashing claws. I struck out.

My fist met an afterimage, and passed over the shoulder of a different foe–

As said new foe slammed a bruising fist into my stomach.

"_Gh…!_"

_This coordination… _I ducked my head, sickness welling in my chest, and threw a slash for the offender. The flashing strike caught his fur as he blurred in retreat, and as two light feet met my back a pair of hands reached forward, one passing by either side of my head.

My eyes grew wide.

She wrenched with her entire body scarcely an instant after my own hands snapped up within the circle of her hold, arms made a splint against the sinister force meant to snap my neck.

I yelled, and the elbow I threw sharply back met wiry muscle, loosening the knees that straddled me long enough for me to reach back, grab her by the neck, and fling her off. Almost immediately another blurring form shot my, and pain flashed across my face as I was sent spinning on heel.

A mere diversion, it would seem: my gaze snapped forward, and I knocked Hiyuki's forearm strongly with my own, repelling a savage strike. She growled as she tore briefly against my defense, and I returned the vocalization along with her attacks. As I threw two successive strikes she snagged my right wrist in one hand, my left in her other – pressed forward and flung my arms wide with a shove of her own, sneered toothily straight into my face – and vanished.

_**WHAM!**_

She had broken up my defense, unbalanced me, occupied my line of sight… and vanished in effectively the same instant that a brother, no doubt having charged to lunge full-force from directly behind her, sledged a tremendous shoulder smash dead into my stomach.

I cried aloud. My breath was gone before I could comprehend in a strident bark of pain. My eyes twitched, unable to shut, as understanding began to dawn.

_Th-th… they're…_

And then, from behind, another shoulder came cracking into the small of my back, crushing me to a violent halt between two flattening blows and driving out whatever may have been left in my lungs. My body itself seemed to groan in protest, the pressure so immense that I feared it would break. The searing stillness of this blinding moment was shattered – as one, the two vanished – and lingering force broke to fling me into the air, spinning end over end. My sprawling feet above me as I turned backwards, my punished form bent and broken in the air, I blinked once, winced, and heaved from my mouth a profuse surge of inky blood.

…_S-soul Linked…?_

The ground met me with a resounding thud, first the base of my neck and then, with a boneless flop, the rest of my wrecked body as it fell flat, and I lay unmoving but to tremble, mouth agape and limbs splayed awry, the supremest pain felt in silence as I tried to remember how to breathe. The very state was unthinkable, even startling; somehow this powerful form was overcome with pain.

I curled and uncurled my fingers experimentally, flexed my hind paws, and with a grunt of defiance pressed a palm to the ground, shakily starting to push myself up. I coughed and raised my head, blinking blearily at a pair of clawed feet before me; my gaze climbed to Hiyuki's hate-filled face, and I scowled. The others had encircled me with her, hooting and baying with their lust for destruction, but held in check at her unspoken command. My teeth ground. My voice was ragged.

"_H-Hiyu…ki…_"

She quirked an eyebrow, and Harumaru jumped to ram his knee into my throbbing back as he dropped, knocking me down again. As he pinned me my arm was grasped in a large hand and wrenched with a crack to an unnatural position, and I screamed.

"_D-damn it_," I managed in a second, my voice carried on panting gasps as I tried to raise my head. "_Don't you … don't you recognize me, Hiyuki–? !_"

In a violent motion Harumaru crackled the earth with my skull; then I was being lifted by my hair, and shoved into Hiyuki's arms.

A wisp of hot breath played over my fur. My eyes widened.

"_No– ack!_"

And two voracious fangs were buried in my neck.

* * *

**Naruto ****ナルト**

"Lee."

"I know!"

Something was coming, fast. The swordsman burst ahead of our already sprinting group and the Sound Four, who were in front to lead us. Legs coiled as he spun once in the air, and his twin swords came unsheathed in a flash to strike out against the dark figure that blurred toward us, bursting from the shadows.

They collided with a clang, steel meeting the strike of blazing black claws.

The wolf flipped back and landed gracefully, lifting his head. "You?"

"Kurogiba-san? Where–?"

"The brat's in trouble, right?" Sakon demanded.

The flame familiar was evidently surprised, but contemplated the Sound deserters for scarcely a moment. "Yes. Quickly!" he barked, and turned to light off again. Our team raced in pursuit.

I sent chakra to my legs and leapt to draw level with him before keeping pace with his rapid strides.

"Wolf…" I began. I glanced at the full moon above, and then back to Kurogiba. This didn't make any sense. Who could they possibly have encountered that could challenge Hinata in the state she was in now? "What's happening?"

His eyes were trained ahead. His answer briefly stopped my heart.

"They're killing her."

* * *

**Hinata ****ヒナタ**

"_Stop th-this…!_"

Dark and rich emotions were swirling enticingly inside of me; my words held no power. Power – they were taking away my pain, but they were taking my power, too, and relishing in the indulgence.

"_Don't…"_

I gasped, helpless as a fifth set of fangs found my upper arm, for my neck and shoulders were occupied. A sound of submission was drawn through my lips from the pit of my throat. This was a high unlike any I'd experienced under the vice of drink.

"_Stop…"_

In moments I would have nothing at all… no thoughts, no burdens… no past, no future, no pain, not even…

–"_Neji-nii-chan!"_

"_Hina-chan!"–_

My eyes snapped open, crystalline clarity sweeping over my being, as one bright corner of my heart called out in a voice that pierced through me like a bolt.

With sudden strength my hand clamped onto Hiyuki's neck, and she sputtered in surprise.

"_Get. __**Off**__._"

Power surged from my tenketsu in an explosion of crimson flame, and the cursed Hyuuga were repulsed with shrieks and yelps; my breath was alight to swat Hiyuki away as I released her. She rolled back, engulfed only momentarily before the flames parted and fell from her form, melting onto the grass about her. She flashed a maniacal grin, revealing fangs that dripped black, and plunged her hand up to the elbow through my gut.

I blinked, eyebrows high. My lips parted wetly, and I looked up from the limb to see a fist quite near my face.

_CRAK!_

The withdrawing of one hand came in conjunction with the strike of her other. I spun wildly in the air, sent shooting away, before my back crashed into a wall.

I wasn't fighting seven individuals here – I was fighting seven beasts with one mind, and one intention.

No, I thought as I braced myself, not even. A sole beast, with seven bodies that worked as one.

Haritsu's blow cracked into my cheek, hurling me through the wall and out the other side of the building; dust streamed in my wake as I slid to a stop in the dirt. Horo dropped from the sky with a screech of malice, landing on one foot on my stomach. My body seized, my head flung back in pain as the earth buckled for a wide radius about me. The girl sneered, and flowed into a backbend before springing away.

I growled and rolled, flinging my shin between the neck and shoulder of Hireiki as she lunged to attack my prone form from the side. I came to land shakily on my feet, and vaulted over Harumaru's low, rushing strike, my back rolling across his broad shoulders. My clawed hand dug for purchase on the scruff of his neck as we passed each other, and I planted my feet, heaved him over myself, and slammed him down on the other side so that his skull connected loudly with that of another charging foe. The two went sprawling, and I sent a vicious backfist into yet another's face.

"_I don't want to fight you!_" I yelled. "_My blood is your own! Can't you see this? Wake UP!" _Having spun to avoid a slashing lunge, I threw my foot into the attacker's jaw as he rounded on me again.

"_Wake up!"_

My fist blazed into a face, hook, backhand, hook, before my hindpaw kicked into his chest. My elbow snapped around in a lateral arc as I whirled, knocking another head.

"_Wake up!_"

My voice was breaking, rising in desperation with each repetition. Black spattered onto me as my fist met a nose with shattering force.

"_Wake up!_"

I turned, blood and water alike flecking from my face and chin.

"_Wake–!_"

CRUNCH…

A sadistic smile, alien and foul, crossed the sharpened features of a face made sickeningly foreign with hatred as Hiyuki's knuckles sank, leaden, into my throat.

The glimpse lasted an instant; then she was far away – my back was breaking through a window – body crashing over a counter with a flip, hitting a wall, thumping to the floor.

Shuddering, I curled on my side, writhed and wheezed uselessly, eyes round. Bloody teeth ground together, and I flopped over and pulled myself behind the bar counter, a hand's shivering fingers desperately cradling my burning neck. I couldn't breathe. My windpipe – I had to repair it before they got after me. Youki streamed from my hand, and I quieted my empty gasps as the beast's bodies collected themselves.

I shut my eyes, teeth clenched tightly as cartilage began to click into place. Faster. The beast's scouting limbs approached, intent on securing its prey.

I heaved a glob of blood, trying to clear a passage for air – nothing but pain. Not yet. My brows knitted together; my palms ran with sweat. The hunters were coming, hastening. I couldn't die here. Not here.

But the only way to stop such a feral beast was to lop off the head.

Eyes cracked open, my free hand slid forward, shivering fingers scrabbling to take firm hold of an intact glass mug on the floor. My eyes screwed shut.

A foot stepped into the far tavern door.

A last fleshy bit of obstruction, straining into position.

A predatory growl. He smelled my blood.

A moment of stillness.

I shoved to my feet, arm cocked back, and let fly. A ringing explosion of shattering glass and black blood as the mug connected squarely with his face and fluidly disintegrated against it, hurling him the few feet out of the tavern door.

I breathed sharply out of my mouth – spat blood – and was before him, good arm extended across my body. Before he could fall I lashed with all my strength, effectively banishing him from sight.

A plume of dust erupted in the distance, at the foot of the valley, and promptly a rockslide came tumbling down in its wake. He'd be out of the fight for a minute, at most. I turned, teeth bared, eyes locking on Hiyuki's smirking face.

The others were scattered, and as I bolted straight for her I passed many more swiftly than they could react. Hireiki came blurring into my path with a snarl – and my arm caught across her neck before I slammed her savagely to the ground. It wouldn't keep her down for long, I knew: nothing would. I glared into the leader's eyes. "_Call this off!_"

She only scoffed at the demand. I lunged, and she lunged, and I maneuvered at the last moment, grasping her arm and catching her midsection across the jerk of my knee; her feet rose from the earth at the blow, and I raised my arm to drop it fiercely against her back. She spewed blood, knocked sharply to her hands and knees.

"_Do it!_" I screamed, drawing back my fist, but before I could carry out the strike a strong hand grabbed my forearm behind me. The moment I turned a fist was crashing straight into my face. I staggered, spat out a dislodged molar, and hastily covered my face as five of the wild ones fell upon me in retaliation, beating and slashing away, forcing me to the ground and attempting to bury me under their cackling abuse.

With a roar I rose and shoved my arms out, knocking the lot of them away. I leapt with a flip to land behind Hiyuki, striking out with a vigorous sweep of my arm, but she ducked and jammed her elbow up into my gut. She threw me over herself and onto the ground.

Here was a problem – I was beaten, low on blood, and she had taken hardly a scratch and was teeming, overflowing with strength… Yet I sought to overpower her, and if she tired of this game she would kill me without a second thought.

Her foot rose up, and I caught a heel drop in crossed hands inches above my face. I sneered.

"_Slaughter doesn't suit you, Hiyuki," _I ground out steadily. "_Who was it that put you up to destroying this place?_"

When I shoved on her foot she stumbled back, giving me time to roll forward onto the balls of my feet and spring into a tight backwards flip. She caught my arm as I landed before her and struck back for her head.

"_They were weak, weak! Just like you!_" she hissed vehemently, punching me across the face.

"_You know you don't mean that!_" I spat, punching her back. _"They were innocent people!" _A blow to the jaw tossed her out on her back, and she glowered, ears and tail low as she began to stand again, panting for breath.

"_Scum,_" she barked lowly. I held firm.

"_I'm not going to lose you, Hiyuki – not you, or any of my family. Do you hear me…?_"

She held my gaze. Yes – we could do this. I could break through. Somehow it would work. Hiyuki shut her eyes.

When they opened, there was a message in their depths – but not a message for me.

Tearing flesh – a guttural sound of pain. Blood spilled from my mouth.

I had flinched to the right, and that had probably only just saved my spine. Nonetheless, the clawed hand protruding from my lower ribcage, soaked in black but tinged an ironic red in the light of the blood moon, was plenty to contend with.

Mouth agape in disbelief, I met Hiyuki's eyes to find them brimming with dark laughter, relishing in my state. Pained, I withheld a cry as whoever had skewered me twisted and withdrew, and my knees splattered to the dirt made muddy with my own spilt life. My strength was ebbing. Another blow like this, and I would die. _Die…_

Hiyuki grasped my arm in a grip of iron.

"_You know _nothing_._"

She flung me into the air, high and far. I landed with a foot under me but toppled, failing to break the fall. Whimpering, I got to my hands and knees, pressed a hand to the gushing knot of pain. My heartbeat throbbed in my skull; dark spots washed across my sight.

_Heal…! Kuso, heal–!_

I didn't notice Haritsu until his foot met my side. I was thrown against Hireiki, who ran her claws across my back. I spun and staggered, blinking rapidly. Someone bit into the flesh of my forearm and tore; a bestial yowl broke into the air, in my voice. A punch to the gut, jostling other wounds. A heavy slash to the shoulder.

_I'm… pathetic…_

I staggered back, into someone: Hiyuki's arms wrapped around me, one hand clasping my shoulder and another coldly cradling my face. I yelped once; then I groaned and shut my eyes tightly, powerless as she stole my blood.

_Scrambling about, trying to heal… letting h-her… a-_ah_…!_

Her intoxicating fangs left my neck, and with a growl she threw me to the ground, sending me sliding on my back. She pounced, but before she could pin me I twisted with a yell, trying to reverse our positions. A fight she hadn't expected at this point, and we rolled again, grappling; I slashed her face fiercely with my claws, pulled back on her hair as she made a lunge for my throat, and raked desperately for her thigh with clawed toes, while she seized my hand, threw vicious knees at my gut, my groin, and batted her hand across my face with a crack, growling in fury all the while. The struggle couldn't have lasted. Ultimately it was she who wound up on top, as we had both known she would, knees straddling my sides and eyes madly intent as her hands wrung my throat.

The hands that fought to pry her fingers open, to no avail, fell slack; the kicking of my feet, subdued. The bloody face of the demon above me shone with excitement as she shrieked her triumph and tightened her throttling grip. My eyes shut as an assortment of dull pops and crackles issued painfully from beneath her hands.

_You really don't… remember me anymore…_

My mouth worked silently. A spurt of blood escaped my lips.

_And you're going to kill me…_

Free of conscious command, my chest heaved frantically, drawing on nothing at all.

_No…_

She bent, her lips meeting mine – tongue lapping for the blood that collected in my mouth.

_No…_

Muted sensations. The sky, blurring above me. Numb hands, falling to my sides.

_I…_

My heart, pounding with fretful determination in my breast.

_I… will not die!_

The creature above me was still smiling as I kicked up flexible legs, as my heels hooked across each other beneath her chin.

She blinked only once into my deadened stare.

My body snapped straight the only way it could. The back of her skull slammed into the earth beneath my feet.

**_WHAM…!_**

I saw a foot flail crookedly with the impact; I saw arms, bone straight, fingers splayed to odd angles and deathly rigid. For a split-second, a single, miniscule crack ran, skittered and jumped along from the earth beneath the head that housed two wide eyes, a gaping mouth, a nose that began to leak a rivulet of blood. Then, with a staggering jolt and decisive roar, the earth shattered all around us.

I disentangled myself from the pack leader, crawling to my feet. The deed was done. In the settling dust she convulsed, hands grasping at her head. Her hair and the fur of her fingers were already growing matted, slick with black blood, as she cried and keened, broken.

Broken, but not quite able to die.

Her pack – the coven that was hers, or at least that fell under her command in its true alpha's absence, was momentarily stunned to inaction as I wettened my fingers in the liquid heat running down my shoulder. My claws flexed.

"_I love you, Onee-chan… so much."_

The scythe of darkness flashed down, met her neck with a crack of finality. Billowing dust shrouded her form, and a shockwave whipped at my hair.

"_MRAAAAAAAAAHHH–!"_

Hireiki's cry was a force of shrieking despair, of outrage, of denial and fury and woe all bent and twisted up so suddenly into one to erupt from her bereft lips. I did not hear it all – no one ever would. I came to be behind her, one hand beneath her chin, another above her head, a sharp–

CRACK–!

–Like a whip, and the old Hyuuga prodigy crumpled at my feet.

"_I've killed you…_"

A blow cracked across my face. I turned my head and caught Haritsu's second strike as I reeled, and razor claws slipped through his bursting heart in a flash, out again before he could blink, and he too was dead before he hit the dirt.

"_Iiiieeeee–!_"

But my reach was greater than young Horo's, and my hand flicked out and her throat was clipped in two and the vessel of her twirled past me as it fell.

Hoshiro-nii-san was slow to react when I bit into his throat as he charged, and a prompt fist flat to the chest separated him from this vital component. I spat, and my tongue was twitching to dab new blood from my lips when I turned my head toward Harumaru's lunging form. I reached out abruptly, threw him over myself, and when he landed and whipped around to attack I opened my mouth with power in my chest and roared, and my searing voice struck and tore flesh from bone, quite thoroughly destroying him.

Then it was quiet.

And then, because the quiet terrified me, I screamed beneath the rust red moon until I had nothing left, and screamed some more.

* * *

**Neji ****ネジ**

"_WAAAAAAAAAAAAAHAAAAAHAAAAHHH !"_

"L-Lord Neji, what it it–?"

"MURDERER! Stop! _Stooop!_"

Fire drilled through my soul – a string of deaths, and each my own.

"What ails him?"

"Honorable Grandfather, he screams of a murderer–!"

Images, sensations flashed through my mind – I scrambled, ran into a wall – the room shook – slid to the floor, roared aloud and thrashed. Another, extinguished.

"_AAAAHHH! Madwoman!_"

"M'lord, be calm–!"

"_AWAY from me!_"

"Ack!"

A cry burst the ceiling above me with a torrent of force. I clutched at my heart, jerking double, and vomited copiously. I clawed at my scalp and bawled, kicked – a wall came down.

"_No more – RUN, you fool– AAAAAAAAAAAAAGGHHH! CHIKUSHOOOOO!_"

My hands were wild, overturning things, throwing things, breaking anything within reach as I howled and howled and howled.

"Look how he froths at the mouth…!" A vase smashed above him as he cowered.

"Be still, boy! Did I not foretell ruin at your hands?"

"They're all dead, you old fool, _DEAD – _DEEEEAAAAAD!"

"The first of the many, young lord. Just as well you had killed them yourself."

Eyes further widening, my face contorted, and I grabbed for my dresser and hurled it across the room, falling down as I did. The furniture burst upon his palm, leaving him unharmed, he and his stupid sagging expressionless face, that disapproval in his eyes accusing me – ME! He and the one with him turned to go, and I bristled where I sat.

–"_You will drive this clan to Hell…"–_

"Begone!" I hollered. "Demon– _DEMON! You foresaw this! YOU! Huf…_

"_AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!_"

* * *

**Twenty-Four, Part Two: Daybreak**

**Naruto ****ナルト**

The sun was low in the sky when we can upon a town in ash and shambles. The place stank heavily of death despite the mildness of the autumn air, but permeating the aura of dashed life was a chill mist of recency; something hung in the stale air, in the unnatural stillness, to echo of recent activity, of normalcy, of the customary and routine passing of idle days that had been ground so instantly to a fateful halt. Twenty-four hours ago, no one had expected to die here – to die, much less to be killed – and now all lay slain.

All, but for one small creature, knelt amid the bodies of the fallen, back bent against the light of the morning sun as she cradled the head of a fair-skinned, brown-haired dame in protective arms; her gaze was lost in a pair of dull, blue-violet eyes that stared blankly skyward, frozen, as if forever beseeching the heavens above.

The state of the blue-haired, wolf-eared teen was alarming. She wore not a stitch, and streaks of more inky blood than anyone should rightly survive the loss of stood in harsh contrast to the watery, translucent pallor of her skin. Her body was littered with the evidence of painful and grievous wounds, pierced and slashed and gashed, and colorfully bruising pockmarks riddled her neck and shoulders. One of her hands had been savaged, the skin of the thing tattered. I had detected some manner of abnormality in the shape of her left arm, and with a moment's focus and a further sickening in my gut I realized the missing chunk of muscle and the raw flesh that had scabbed a glazed pink in its absence. Short blue hair hung messily in front of her eyes, but from what I could see her nose was messed up, her face and hair caked with dried blood. Pale grey, blue-tinged lips muttered fervently as she rocked with the precious bundle, repeating a soft name as the shaking fingers of her hand lovingly brushed the cheek of the very dead girl in her arms.

I flinched as a wail, sudden and anguished, cut miserably into the air. With the vocalization wide white eyes rose, unblinking, to the clouds; bloodshot, they spasmed in their sockets with no grip or focus to speak of as that gaping mouth bawled over and over. Then, as all life seemed to drain out of her, she crumpled smoothly, folding down over the beloved corpse and murmuring again.

_We were… too late…_

I had to do something – I had to, now, before my heart wrung itself apart and I would be no help to anyone.

"H…Hinata!"

The eyes that had seconds ago been doleful and bleak were suddenly murderous as they rose to meet my own. Upon noticing us the feeble creature, so small and so weak, became something fierce through the merest shifts in slouched posture, as if fury were a palpable entity she summoned and wrapped around her, braced against her battered form, and made it evident that whatever condition she was in, she would fight anyone or anything at any given moment, and would unfailingly give her adversary hell. I ground my teeth, eyes wide. I didn't bother looking to the others for help; they were no doubt as lost as I was.

Brow furrowed uneasily, I placed one foot forward, my hands out. Deep and savage, the roar of a wild thing bombarded the air, grating at my ears as it leapt from her throat. One of her hands came forward and planted itself in the dirt as she fired off unsteady growls, eyes glazed brightly with rage… and a protective hand still cradling a girl's corpse tightly to her chest.

"_Stay BACK…_"

"But…?" I was at a loss. She wasn't under the influence of the curse – even if she had been, she had long since learned to control it. Still, the way she looked at me… It was as if she didn't know me.

"Careful," Kurogiba advised quietly. "She's locked herself up. I can't tell what's going on in her head, but it's nothing good."

"Hinata," I tried, "you're wounded…"

A strange, fanged smile, mocking but none the lesser in its degree of edgy viciousness, crossed her lips at this. "Wounded? I'm wounded?" she said, her voice a throaty hiss. "I think _they're_ wounded a lot worse."

Her demeanor was troubling. "What are you saying?"

My step forward faltered as she snarled in rage, smiles gone. "I said, stay away!" she warned, venom in her eyes. "You won't touch her, hear me? I'm not letting anyone else hurt her!"

"We're not here to hurt either of you!" I cried, but she chuckled a bitter, unbalanced laugh, hunched shoulders shaking as her wide eyes ran with tears she seemed oblivious to.

"You're wrong," she asserted with a sudden shake of her head. "Look what they did – look what they did to my dear, kind Onee-san! This bloody world made her into a monster that had to be KILLED!"

"She's mad…" I heard Kurenai breathe in horror. I clenched my teeth.

"Stop this, Hinata! There's nothing more you can–!"

My stepping forward this time was too much. Like a wounded animal she lashed out; I saw the arc of darkness spring from her claws, and heard the spurting blood before a line of pain seared across my midsection. "No!" I sputtered, eyes wide, flinging my arms out before the ones behind me could rush to my aid. If a group of people moved toward me – and thereby any closer to her – things would get out of hand in a hurry. "I'm good," I gasped, forcing the pain out of my voice and putting on a grin before I continued. "Just a scratch…" And with my hands open at my sides to show I meant no ill intent, I started forward again.

A flash of movement, and more of my blood spattered to the earth. I sucked in a breath. My arms remained open, my smile easy and wincing eyes fond as the held her glower. "I know you didn't mean to do that, Hinata."

Her eyes were all but unfamiliar, haunted and darkened as they were with distrust. Her lip curled to more fully display a set of dangerous fangs. Her voice was demonic, fully transformed. "_I've killed Hiyuki. What makes you think I can't kill you…?"_

"I love you, remember?" I said, panting lightly as wetness seeped from my wounds. They were a tad deeper than I'd first guessed. I grunted, and tore away my tattered waistcoat and shirt. "Threaten me all you like. Give me your best shot–," Five parallel slashes split themselves across my torso, sending a spray of crimson arcing up from my shoulder. I flinched, but my feet moved not an inch backwards, and with only this minor pause I continued forward. "I won't back down. I can't leave you like this, y'know?"

"_Madman!_" she screamed, breath rapid in panic. "_Leave us! Come any closer, and I'll kill and eat you, you hear? Away, or I destroy you!_"

"It's a chance I'll have to take," I said, stepping unguarded into another blow. I didn't pause when the blood spilled from my lips; I put one foot down in front of the other, even as each footfall was smeared with a print of red. "I know you've g-gone through something horrible here. So go on – if this is what you want, give me your pain. I'm pretty tough–,"

The burning broke across my right shin, the impact's ferocity toppling me. My knee hit the dirt beneath me. Sweating in pain, I reached out, dug my fingers into the dirt, and pulled myself forward. She began to rant.

"_No matter how many tough words we say, we're still dancing around for the world's amusement, groveling when it sees fit – the greatest heights, then, then – BAM! – the harshest devastation! We're nothing, nothing, nothing at all but pawns in the grand scheme's fancy – but not me. No longer! I won't fall for it and be hurt again!" _she raved, her eyes unfocused as she clutched her dear one closer still. "_The cruel world won't hurt us, not anymore–!"_

"Hinata–!"

"_I won't let it–!"_

"You're not getting off that easy! We've come too far for you to toss your marbles _now_–!"

I was two yards away, beginning to lunge, when she opened her mouth and doused me in flame.

"_HAAAHH!_" My determined cry collided with her roar, and I surged through the furious blast, a hand outstretched as the world went white in an explosion of pain.

My recollection of the next few moments is a murky and muddled one, at best. Wisps of fire, falling from my body; pain, everywhere pain. White eyes bright with stunned recognition, mortified, before we fall into each other's embrace. Her name on my lips as her body is wracked by sobs.

_Welcome back…_

* * *

**Lee ****リー**

"By the kami… We nearly lost two of our commanders today…"

Soon enough we had hunkered down in a quiet glade, away from the stench and horrors at Gunromachi. Kakashi and a couple of the other jounin who had accompanied us here were taking account of the town, reconnoitering and searching for survivors that even they knew they would not find. Tsunade was splitting her attentions between two patients, as the second of the two medics in our quickly assembled twelve-man team was, perhaps ironically, lying more or less incapacitated in her care. The old Sound Four lazed in the shade of a tree, denying any credit or thanks for alerting us the way they had. Gaara sat solemnly at my side, his brow wrinkled in concern. Hinata had been clothed in my tunic and the light, knee-length shorts that I typically wore over my more formfitting pants, and I felt bitter to know that a few garments and the hand she clasped were all that I could offer. I could not stay bitter, however, any more than I could linger selfishly on my own wishes – not while the blonde lay half-lucid in a coat of bandaging, charred flesh gradually reclaiming its proper tone. Had he not calmed her, she could well have gone berserk and attacked us all, and we probably would have been forced to kill her – to put her down, like some animal – and the tragedy would have been complete. As it was, he had brought her back to us, but our little han'you remained silent, pale under a new burden of shame and grief.

"I'm a quick heal, Baa-chan," Naruto replied groggily, ever the positive one. "You know that." Tsunade raised an eyebrow, staying focused on the slow work of helping Hinata regenerate a missing portion of forearm. Kurogiba lifted his head from where it rested beside his summoner's own.

"You could have killed yourself all the same," he admonished. "It's fortunate the pup was exhausted from the fight; any other way and you would be in pieces right now…"

"Kurogiba-san," I murmured, as the 'pup' in question tensed with guilt and silently turned her head to the side – toward me. I blushed and busied myself with watching damaged muscle tissue crawl to take form.

The wolf only shook his head. "Never was one to mince words… I don't understand you," he admitted, looking toward Naruto again. "Every time I think I do, something like this happens, and here we are… My own sister, my Summoner, and I couldn't do a thing, but you – _you_ do something idiotic, and somehow get it to work. How is it that you're forever able to make such things happen?"

Naruto snickered. "It's a little something called 'love,' wolf," he said cheekily, causing him to roll his red eyes. All the same the Wolf of Fire grinned.

"Keep your 'love,' by all means. I've no use for such sentimental things," he quipped. He went on to add, "You're not bad for a fox-child," causing the blond to snigger again.

_That is Naruto, for you… Incredible things are commonplace around him…_

"And you don't hurt the people you love."

Silence overtook the glade as Hinata sat up, painstakingly, and shoved to her feet, facing the woods. Though she did not face us, her posture made it evident that the movement pained her.

"Why would anyone? It's unnatural…"

Kurogiba stood. "I once said to imagine what would happen if Orochimaru had ten, or twenty such weapons as the one you become under the great moon. He was experimenting, Pup. He learned of Gunromachi's loyalist ties and he set them loose, and we were unlucky enough to be close by. You did to them what had to be done! You chose _survival_ – there's no blame in–!"

When Hinata turned, it was with such vehemence in her voice and intensity in her eyes, such pain wrought heavily across her face amidst conflicting emotion laid bare, splayed out for all to see as angry tears flecked from her cheeks, that her familiar was struck mute.

"_What good is it if I can't protect anyone? !_"

She hung her head, shivering as the tears flowed; her fists clenched until they popped. Her voice carried on, fraught with pain.

"Everything… every sacrifice… After a-all this, I slaughter my kinsmen, I injure my love… How the hell am I supposed to s-save…?" Her hand covered her face as she broke into sobs; then she turned, and lit off into the trees.

"Hinata…" Naruto said, standing. Ignoring Tsunade's halfhearted protests, he too had soon vanished, in pursuit. And thus, once more, the rest of us found ourselves upon that painful precipice at which all we could do was wait.

I shook my head, solemn. It was true; Naruto, salve to her soul that he was, was the best hope we could have for her now.

_We will get through it, as always: Stronger than before…_

* * *

**Hinata ****ヒナタ**

"A long time ago… she taught me how to make tea. On one of those dreary afternoons when I had no lessons scheduled with the tutors, and Father was busy with clan business, she reached out to me – me, a six-year-old heiress without a mother. I could talk to her… Somehow, at a time when I was too shy to talk to anyone straight, I could talk to this tall Onee-san who was as awkward as I was. I showed her how I looked after the garden. She made tea and sweet buns." A soft chuckle came out, barely a whisper of a laugh. "I remember it being the most wonderful tea… I asked her to teach me, and she was quietly delighted to. After that, we took turns, like; every week, we found some time to share a snack in the courtyard. Of course it was improper for one of the Main Household to prepare food, but we were young, I'd been deemed rather hopeless already, and Father and the rest had too many important things to deal with to apportion any more time to disapproving of me. Eventually Hanabi even started to join our lunch dates, and that couldn't have made him happy. It was too great for me to notice any of that, though – it couldn't have made me happier. It was our time when, just for a bit, we could forget we were Hyuuga and be family instead. But one day, loveable klutz that she was, Hiyuki tripped and spilled tea on my robe. An elder saw it happen…"

He knew I was aware of his presence. "And then…?"

I looked into the distant sky. "And then… while that elder, and Father, and Hanabi watched… while she screamed and begged me to stop… Father made me activate the mark on her forehead, again, and again, and again…" My mouth was dry. "And things were never the same."

* * *

He lingered by the trees a minute longer before he approached. It must have been reflex from a stronger time, for me to wipe the too-large sleeve over my eyes when I knew the steady tears would just keep coming. Bitterly I scowled at the ravaged valley below, and he just sat down beside me at the ledge and waited, patiently. I squeezed my knees tighter in my arms.

"…What have I done?"

I didn't look at him, but I felt that earnest, thoughtful expression of his in his voice. "You did all you could in a situation way beyond your control. You got beat pretty bad for your efforts, but you tried all the same. You tried to do right…"

I shook my head groggily, a soft hiccup catching in my throat. "I tried… I tried my hardest. I thought if I just kept pushing, then surely I'd break through. But…" I blinked, shivering. "But I _couldn't_. I couldn't do anything, and I…" My tongue held; I lowered my head. "I failed them…"

"They had ya' outnumbered. You didn't have a choice."

"You're wrong. All this training to control the curse, to control my demonic side, and when it came down to it, all I could find in me was the control to _choose_ to become a monster. What's my resolve worth _then_? To fight a monster, I became one myself – my strength deserted me until I did. I don't know what it all means anymore…"

"Everything happens for a reason. Maybe this was…" He paused, softening his voice. "…To prepare you for something greater. To prepare you for what's to come."

"So that's it, then." I felt inquisitive eyes on me. "Back there, in the town… I shattered my own mind so that I felt nothing as I slew my own flesh and blood. It was that, or to enjoy butchering them like the fiend I was – so I killed my heart, and it drove me mad." I smiled wryly. "But then… you came in and pulled me back, didn't you?"

"Of course I did," he said, soft but ardent. "I'd never let go of you – you know that!"

"Oh." I paused, eyes narrowing. "But those words are a trap. If that's so, I wonder… would you let me remain a monster to destroy a threat to my life? If I lost myself, would you have me do something for which I could never forgive myself?"

As he was struck dumb, I finally met his eyes.

"Don't worry. That's a choice I'll not ask you to make."

Naruto slowly nodded his thanks, that thoughtful, troubled look crossing his face again. "I hate him, you know," he said after a terse silence. "I hate him for causing you so much pain…"

I had no need to ask to whom he referred.

"Not too long ago I told a girl to give up on her cousin before she got herself killed, and she told me that she wouldn't lose him, no matter what. I look at that same girl right now, and whatever doubts she's got in herself, I'm realizing that what I see is a person who might actually be able to back up those words." He paused for a moment, considering. "You've grown strong, Hinata. I can see that. And when the day comes, the true fight of your life will be the one I can't help you with; I know this now, and accept it. But when the day does come, and you're face-to-face with that bastard of a cousin, you'll know what to do all on your own. That's what I believe."

"But I couldn't save Hiyuki. How will I–?"

"You _will_. Gods, I can't believe I'm encouraging this. One way or another, you'll close the book on this bloodshed in your house, and you'll do it on your own terms."

"Naruto…"

He snuck a glance at me, and returned his eyes to the valley floor. "Don't get me wrong, though – I still hate 'im."

I smiled, barely, in spite of myself. "Hate… it's all around us, isn't it? Maybe there's no such thing as escaping it…" I pressed a hand over my heart. "_His_ hate for me… I can feel it right now, right in here where I've got my love, and it's frightening. They were precious to him, Naruto, and I killed them all. His darkness, his thirst for my blood … it's boiling over inside him, and it's _frightening_," I repeated. "I'm scared out of my wits. No matter what he's done, I love him, but…"

My hand was shivering; a teardrop broke, slid down my cheek. I shut my eyes briefly.

"I'm scared," I admitted, my hand clasping above my heart. "When I fight him, what will I become? What will I do, confronted with this hatred…?"

His hand stroked mine between us, soothingly. Yes; for now, it was alright to be soothed, to accept the comfort of the arms that wrapped snugly around me.

"Only time will tell the answer to that, love. Even I don't know it."

* * *

**Twenty-Four, Part Three: Spiral**

**Neji ****ネジ**

_It is dark, here where I am. Dark, and so, so cold._

_I can't remember coming here. At one point there were voices around me, and along with them the occasional flash of a familiar face, but not anymore. They wanted me back, back from wherever here is, as far as I could ascertain. I would go if I could, for no matter how dark and burning cold this place becomes, there is no peace…_

"_Neji-sama!"_

_Out of the silence, that voice… sweet as nectar._

"_Neji-sama!"_

_My name is made an endearment … I have to find her, to see her…_

_My eyes open to a field of light. Here I stand in a crisp cotton shift, warm and free, soft grass glowing with life under my bare feet. And…_

"_Neji-sama…!"_

"_Hiyuki," I say, turning. A soft smile crossing my face as I see her running, so slowly, toward my patch of sunshine, eyes loving. I spread my arms to embrace, my voice soft. "Hiyuki! Come, join me here!"_

_Everything is … so right._

_Until she falls._

_Her kind face shocked, confused as her foot twists beneath her. Then she is sailing past me, fading away as the sun dies and the world blackens, as abundant crimson streams in her wake from a back in shreds._

_Ka-thump…_

_Left before me is a slovenly figure lazily hunched, one extended hand contorted into the claw that drips with blood._

_And her visage rises from shadow, head cocked to the side, a feral grin on her face as Hinata's pale eyes meet mine._

"_Guess who's next?"_

_My stunned, wide eyes narrow, trembling, in anguished rage._

"_NO–!"_

_And I'm in the dank little room that stinks of stale blood, but in this world I am the one chained to the chair, beaten and bleeding, as a black-hooded figure strolls from the shadows._

"_You can still be saved – I'll stop the bleeding if you answer my questions. Sound familiar?" And the little demon, damn her, she flicks back her hood, all smiles and chipper._

"_That's a lie; I know it."_

"_You're probably right, there. You can't be saved."_

_I grimace. "Wh–what's the question?" I cry, tears running from my eyes. She grabs my chin, a thumb pushing up against my bruised cheek._

"_Why did you kill them?" _

_It is asked simply. She shakes my head a little bit, toying. "Well?"_

"_I…? No! It wasn't me who killed them! It was you–!"_

_But she draws her hand back, just as I might have done, and the snarl of "Wrong answer!" is accentuated by a violent crack of skin on skin. She leans in close. "Don't lie to yourself. Wasn't it nice, being surrounded by all that mindless love and adoration?"_

_I'm growing incoherent. "No, n-no, that's not – that was – for the good of the clan–!"_

_And there is a hammer rising in her hand like a judge's gavel, and before it strikes I remember a similar scene, the ghost of the action, my victim's screams, and I know it's coming for my fingertips–_

"_AAAAAAHHH!"_

_My knee–_

"_AAGH!"_

"_So this is one of your favorite pastimes, huh? Lucky dog! You finally get to experience the other end of the bargain!" she remarks, chuckling as I gasp and sob in shock. "You've butchered so many now, Brother; what were those seven but a smidge on your hands? Besides, you're not even grieving comrades – you're grieving pets."_

"_No–!" A firm boot, lodged in the gut, and I choke on the word, losing my breath._

"_Admit it! Better yet, admit it to her! You owe her that much."_

"_This is it…"_

_At that voice, lucidly clear, my gaze snaps to an unnoticed figure stepping from the corner of the room. Hiyuki steps closer to the light, eyes watery and weak, ghostly face pained as she shoots a pitiful glare, seething. "This is where you condemned me!"_

"_What? H…Hiyuki, it's me!"_

"_I know exactly wh-who you are, you – you bastard!"_

"_No!" I howl. Suddenly I can't stand that hate in her eyes a moment longer. "Get her out of here, dammit–!"_

_WHAP!_

"_You make demands of the interrogator? She stays. Face what you did, the true victory you won in here: you taught her to hate!"_

"_This is madness! Let me out–!" CRAK! "I'm no murderer – I don't belong here, not me!" SNAP! "Everything I've d-done–!" THA-WHAP! "–I've done f-for the greater good. I HAVE!" The disgust in her eyes, more torturous than the interrogator's blows– "If you're going to kill me, kill me already!"_

_The interrogator pauses to smirk, humored, and bends down to my level. "Oh? It's not for you, to pass on nameless and alone in some dark cell. To you we grant…"_

_She draws back–_

"_A traitor's death!"_

–_And her boot meets the chair high with a crack, knocking it back, but suddenly there is no chair; there is no floor, no room. There is only me, falling in open air, and this noose around my neck._

_The fatal jolt hits, and I am abruptly on my feet in a sea of endless black, staggering in surprise. My eyes cast about, wild, seeking anything, as sweat pours down my face, my sides, my back. A way out – there has to be a way out._

"_Oniiii-saaaaannn…"_

_Singsong but wicked, the drawn-out call echoes from three directions at once. My eyes are wide; my shoulders shudder. "Stop it…"_

"_Oh, Neji-niiii-saaann…"_

"_It's you, kuso! It's always been you!" I scream into the emptiness, hands thrown down. My eyes shut. "Of course you were there to take them away from me! YOU DEPRIVE ME OF EVERYTHING I LOVE!"_

"_Aw…" A mockery of pity. "Poor, poor Neji-nii-san. You should've seen it…" The demon materializes ten feet before me, face blank, white eyes as ice. "How hard they strove to impress you, that is."_

"_You're not real…" I whimper in a tiny voice, my throat aching._

"_Your deeds are real," she says without amusement. "What does it matter, at this point?"_

_I'm grinding my teeth. She fades, and is at my side, so calm and unfeeling that it sickens me. _

"_You may have done the sentencing, but I am the one Fate sent to kill them, you see. I _killed_ them… _bathed_ in their _blood_… and I'll kill you, too…" _

"_Just one more thing for you to take away from me? !" I cry, lashing out, savage. She vanishes under my blow, and I gasp for air._

"_That's right."_

_She's behind me, and I freeze as her arms snake over my shoulders. _

"_I'll kill you, and you and your overblown farce will be forgotten…"_

_Warm breath, rolling over my neck._

"_Forgotten… Like the low-born scum you are."_

_Bared fangs – a snapping-sharp bite._

_I scream._

* * *

With a violent jolt I was awake, eyes wide as they could be, and sat without moving, simply thirsting for more air. In a fit of franticness I tore an oxygen mask from my face with scrabbling hands. Eyes flashing about the room, I was at once aware that my head throbbed, my eyes hurt, my throat was raw and sore, and my muscles ached dreadfully. I was both freezing and damp with sweat. My eyes blinked rapidly. An IV rack had fallen with my waking jolt. My arm – I grasped and yanked out a tube, shivering and swearing under my breath. Then the blanket was thrown aside, and I swung my legs over the side of the bed and toppled to the floor.

A hand against my head, I shut my eyes and groaned with nausea and frustration. _Gone, all gone… They're really gone…!_

"Neji?"

What a despicable sight I must have been to Tenten at that moment. She stood frozen half into the doorway, a modest few flowers in one hand. These were dropped unceremoniously, and in a flash she was at my side, kneeling, trying to aid me. When I was sitting up well enough on my own strength, I spent a moment glowering at the floor tiles before I caught her gaze, noticed the cautious concern that emanated from her face. As if the eye contact was the trigger, she threw her arms around me.

"You're awake…!" She went on, about how my fever had been unthinkably high, how I had often wept and raved incoherently and thrashed in my sleep, how she had feared the sickness might never release me. Peering stoically over her shoulder, I surveyed the room; overlooked before were a few flowers, slumped and slightly wilted versions of the ones on the floor, in a vase on the bedside table.

"_How long has it been?_" I said sharply, and she flinched, her words broken short mid-sentence. She pulled away, eyes worried.

"Eight days… Ah," she began uncertainly as I gripped the side of the bed, pulling to my feet. "I don't think you should be out of bed just yet–," She caught and supported me as I lost balance. "Just relax, Neji, please? They said you were in shock. I'll call a nurse–,"

"Forget that. The status of the village," I demanded. She hesitated, and I slammed a fist loudly against the doorframe. "_Report!_"

She ducked her head. "Sir. Outcry from the incident at the last Orochimaru rally isn't dying down. The civilian populace isn't happy…" She stopped as I snorted.

"The _civilians_ aren't _happy_?" I muttered. "Yes, their problems are most consequential. What exactly do they plan to do, whine in our ears?"

"Neji!" Tenten gasped. I realized a nurse _had_ in fact been heading toward the room, drawn by the commotion; the woman pursed her lips and turned, sparing a cross look very briefly as she continued at a brisk step down the hall. I laughed a little, and Tenten frowned in confusion.

"Did I tell you to stop, chuunin?" I snapped. "Continue, if you so please! What of the rebels?"

Her brow furrowed. "That… The sabotage of their celebratory feast killed some twelve to eighteen percent of their population and incapacitated more. But, Ne… Sir, as you know shinobi are trained from their Academy days to gradually build up some degree of tolerance to poison…"

"…I'm aware. The point, Tenten."

"Very few of their soldiers perished, Neji. The deaths were children, the elderly, and civilians. Innocent people that NewKo was simply sheltering–!"

"A fair blow to morale, I'm sure…"

"Neji–!"

"Will you stop that?" I said, pushing her away. "'Neji, Neji!' We're at war, Tenten! Siding with our enemy is crime enough in itself."

"Try explaining that to a man who's lost his 'renegade' wife and infant son. I have. They don't buy it."

"These people cook for them, they farm, forge their weapons–,"

"And the children?"

"_Continue_."

"Word of their losses circulated as New Konoha released lists of the dead – they found their ways to family and friends in the main village, and what have you. The decision was made not to capitalize on the disarray caused by the sabotage."

"So New Oto passed by a perfectly good opportunity to strike down New Leaf … to avoid looking bad."

"What is wrong with you?" she cried, appalled. "They struck a blow. We struck one back. Isn't that enough for now? Both occasions caused New Oto's image to suffer–!"

"But the people can't _do_ anything."

"Neji." Her voice was firm; her words, careful. "It's not only our civilians who are starting to have their doubts."

My face was incredulous, mouth open as I wheeled to face her squarely, an eyebrow high. Oh, she was _not_ going here again. I really thought I'd broken her of the habit. My old teammate stared me down, even though I had a good few inches on her.

"The old you would never have stood for this, Neji. What happened to ruling by benevolence? Our own people fear us!"

"We will create the new world with or without their support. If we must reach it with fear, so be it."

"What kind of regime is it to be, if we build it with such a means?"

For all her bold talk, she jumped as I gave a harsh, high-pitched laugh. Then I turned and strode from the room. "Fantastic!" I cried, a restless hand combing through my hair. My voice dropped to an audible mutter. "She really is hopeless…"

"I'm right here, you know!" she said, following me down the hall. I heard a sound of frustration. "Where are you even going?"

"To see someone!"

"But–!"

I stopped – and, as she caught up, lashed a hand out and swept her against the wall. Her back met it with a thud, and she yelped as clawed nails protracted to frame her windpipe.

"Just – stop, stop with this, this _talking_, this whining, just – stop it. You can really be a real _pain_ sometimes, you know that?" I said in her ear, my words rapid. My voice was high; I couldn't seem to find that balance to the levels and tones of my voice. I groaned in exasperation. "We're not far from the morgue, but I don't feel up to carrying you the distance either way."

"N-Neji…!"

"Do not utter my name," I said shortly, and pressed my lips fiercely to hers. I swallowed her muffled sound of surprise, devouring with forceful passion; I kissed her harder, and slowly she responded, let it happen. I pulled away with a smack. "Pathetic," I hissed, laughter in my eyes. "Do you _like_ me that much?"

"S-s…sir," she whispered frantically, quite wary, I'd imagine, of the claws at her throat. "You're ill. You're not yourself."

"Who are you to tell me of myself?"

"Sir, while you were unconscious, I went to Lord Orochimaru. He told me what happened to – to your Chosen! I'm so sorry, sir! I know how much you cared about them!"

"I seek no pity from the likes of _you_," I growled, tense claws furrowing lightly. "You, who never even liked them? Never understood us? FXXX you! As if you could appreciate the depth of what we shared!"

"I can't understand your pain, but th-the death of a follower must be devastating…!"

"'_Follower'?_" I yelled, fuming. "Oh, _I_ see. Followers, _followers_! So I led them there, did I? My leadership brought them to their deaths? !"

"Wh-what? No, that's not what I meant!"

"Don't lie to me, wench– I can see it in your eyes! You dare to accuse me while the murdering scum roams free? !"

"No! I'm not, I swear I'm not…!"

My breath calmed; I blinked several times, and came to see – to truly see – a tear-stained face, white with terror as beads of blood rolled from beneath the claws that had tightened at her neck.

She staggered a few quick steps down the hall as my hand fell away. Hunched over, gasping, she tried to stem the flow of blood with a hand. A small audience had formed, I realized – two nurses, a patient peeking from his room – all, utterly terrified. Of me. I bristled.

"_Help her!_" I roared, and turned from their fright. The lacerations were shallow; she would be fine. But I had to get away from there, away from the revulsion in their eyes, and there was still a person I needed to see.

* * *

**Hanabi ****ハナビ**

_Why…_

My pace was steady and rigorous as I worked at the chin-up bar, drawing breath in on the rise, pushing it out on the drop. Harumi counted my repetitions, somber, a stopwatch ticking away in her hand.

_Whether it was you who planted the poison or not, you knew. That much is plain._

I didn't slow, refused to show weariness no matter how my arms burned. Sweat ran down my face, coated my sides.

_And the only reason we know for certain that you knew … is that you bothered to protect Sakura and me._

The poisoning of the feast had killed Aoba-sensei and Suzume-sensei among the ranks of New Konoha's tokubetsu jounin. Though almost everyone to dine at the feast had been afflicted to some extent, some were lucky, whether by the fortune of a strong constitution, by their training in poison resistance, or by the concentration taken in; Anko-sensei was hardly affected, for instance, while Shikamaru had lain comatose under the nervous eye of medics for days before awakening, and Iruka-sensei and plenty of others remained bedridden even now. Still others had suffered their swift deaths within minutes of the poison's taking effect. By the third day though, deaths had – mercifully – all but completely ceased; and at this point, those not yet taken by the illness were almost certain to recover.

_Surely… surely a truly wicked person would have left us to whatever had come, right? That's what part of me wants to believe. But then…_

We'd progressed to sparring. I flattened Hitaka in moments, and faced Hikujaku.

Gennai, an old teammate of Inaho-san's, was among the ranks of the dead. I had watched Konohamaru grieve over Udon's body, tears running freely from eyes that quivered with excess of rage, a silent coldness settling in my gut at the blank stare that emanated from behind the cracked glasses of an Academy classmate I had never really gotten to know.

But the deaths of civilians, of men and women and elderly folk who had sought refuge in New Konoha, but most overwhelmingly of children – of kids my age and younger who had never touched a kunai knife, nor planned to – outnumbered shinobi casualties fifteen to one.

_You are wicked. Even if you saved me – you knew what was to happen, and you let it happen. You chose to let dozens of innocents die._

In those frightening few days when Shikamaru's condition had been unstable, Anko had whipped New Konoha's chaos into order, seeing that those who could be saved were, that some semblance of a guard was maintained, and that an investigation got underway. I had given my report of the events in the hallway honestly but for omitting the kiss; it was easier to say I was overcome by the Sharingan straightaway than to admit to my undoing by such a simple trick. The core of Sasuke's actions was what mattered.

It was because of my testimony that the kill on sight order had been placed on his head.

I knew he wouldn't die, though. He was too curst crafty for that, never mind his outright strength. I had been the last to see him; he had fled New Konoha, and he wouldn't be coming back.

_You've said that you owe it to Hatake Kakashi and Uzumaki Naruto to look out for Sakura. That much makes sense. But why me? Why not forget me, and save even one noncombatant instead?_

_Do you actually _care_ about me?_

_Or did you not want to do Neji the favor of brushing off an inconvenience?_

"M'lady, stop."

I was surging on the attack with a yell when a large arm slipped across my body, and Hiryuu half pushed, half tossed me to the dirt. I sat up, livid.

"That's enough," he said.

"There are hours of daylight left!"

"We're done until you can calm yourself," he shot back sternly. I was about to question him, incredulous, when I realized I had at some point in the spar turned palms to fists; Hikujaku sat back with a sigh, brushing the back of his hand over a patch of purple at the corner of his mouth. My hands were still balled tight now. I looked down, blushing hotly. Hiryuu continued, "You're angry. Some anger can be good – _in_ moderation. If you can't focus, you're worthless."

I shook my head, exhaustion catching up to me, and looked over to Hikujaku again. "Gomen, Onii-san…"

"Nothing to fret, my little hellion," he assured me, winking. I looked up as Uncle spoke again.

"You're letting what's happened get to you, but it's been more than a week now. Rest up and get your head in order. Tomorrow I want you up to snuff and ready before dawn. Are we clear?"

Wincing under the beratement, I nodded. "Hai…"

* * *

**Lee ****リー**

_There she is…_

I nodded to the blonde beside me, and he nodded and fell back, slipping off the forest trail. I took a deep breath and put on a smile before I jogged forward, getting a bit closer before cupping a hand at my mouth. "Matte, Hinata-san!"

The half-demon glanced back, cocking her head to the side as I caught up to her. "Hi, Lee-kun. Is something wrong?"

"Iie, iie," I said, waving my hand. "I was simply hoping you would consider giving me the pleasure of a sparring match! It has been a while, has it not?"

"It sure has," she said, smiling meekly. "But I'm not really feeling up to it right now. I'm sorry; maybe another time."

"E-eeto…!" I said, coming to her side again as she continued to walk. "Then, why not join me for a bit of fishing? There is a stream just southeast of base… we could get Naruto-kun, as well! The days of the three of us just starting out on our own, fishing together for supper, feel as if they were ages gone. We could all enjoy a bit of time to reminisce; I am sure it would be quite enjoyable!"

"Perhaps… but Lee-kun, I'm on a patrol shift now."

"You have volunteered for quite a few solo patrol shifts in the last week," I observed. "There are plenty of shinobi at base who would be happy to fill in for you… Or, actually, forget fishing. If you are in the mood for work, we could join a hunting party. Your bow and arrows can do the work of five men in securing game, after all!"

"I can just as well shoot any game I encounter on patrol, and haul it to base when the shift is up."

"Then at least allow someone to join you on the route…?"

Her smile was the same soft, apologetic, endearing smile as she stopped to face me, eyes shut. It was hollow. "Lee-kun, I'm fine. Really! I'm sure Naruto-kun would be happy to take you up on that sparring match."

"Hinata-san…"

She continued on the path, leaving me behind. I sighed, and turned back to lift a hand in signal. _You try._

Back on the path, Hinata tensed momentarily before with an overlarge burst of smoke Naruto appeared in front of her, arms crossed, and leaned forward so that they were almost nose-to-nose.

"_You_ need to cheer up!" he announced bluntly.

I grimaced. _That is… one way to go about it…_

"A-ano…" Naruto put a finger to her lips, shushing.

"Watch this," he said, and vanished, Shadow Swapping up into the trees.

Hinata glared back at me, frazzled, and I shrugged. Then a purple-clad form dropped onto the scene, inches from crashing to the earth when he vanished – and fell from the treetops again.

"I can't stop falling!" he cried in mock dismay, pinwheeling his arms for extra effect as he repeated the process. I could not help it; in the first drop he had managed to startle me, and at the silliness of his antics I now laughed aloud.

Hinata, however, was less than humored; she mustered up a chuckle as if it took her a great effort to do so. Face pained beneath the fading smile, she walked past the determined spectacle Naruto was making of himself.

We watched her move on; then I ran up, catching the still-falling jinchuuriki in my arms as he quit his substitutions. We traded a glance, and I sighed and set him on his feet. "We tried…"

"Hey," Naruto said, pointing. Up ahead, Hinata had stopped again, but this arrival we had not expected.

"Tayuya-san," the girl said, patience thinning as she looked toward the one who stood in her path. "Is something wrong?"

"Yeah," the former Sound-nin said crossly as her three companions stepped from the cover of the trees. "You are."

Hinata muttered something, shook her head, and started to move around the older girl. Tayuya stepped to the side, getting back in front of her, and shoved her in the chest.

"I'm still talking to you," the redhead snarled as he Hinata stumbled back in surprise.

"Lay off–!" Naruto began moving toward them, but stopped as I gripped his shoulder. He looked questioningly back at me, but I only continued to watch the scene unfold.

"I don't know what your issue is all of a sudden," Hinata said coldly, righting herself – only to be receive another shove, at the stomach.

"You been dragging your feet and feeling sorry for yourself nonstop for the last week. It's fXXXing pathetic," she said, poking the Hyuuga in the center of the chest. "If I see you mope for one more minute I think I'm gonna puke!"

Hinata didn't let herself be pushed back as one hand shoved roughly against her shoulder. "I'm sorry I'm not living up to your expectations," she said lowly. She was trying to keep a level head, but she was bristling; Naruto and I knew her well enough to tell. Tayuya continued the diatribe with repeated shoves and taunts, and Hinata raised her own arm, starting to make an effort to fend her physical aggressions away.

"You've got those dweeb friends of yours worried about you," Tayuya spat, jerking a thumb in our direction. "Or do you even care? Too busy wallowing around to notice?"

"I'll say it one more time. Keep your hands off me…"

"Or you'll what? Walk away with your tail between your legs?"

The shove of her hands was sudden and sharp; this time it was Tayuya who was sent staggering a few steps. "You will let me pass…" Hinata said firmly.

The older girl let her walk around her this time. Then, when Hinata fully turned her back, Tayuya slapped her hand against the han'you's tail. Hinata whirled with a squeak, face red with anger – and received the slap of an open hand sharply across her face.

Eyes momentarily unblinking, she righted herself and turned her head back to face the older girl; a bit of red collected at the corner of parted lips. "…You just _slapped_ me."

Tayuya stood confrontationally close, hands on her hips. "Damned right I did. Whatcha' gonna do about it?"

_SMACK!_

The Oto girl nearly lost her footing at the force of the blow; reeling, she hissed and brought her hand to a bright outline of Hinata's open hand on her face. Then she grinned slyly. "Very good."

Hinata groaned as understanding seemed to dawn. "You guys…" But as she gave Tayuya a hand in getting up, she was smiling, too – a smile that was not hollow, or shameful, or laboriously wrought to her lips. Laughing aloud, Kidoumaru approached the two to clap one of his hands on Hinata's shoulder.

"She really got you, good, Tayuya!" he guffawed, and his teammate flashed him a rude gesture.

"Didn't think you would last so long without snapping," Sakon added, tossing a coin to Jiroubo, who caught it with a smirk. "Tayuya's quite good at getting under people's skin."

"What exactly just happened…?" Naruto asked, as he and walked up to join them.

"A bit of tough love?" I guessed, my eyes not leaving Hinata's smiling face. "We may have different ways of going about it, but it would seem Hinata-san has more friends looking out for her than we realized…"

Sakon snorted. "Don't get us wrong – she's the only shield we've got against Orochimaru. When someone like that gets in a slump, it makes you a bit nervous. You nice guys can handle the lovey-dovey stuff just fine, but sometimes all you need to wake up is a good slap in the face."

Hinata was apologizing. "You four are counting on me, I know. I'm sorry for showing such a pitiful face."

"About time you pulled it together," Tayuya said. "If you're going to be a leader, then _lead_."

When Hinata nodded, that fire was back in her eyes again. "Right."

_How about that..._

* * *

**Hanabi ****ハナビ**

I found him lying on his back, exhausted. He too, then, had been pushing himself in his training, and maybe more than was good.

"Konohamaru-kun?"

He was still a moment, and then sat up without facing me. "Hanabi," he acknowledged simply. "What do you want?"

I entered the room and sat a few feet from his side, not too close. This was something we both needed. I looked toward him and spoke.

"Would you… tell me about Udon-kun?"

He flinched and met my eyes, for a single instant fierce. Then he looked glumly to the side, and I turned myself a bit, away from him, so that he would not have to show me his tears.

And he began to talk to me.

* * *

**Neji ****ネジ**

"_Lord Orochimaru!_ My Lord?" I hollered. My bare feet stumbled on the hall's sleek flooring. I staggered sideways, half-slumped against the wall, and gasped. The world was whirring; shapes and shadows took on strange forms about me, and I shut my eyes to the rolling jumble of confusion.

–"_I'm afraid the others will be trying to surpass you again…"_

"_Then for my Lord Neji, I will simply grow stronger."–_

Water leapt to my eyes. _Why? Why would you confront her without my command? Were you hoping to impress me…?_

I opened my eyes, gasped, coughed. I made an effort of wiping the chilled slick of beading sweat from my face, and shoved from the wall, lumbering on. "Orochimaru-sama…!"

When a hand met my shoulder from behind, I nearly knocked Kabuto's head off. "_Whoa_, there!" he said, hands waving as he backed up from his reflex of evasion. "Down, boy! Down! I'll tranquilize you if I have to."

I was breathing through my mouth at a feverish pitch, hunched shoulders heaving at each breath. "I'm not here to joke around…"

"So it would seem… You don't look so good, Neji-kun. Oh – I heard about your little band of pets. You have my condolences. _Easy!_" he added, cool smile unwavering as my eyes blazed with venom, and claws came unsheathed. "A tragedy, truly. No one could've anticipated _that _lot being wiped out in one fell swoop."

My neck throbbed; when I bared my teeth, they were fangs. "_Where is Lord Orochimaru?_"

The silver-haired man shrugged. "Not here – working in his laboratory. I might add that he specifically asked not to be disturbed…"

"The lab," I muttered, turning to go.

"Oi," he said. I paused. "I wasn't kidding about that tranquilizer."

A glower was shot over my shoulder. "As if you could stop me…"

He frowned, pushing up his glasses. "Lord Orochimaru is not to blame for this– _I'm not _saying anyone is. It was a simple trial of their destructive capabilities. We couldn't have known your pesky little cousin would turn up, let alone overpower them."

I ground my teeth. It was clear enough that he was impressed. "_Where are they?_"

He rocked once on his heels. "The… _carcasses_ were burned, and the ashes buried by those Leaf loyalists. So no – no Reanimation for them."

Snarling at his matter-of-factness, I turned again.

"Wait!"

"What _now_?"

He pointed at me. "Don't tell me you walked all the way from the hospital in that?" he said, indicating the pale blue hospital gown that fell over matching breeches. He shook his head. "If you're going, at least put on some real clothes…? You look like a lunatic."

I glared a moment longer, and stalked off toward my office, my pace brisk.

* * *

Once the black turtleneck was pulled over my head, I grabbed my spare dark-grey flak jacket from the closet and slammed the door shut. I paused but a moment, blinking. Then I shrugged the jacket on, fastening up the zipper, and to the shinobi leaning casually against the wall, who had concealed himself behind the open door, said, "When did you get here?"

He ignored me, calm obsidian eyes burning with cold. "It doesn't feel good, does it?"

I looked away, adjusting my hitai-ate before a small, square mirror on the wall. "What are you blathering about now?'

"The truth. Having innocent blood on your hands."

I froze.

"So how _do_ you like it, Hyuuga? The way it twists out your heart, scrapes and tears at your soul, as I'm sure you're finding, is simply _divine_."

"I d-don't know what you're talking about," I said hoarsely.

"Oh? But you do." It was said with the cruel certainty of fact. "The rally, too. I saw you waver…"

"Enough! Everything I do i-is–!"

"For the good of the village, right?" he scoffed, so harshly that I cringed. "Come on, white-eyes. You shatter illusions; it's what you do. So tell me – tell me how slowly breaking Tenten's heart benefits the village, if you'd be so kind. I think I'm missing it, mere illusionist that I am – not all of us can be all-seeing." I heard him push from the far wall, saw him step into view of the mirror behind me. His gaze was a condescending one, sidelong from across the room. "What's wrong? Is your resolve not as firm as you thought, now that you've had to bloody your own hands and see up close the suffering you sow?"

"You… Why the hell are you here?"

He strolled up to stand at my back, hands in his pockets. "Maybe I feel we're _bonded_ in the guilt of our sins, the shifty double agent of the shadows and the Hokage's shining right-hand man though we are. Thanks to you, New Oto hates me. New Konoha hates me. What, then, have I become? You pegged the rally riot on me. You put the poisoning on _my_ head. But even you can't lie the butchering of your twisted coven on my plate. There's only one to be blamed for that one."

"You said it yourself – you're forever estranged and scorned. Why should someone of my stature heed a word you say?" I countered, an uneven smile creeping across my face as I glared into the mirror. "The truth? The truth is what is seen, existing as it is perceived. _I_ am an exemplary shinobi and upstanding citizen. _I'm_ the staunch defender of the village. Hatred is doled out for the wicked. No one hates _me_."

"They wouldn't have to. You hate yourself."

My smile fell, and for several moments I stared into my own face, the face of a fool in uniform, and the indifferent face that peered over my shoulder.

Then a horrible sound was born of my throat as I wrenched about with the intent to slash him in two.

He was gone.

I stumbled and toppled out of the strike, crashing heavily down onto my side. My breath was frantic for a few moments. At last I shut my eyes and covered my face with a hand, lying on the floor of my office, grimacing mouth agape as I sobbed silently in tormented grief.

* * *

The late afternoon sky was bleak and unwelcoming, a dark, ragged curtain of grey that grumbled forbiddingly and cast a haunting pallor on the village as I trudged through its streets. I had neatened up, straightened my vest and washed my face; not a hair on my head was out of place, not a thread of the tape wrap on my arm or ankles out of line. Still in the mirror I had been frail and disheveled. No amount of effort would shake the slovenly look, and the longer I fretted with physical appearance, the worse the effect seemed to grow. So, with trudging step and disheveled soul, I wandered through a village I had always and was to forever call home, and found very quickly that something was amiss. What had happened to me I could not be sure, but as my eyes roamed I found myself seeing an alien place, strange and familiar, for the first time.

I knew the change was in me, for it was impossible that so much had been transformed in the short time I had been in the Hokage tower. Suddenly and inexplicably I was _seeing_ things, unsettling things, and I didn't need the Byakugan to do it. This residential block, for instance, with broken bottles and miscellaneous refuse littering the roadside, with boards over windows and doors triply locked and overall buildings in disrepair; the clatter of a garbage can overturned, and the skeletal furred creature that hissed as it caught my eye upon it, kept hissing as it skulked back from the mouth of its alley. A bundle of rags was noted on a park bench, and I found as I approached that they moved with breath; when night fell, I doubted anyone would bother to fine him for missing curfew. It was not uncommon for me to take this route from the tower, I realized, but here and now this cursed hunger for detail would not leave me, and I lacked the power of dismissal.

I came upon the New Oto Ninja Academy, its yard neat as a military training ground's, its sign spelled out proudly in large, stern black kana, and absently recalled the mandatory enrollment statute that applied to New Oto children at the age of four. Two boys, the bigger one no older than six by my estimation, were huddled by a tree that had at one time sported a swingset. The smaller was visibly distraught, shivering in the sunless autumn air and looking down at the older, whose bruised face rested in the young one's lap. Catching sight of me at the gate, the small one let out an 'eep' and shook his battered friend's shoulder, and they scrambled to straighten, little hands rising to their foreheads in salute. "H-hail, comrade!"

It was at once on the verge of comical, and utterly not. "Please – don't get up," I said, waving. "A rain is on the way. What are you two doing out here?"

"Sir! W-we've been ordered to c-con-temp-plate our worthlessness, sir!" the small one squeaked, lip trembling on his dirty face. I raised an eyebrow, and the six-year-old picked up, a protective arm around him as the little one sniffled and shook. His left eye was swollen shut, his lip busted and turning color and a patch of dried blood under his nose.

"Tori still can't hit the target right," he said bitterly, nodding toward the kunai knife clasped in his friend's tiny, quivering hands. "I stood up for 'im, and sensei beat the hell outta' me."

I found myself oddly disconcerted by this child's challenging gaze. Not sure what to say, I nodded and left.

There had to be familiarity somewhere. There had to be – but everywhere I looked, it seemed I had never known a thing to begin with. I shook as I roved on, a spark of fervor in my step. _What have you done to me, Uchiha? What manner of illusion is this?_

–"_The truth."–_

"Kuso…!" I growled, breaking into a run. "_Kuso!_' People hurried from my path, but as I passed I saw the hate, the accusation in their eyes. Hushed whispers rang clear in my ears–

"_What's wrong with him?"_

"_A shinobi…"_

"_Gods, just leave us alone."_

"_Look at him…"_

"_That's the young Lord Hyuuga…"_

_Stop looking at me! _I nearly stumbled, but caught myself. Staggering into a shop wall, eyes half-shut, I rounded the corner and leaned into the structure, panting as my head ached.

"Death to Orochimaru! Death to all Sound!"

I looked up sharply. A ways down the street an old citizen with bedraggled, graying hair stood by an abandoned inn, hollering and ringing a cow bell in his hand. One eye was wide, the other narrowed, as he alternately blasphemed the Sound and begged for a morsel or coin for his supper. He was clearly mad. No matter the weight of his words, his voice was pitiful, ever mournful and despairing, with an unsteady twinge of panic. Propped against the broken down building was a tin bucket along with a sign of marker on torn and mildewed cardboard – '_STARVING,' _it read, with numerous scratch-outs, _'HAVE NOT EATEN IN 4 DAYS.' _This was a scrap of humanity overlooked by all, it would seem; the people who milled between shops to retrieve the week's rations spared him only a wide berth, coupled occasionally with a nervous glance, and one would hasten on the way if he hobbled out toward them, sometimes brandishing his bucket while still sputtering his profanities on the Sound. I scowled.

"Beggar!" I called, striding to him. "Cease this spectacle. What issue do you take with the Sound?"

His voice grew louder as he wailed in frustration. "The end is near – do you not see?" he yowled, pointing a shaking finger at my headband. "Bring the death of us all, you will – fire down upon our heads, ruin, the wrath of gods! I'm not going, no-ho sir, I'm not–!"

"Calm yourself!" I snapped. "I won't warn you again–!"

"The end will not wait – the lord of Snakes leads us on a march to assured-est destruction!"

"Lord Orochimaru leads us to glory," I scoffed, smirking at the foolishness of his notion. "In the new age our empire will know only prosperity and peace!"

"Death to New Sound, death to Old Sound, pox and rot on your New Age! Tear it down, tear it all down, quick to the roots!" he shrilled, glaring wildly at passerby and waving a fist in the air.

"I can have you rot behind bars for those treasonous words–,"

He actually shoved me with his bony arms, full in the chest. "Tyrant's dog!" he screeched. "Not enough for you, then, to starve and destroy us?"

"No one starves in this village, fool! The ration ensures it."

"Been mugged of my coupons for the month, I were!"

"Then you should have reported the incident, and filed an assistance ticket at the rations office–,"

"Who said I haven't?" he cried, spittle sailing on his words. "Three weeks done-gone, and not a scrap for my plate nor a word from you swine!"

"Don't blame me for your misfortunes," I snarled despite my surprise. "I will not be spoken to this way by some old fool. I am every minute working to protect this village and its people–!"

"Keep telling yourself that, laddie. For someone with such fancy eyes–," he waved his hand in my face, "–you don't see very far, do you?"

I swatted his hand down. "Enough!" I boomed, turning to take a few steps away.

"Enough?" he mocked, shuffling after me. "People _depend_ on you, _boy_, and you're too busy traipsing around on high, stepping on us to care. Orochimaru's order don't give a damn about us lesser folk! All you bastards care about's your own dirty, wicked selves!"

My heart throbbed in my ears as heat surged into my skull; a cry, bestial, shook the street. Then the scruffy old man was dead on the ground, and my outstretched claws dripping with blood.

A woman shrieked. I turned in shock, and saw faces filled with terror and disgust, hate – and everywhere, everywhere, accusation.

"The shinobi's gone mad!" a man cried.

"H-he – he just killed that old beggar!"

"No!" I cried, "No, it was… I didn't mean…!" My voice was drowned in the shouts of protest. The people had been near to breaking, I realized, and were flying into a frenzy – one quite the opposite of the rapture they'd once been made to display for Lord Orochimaru. Everyone was waking up today, it seemed, all at once, and none too pleased with what was seen.

"Alright, that's enough!" I commanded of the crowd. "Return to your homes, immediately–!"

A rock met my shoulder. I was looking about in confusion for the thrower when another two struck my back, followed by the beggar's rusty tin bucket glancing over my head.

"Oi! Stop that!" An Oto-nin, rushing to the scene, was jumped and rapidly engulfed in a mass of angry bodies; he struck out, bewildered, but the civilians grabbed his arms and dragged him to the ground, power in the sheer number of them, beating him with fists and anything else at hand. Another, a New Oto man, barreled into the fray and cracked a head with his baton; the crowd faded back briefly from his swings and surged, capturing him as it had the other. His arms were pulled apart as he fought to join his hands in a seal – they knew better than to let him – and his scream rang out to cut to an end only as a man, rearing back, swung down the shinobi's own bludgeon with a crunch.

I couldn't help him; stones were pelting me by the dozen, and I fought to protect my bloodied face as they assailed me with rocks and words.

"Murderer!"

"Savage _beast!_"

"You traitor!"

My lip curled back from my fangs. A shockwave surged out, repelling a wave of stones as my chakra spiked and my skin whitened, and I growled like a fiend, the menace in my heart blazing bright from my eyes. They backed off as I lunged threateningly, claws spread and head low, gaze lashing about as I snarled in different directions. I turned my head to the side, and a final, monstrous roar shook them; at once I lunged, shoved strongly through the wall of bodies, and tore off down the street on all fours, grunting as stones sailed in my wake.

* * *

"Ugh_…_"

The first drizzle of rain was falling onto the gardens and courtyards as I turned off on the walkway, skulking deeper into the compound. I had just lifted my hand to rap on the doorframe when the assistant slid open the screen, white eyes widening as he looked me up and down. "By the dawn sun! What happened to you?"

"_Let me in_…"

He flinched back, but made no move. "What business could you have with our Honorable Grandfather, coming here in such an unkempt state?"

"Listen, you…"

"It's alright, Hatsuo," came a kindly old voice. "Let the young lord in."

He eyed me uncertainly, but let me pass. The old man smiled sadly as I entered the room.

"So, you've really slain the poor man. As I feared… but not injured too badly in the backlash, I should hope?"

I took a few breaths. "Are you telling me … that you foresaw_ all_ of this?"

He was preparing tea; two cups sat out on the low table, as if he had expected company. "I often feel that All-Seeing is such a misnomer, son. Sometimes one sees the crossing of paths, but rarely the outcome; a great crux in time might be sighted on the approach, while the conditions of its realization conceal themselves. It's really quite frustrating…"

"_Grandfather…!_"

"And then there are times when one puts out two cups for tea to be polite, even knowing the visitor that approaches will refuse to sit and drink with a poor old man…" He poured tea in one of the cups and set the kettle down, meeting my gaze. There was no accusation in him, in those peaceable old wrinkle-framed eyes; only a soft smile of knowing pity that tore at my patience all the more fiercely. He had no right to sit there, so calm and understanding. "Yes, my child. In these crossroads, one may be blessed with an elevated clarity… Then again, it may be occurring as a signal that my own time draws to a close," he mused, taking a sip of tea. "Yes – the slaughter at Gunromachi, your encounter with the beggar. I will not lie; I Saw it all.

"_Don't_ you give me that look, now," he said before I could protest. "I foresee events; I do not decree them. To see my children fight pains me, as does knowing seven have met their premature end – but it is not my place to reveal these things whenever it strikes my fancy."

"So their lives weren't important enough? You could have warned me – I would never have let them go!"

He shook his head, smiling sadly. "But you're wrong, m'boy," he said cryptically. "In the life in which I try to alert you, to avert the bloody chain of events heralded by their deaths, you pay my warning no heed."

I ground my teeth. "That can't be right!"

"You once respected Destiny, did you not?" he reminded me after another sip. "It was set, as few things are. I may not have known the precise outcome until its occurrence, but from the moment Hyuuga Neji 'chose' them, those seven were destined to encounter young Lady Hinata in Gunromachi, to clash, and to die there. That is the truth."

I fell to my knees, growling as a fist slammed into the neat wood floor. "So what now? What the hell happens _now?_"

"Now…? Now you have lost those whom from which you thought yourself inseparable; now you have spurned others' problems as inconsequential, and witnessed the horror of their rage firsthand; now you have proclaimed yourself righteous and loved by all, and promptly brought all manner of wrath and loathing upon your head, and been chased through the streets just as a certain few young shinobi you scorned were once chased and hunted before you. Now you have opened your eyes, awakened from the fanciful delusions of things like glory and prosperity, and beheld the unadulterated truth all around you. Now, so full of anger, doubt, despair, and remorse, you have come upon your own crossroads, you see – a rare fork in your so often unflinching path. I can do no more for you; the choice you make in the coming hours will seal your doom or your salvation. I fear, however, that this may also be prescribed in stone…"

"Damnable old man…"

"And contemplate it though you might, you don't kill the Seer today. You have too much on your hands to deal with the clan's backlash just yet."

Scowling, I fled the man's presence, turning my back on that knowing, simple gaze. He called out after me, his tone pleasant.

"Choose doom, and you choose the clan's with your own! And in that case – well, our hope will reside, as ever, in she of pure spirit, and rightful blood!"

* * *

With a cloth and a pan of warm water, I dabbed dried blood from my face and hair. The choice I make, he'd said. The choice I make, the choice I make – what choice did I even have?

I winced, leaning closer to the mirror as I cleaned a gash at my hairline where a lucky rock had broken skin. Not a lamp was lit in my quarters, for my lamp had, eight days ago, been broken; rather a singular rectangle of light stretched from the window, splayed across the floor behind me. I preferred the dark, either way. Here, surely, I could enjoy but a moment's peace within asylum, encompassed in the semi-darkness and steady patter of pouring rain. I dipped the cloth again, briefly rubbing a smudge of color from its fabric.

The things I had seen … and the choice I would make. What could be the connection between them? What choices did I have?

The simplest approach to resolution would be to lay the blame on another, to let it be as fuel to my rage and ambition. The difficult approach would be to accept – to entertain the wild notion that I had played some part in the deaths of Hiyuki and the rest, to shoulder the pain it would bring about, and see where it brought me.

And the insightful path… that would be to forgive, I determined. To discard all manner of blame, and forgive where it could be found; to move on – to leave their demise utterly unavenged by the rightful fury it deserved – to let go of that and continue on through life with my eyes open, open to the horrors that would distract and poison my judgment, to leave me wavering and weak, stagnant in pursuit of my greatest purpose.

I swore through a scowl, hunched over the bowl. Was that _my_ clarity at the crossroads? All the blasted good it would do. My coven was gone, and nothing I did would change that. I had nurtured and trained them with all of the best intentions, and the demon had annihilated them in cold blood. That was my truth – to hell with anyone who thought I needed another!

I cupped water in my hands and splashed it against my face with a clap, not caring that it fell onto my clothes and the floor.

And when I opened my eyes again, the face in the mirror was one that had been a torment in my nightmares for feverish days on end, white eyes fixed upon me with an intensity that pierced the darkness to plumb the very depths of my soul – depths that I myself dared not behold.

"You're a murderer, Nii-chan. You're _sick_. You destroy everything you love…"

Eyes widening in panic, teeth bared, I struck out at her with a yowl. The image shattered with a blinding flash and crash of thunder to collapse in so many lifeless pieces of glass, and I slumped strengthless to my knees and cradled my dripping hand in the semi-darkness, unblinking as spilled water ran from the edges of the nightstand against which I leaned.

* * *

I was unsure how it was that I came to be out under the onslaught of bitter cold grey autumn rain, shoes forgotten, my hair unkempt, wrapping tape hanging loosely about my forearm and bleeding hand, stumbling brokenly through puddles on the empty streets. I was sure of only one thing, and it was that I myself was thoroughly wretched. The truth was all around me, laughing, whispering, moaning in my ears – they were dead, and I their destroyer. The rain that stung my eyes was ignored as I turned my gaze skyward, the hand clasped at my heart tightening as I howled my agony in a long, doleful cry of lament.

"Help me," I breathed hoarsely, my form splattering to the mud. "Help me…!" My fingers combed through the muck, and with a sob my face was meeting the ground as I crumpled in anguish.

"Father…!" I whimpered, turning my head to the side, eyes shut tight. "Tell me what to do…"

The presence went unnoticed until he halted a sparse few yards away.

"Poor boy…"

Thunder cracked. I paused, eyes focusing on the pair of black sandals in front of me before I pushed slowly from the ground. My eyes travelled upward along the man with colorless skin, from his pale robes and thick obi to the welcoming hand that was calmly outstretched, to the grandiose smile that marked the only visible feature upon a face shrouded in shadow.

"M'lord…"

"Come, child; do not fear your vileness, but embrace it. Give me your soul. I alone can free you from this suffering…"

My eyes grew. They were watering, I knew, and my jaw fell as a tentative smile rose my muddy face. A trembling hand reached out, streaked with rain and red.

"_Y-yes…_"

Walking through life with my eyes open… was just too painful.

I clasped his hand, and the choice was set.

* * *

**Twenty-Four, Part Four: The Path You Take**

**Hinata ****ヒナタ**

"He hates me."

It was a statement of fact that I uttered into the damp predawn air as I slipped from a trance of meditation, nothing more. I opened my eyes, and beside me Naruto did the same.

"He's always hated you," the blonde pointed out, not needing to ask of whom I spoke. "Well, not _always_, but… you know."

"It's intensified. I wouldn't have thought it possible, but it has."

"And you're not troubled by this?" It was more nearly observation than question.

I shook my head, looking out into the pebble of light that blossomed on the horizon. "I'd lost hope long ago that our situation could be resolved in words. Now his hatred of me is as complete as my love for him. If I can defeat that enormous hatred at its purest, my victory will be absolute. Moving past Hiyuki and the other cursed ones… getting through all of this without feeling any resentment toward him… It's been painful, but it's also cleansed the heart and core of my resolve. Yes… We will fight," I stated. "There is no escaping it now; there's no force in the world that could hope to divert this violence. He will fight for my destruction, and I for his salvation. But I will show him the strength of my love with my own two fists, and see that this violence amongst fellow Hyuuga… is the last."

He smiled. "That's the determination I love." Then, "It's set now, y'know. The first of the year – just over two months from now, they figure, and preparations will be complete to charge on New Otogakure."

"I heard. It's almost hard to believe… But I can only be thankful that it's been set before Orochimaru will be ready to reincarnate himself…"

"That's right – your own deadline," he remarked. His gaze left the half-risen sun as he regarded me from the corner of his eye. "Our job is to beat the enemy, free prisoners, join with the resistance, and reconquer the village in the name of the Leaf. Pure and simple – by no means easy, but simple well enough. In two months, this army and its allies will be ready to do just that… but what about you? Will Hyuuga Hinata be ready…?"

I lifted my head, resolute. "I have to be, don't I? I'll make certain of it."

* * *

**Hanabi ****ハナビ**

The assembled audience was massive; the great hall was brimming to capacity. It was as the last were filing in that the object of the crowd's attention climbed the few steps of the stone dais at the head of the room, and then stood on his chair so that all could see him.

"Oh, Shikamaru…"

I turned my head at the murmur, quickly recognizing the chuunin who stood nearby. "Nara-san?"

Nara Yoshino shook her head. "When this conflict began, I just wanted him to be careful, to be safe. Now my baby, who'd never been passionate or enthusiastic about a thing in his life, is the leader of all this… My boy's leading the resistance. When did you become so strong?"

I looked to the Hakage again, who stood now before the hundreds who looked to him for guidance. "He's a brave individual at heart. No one could have expected it, but when people needed him, he rose to the occasion. A strategist took on leadership, and with some reluctance wound up commanding all the responsibilities that came with it. I don't believe that that fire in his eyes is going anywhere soon."

Behind me, Hiryuu spoke. "You must be proud, Yoshino-san."

She clasped her hand at her heart. Then we fell silent, for the Leaf Shadow had begun to address his people.

"In the last several days, we have seen our number suffer … an unthinkable loss…"

* * *

**Naruto ****ナルト**

"You are sure about this, then?" Lee asked, frowning.

"I'm sure," Hinata confirmed. "I've already cleared it with Tsunade-sama, Jiraiya-sama, and the others. We've busted every Sound prison on record. Two months of diplomacy, supply consolidation, courier work, and other preparation isn't for me. And if I'm not needed here, I'm off to train."

* * *

**Hanabi ****ハナビ**

"I guess this is the part where a leader's supposed to say how everything's gonna work out just fine, and we'll pull through in the end. I won't," he said shortly, his gaze level and stern, sweeping across his listeners with a power to rival and redouble that of his projecting voice. "I won't be the type of leader who inspires by lying through his teeth; it's not my style. I can't tell you our glorious victory is a certainty when it's not. I won't tell you that _their_ victories against us up to this point were flukes, and I won't waste your time calling our enemy cowardly or weak. That's not why we're here…"

* * *

**Naruto ****ナルト**

"Well, then – where Hinata goes, I go."

This declaration startled her. "Naruto-kun… you want to come with me? To Youkai no Kokudo?"

I grinned. "If the Domain of Demons is where you're headed, I'm all for it. Besides, it sounds like a wicked place to get stronger!"

"Hold it," a new voice interrupted, and I turned to see the Pervy Sage walking toward me, a frog on his shoulder. This one I'd never seen before; he was pale green in color and old, by the looks of him. Jiraiya continued. "Naruto, I'm afraid you've got … prior arrangements."

"Ero-sennin…?" I said, blinking as the old frog eyed me up and down, sizing me up.

* * *

**Hanabi ****ハナビ**

"Our enemy is decisive and ruthless – in light of recent events, that much is obvious. Before all this is over, more of us will die, meaning more of us will feel the pain of being left behind. From the beginning we have been the inferior power in this struggle; in manpower and resources, New Sound bests us on every account. They have at least four shinobi to our one, in the village alone; they have…" he paused with a shrug, "matching flak jackets, fine steel. But there's one thing we have that they don't, and it's the reason that, despite every advantage they may hold, they've failed for months on end to stamp us out as the vermin they'd liken us to."

* * *

**Naruto ****ナルト**

"Senjutsu?" I said, a skeptical eyebrow raised. "You're sending me to study Sage Arts with the toads on some mountain?"

"He doesn't look like much to me, Jiraiya-chan," the toad, whom Jiraiya had introduced as Master Fukasaku, croaked, a webbed hand stroking his short beard. I frowned. The toad didn't look like much himself.

"Trust me, Boss," Jiraiya said, before I could say as much, "He's proven himself time and again. He's ready, I assure you. And you, Naruto – training on Myobokuzen is a great privilege, one I've spent no small amount of time convincing the Master to consider extending to one so young," he added pointedly. "What _I_ learned there is nothing to scoff at."

"Pervy Sage…" Finally I nodded.

* * *

**Hanabi ****ハナビ**

"We have unity! Kinship! Honor! And we have in us the spirit of dogged perseverance to keep the Sound from claiming victory in this war! Three heroes who lived by perseverance amassed their power, and then amassed an army. We've all heard of the loyalist entity moving on the outside. Help will come, and when it does, bet that it will arrive with a vengeance. But until it arrives, we stand strong! We hold our ground, so that their army has a village to return to – so that when we come face-to-face with our brothers in arms after so long a time, we can look them in the eye and say that we – with our power! – protected this place and held the jaws of tyranny at bay, as the people of the Hidden Leaf!"

* * *

**Naruto ****ナルト**

"Hyuuga-san."

Gaara had remained quiet throughout the discussion; now he spoke with certainty.

"Take _me_ with you to the Land of Demons. I know it's a dangerous place, but if I bring Shukaku to the realm of its creation, I feel I just might be able to learn to connect with it… and a place wild and uninhabited by people would be an ideal setting to further my mastery of its power."

In an impassive face, his teal eyes were determined, even hopeful; Hinata smiled sadly, though, and shook her head. "What you say is true. One day, maybe – but unlike us, as the Sand's envoy you _are_ needed here. Soon you'll be expected to return to your people, and assist in negotiations and the diplomatic process. Besides… this is a time I think I need to spend alone. Forgive me…"

Gaara nodded in understanding, whatever disappointment he felt hidden well. "Very well, then," he said, smiling. "After this war is won. Someday…"

I chuckled at Hinata's surprised face. Gaara had faith in her, alright – it was plenty clear in that look. She finally smirked and took the hand he offered to shake. "Sounds like a plan."

This settled, Gaara turned his head. "And you, Lee-san? Will you remain with the army?"

"Without you guys around?" Lee shook his head. "Guy-sensei has said … that I have learned all he has to teach me," he said, looking down momentarily and not a bit awed. "Even so, this is only a beginning. I will set off in search of powerful opponents to fight, to test my mettle and grow stronger still! When the time comes to return, I will be ready!"

* * *

**Hanabi ****ハナビ**

"The Sound sees in us a nuisance. They've driven us to living like fugitives, rats in our own land, and they ask us why we don't just give up. They thought to teach us a lesson – to remind us of our supposed inferiority before their might, and maybe they have."

He raised his arms, hands wide. "But what the Sound doesn't understand is that this place was born of the refusal to back down faced with overwhelming odds – and with a birth so valiant, I, for one, will not see it die anything less!" he cried, his fist striking his into the air.

The room erupted; a roar that I felt certain would echo in the farthest reaches of New Oto's land emerged from the throats of shinobi and civilian alike, the young and the old; it was the voice of a boy who had lost his best mate; it was the voice of Sakura and Kiba and Chouji, who with Shikamaru had dared to light the first spark of revolt; it was the voice of five Hyuuga, estranged from our clan; it was the voice of people uprooted from their homes, who had come here rather than see their children made into shinobi against their will; it was the voice of tokubetsu jounin who'd found themselves with the responsibility of defending this place as our strongest. It held the strength of a thousand, the righteous will of a people united before the test to come, and ready and willing, if need be, to fight to the last.

* * *

**Naruto ****ナルト**

I gave a determined smile, and Lee and Hinata couldn't help but wryly follow suit.

"So, we go our separate ways … for the last time."

There was nervousness in the air – the reluctance to separate again was present, sure, but of even greater weight was the unspoken fact that our journey was winding to a close. This time, when we met again it would be to return home – at the fore of an army – and face whatever was to be found there.

I dug from my pocket a diamond-shaped pendant to hold before the others. Chuckling, I shut my eyes and scratched my head with my free hand. "Well?"

"I still have mine as well," Lee affirmed, withdrawing his own pendant from his belt.

"Of course," Hinata held hers out, blushing lightly.

No more words were needed for us to hold the pieces together – revealing the simple kanji 'team' inscribed lightly in the completed hexagon – and, as one, snap it apart. To be united again, stronger than before.

"Just about a year even has gone by since three dropouts fled the Leaf…" I remarked, looking contemplatively into my fragment of the pendant. I flicked it into the air and caught it again. "Who'd've imagined…"

"I know what you mean," Lee said, nodding soberly. I turned.

"Hinat–,"

She had already ducked in to get a quick taste of my lips. After a heartbeat's pleasant surprise I let my eyelids shut, and happily reciprocated her affection. One more chaste, slow kiss, and we joined for several moments and held; when we parted she was smiling gently up at me, her eyes soft, wrapped in an aura of peace and warmth. "Keep me close to your heart?" she said tentatively, a hand's light fingers brushing over the center of my chest.

"Always," I answered fondly, the word a whisper of passion as one hand rose to caress a downy, lupine ear. I planted one more kiss, on her forehead. "For the bad dreams."

I wanted to stay there and hold her at least a little while longer, but it was time to go; Fukasaku was waiting. We separated, and I turned to where the old toad stood nearby.

"Let's go, then."

"Humph! Two months ain't much, but we'll see what we can do with you, lad. Take my hand."

"Right."

With a glance back at the party that had gathered to see us off – the jounin sensei, Granny Tsunade, Shizune, and Jiraiya, Gaara, and the once-Sound four – I cocked a grin and lifted a hand in farewell. What I hadn't expected was their collective salute in return; and it goes without saying that I was more than a bit surprised when, beyond them, I found that the entire army stood at attention as far as I could see, and took up a silent salute. Lee and Hinata, picking up on the subtle falling of my jaw, slowly turned to see what I did. Hinata's eyes grew almost comically round; Lee's face flushed, and he bowed his head.

_We are … no outcasts…_

_Not anymore._

I felt the transportation spell grasp me – and then I was off.

* * *

**Neji ****ネジ**

"She has resolved to fight me…"

Across from me on the rugged training ground, Orochimaru quirked an eyebrow at the offhanded remark, amusement in his gaze.

"Just as well that her commitment is so pure," I went on lightly, smiling. "She continues to train, to build up her strength, fueled by the hope that she'll, oh, _break through_ to me."

"Kukuku… And your thoughts on this…?"

A smirk hung itself crookedly on my face as I lifted my hands and shrugged. "So be it. Let her come…"

I turned, my gaze sharp and my fangs bared as a snarling hiss tore, screeching, from my throat. Thirty meters away a massive hunk of stone shuddered and went up in a cloud of dust, fragments careening in all directions as the boom of its implosion shook the ground.

"_Let her die._"

* * *

**ナルト ****/ ****リー ****/ ****ヒナタ ****\ ****ハナビ ****\ ****ネジ**

**End Chapter Twenty-Four**

_(wind blows)_

**Naruto:** Ready… and… Draw!

**Neji:** Wolf Fang Fist!

**Naruto:** Foxfire!

**Hanabi:** Kamehameha!

**Lee:** Wind Scar!

**Hinata:** Blades of Blood!

KABOOM!

_(cut to Neji, on the ground, X's for eyes)_

**Naruto:** No one else picked a melee attack.

**Hanabi:** Baka.

_(–static–)_

**Lee: **So… Hanabi-san…?

**Hanabi:** Huh? What is it?

**Lee:** It appears that we are the only main characters who never walk on all fours.

**Hanabi:** Hey, you're right… Three out of five? Why is that?

**Naruto:** Four legs goooood, two legs baaaaaaaad! (is cuffed over the head by Hinata)

**Neji:** Hey, I'm not happy about being an insult to bipedal locomotion!

**Hinata:** What? Binocular vision?

**Neji:** No, I said–!

**Lee:** Binomial nomenclature?

**Neji:** Just forget it…

_(–static–)_

**Naruto:** We've faced grueling odds…

We've honed our skills…

We've accomplished impossible feats. And now…

**Lee:** Now the time has come… for the Wraith, the Warrior, and the Beast to return. Our home – what will we find within the walls? As we lead an army of Leaf, Mist, and Sand, rejoin with old friends, and launch ourselves into battle against the pure evil that unfolds, all hell will break loose. And then…

**Hinata:** And then…

**Neji:** So… you've arrived.

**Hinata:** The fight of my life…

Begins.

**Naruto:** Next time on Journey of the Three Failures – **Chapter Twenty-Five: Toward the New Age**! Prepare yourselves!

Another chapter down! Aaaawww yeah! :P Things are about to get intense.

"A Demon's Fate" should make plenty of sense as a chapter song now. Or, not even a chapter song, necessarily – just a Neji song XD He'll be fitting it pretty well for the next couple of chapters. But really, look at this song! Look at the lyrics! It's awesome. ^^

Here we go – how was the chapter? Goods, bads? The full moon brawl, the deaths of the Chosen? Le drama? The tragedy that is Neji and Tenten? Gosh, I'm sorry I'm being so mean to poor Tenten just to establish Neji's twistedness. Thoughts on Neji's exploration, the walk through the village, interactions in this chapter, the spiral to madness? I know a lot of you aren't crazy about Neji's and Hanabi's segments, so I'm sorry for such a Neji-centric chap after so long a wait. Here's a good question: anyone feeling _sorry_ for him? Now that I've made the majority of readers hate J3F Neji, I'm guessing a few will feel for him and the rest will just hate him ten times worse. That's just my guess, though – let me know! Were any parts confusing? If so, I'll do my best to answer questions.

If you liked the chapter, review! If you didn't like the chapter, review! But especially if you enjoyed the chapter – come on, take a minute to drop a little feedback? Please? X3

Proofreading all-nighter complete! As always, thank you for reading! See you next time :)

Hinata0321


	25. Toward the New Age, Act One

J3F\\\Journey of the Three Failures

Chapter Twenty-Five

Hello! Hope everyone's having a happy holiday season!

College is great, but doesn't provide much time for fanfiction writing ^^; Even so, I got quite a bit written before coming home for break. Then, after writing some more and getting close to wrapping up the originally intended Chapter 25 I decided to actually check and count how many pages I had. Realizing there were 114 so far, I decided to split it up into two chapters after all, which will be "Toward the New Age" Acts One and Two.

Thank you for your reviews, praise, criticism, or advice, **Chargone, Omega the darkness, DialACow, foxsadist712, Malix2, digitalflame192, BronzeButterfly18, Soraya the All Speaker, RedRangerBelt, KoreanGal5, TwiliFay, chibigirl8, Godschildtweety, KageVincent, RamenKnight, graceful warrior of ashmeadow, Veraozao, Wyrd42, amfrazier74, Full Speed Ahead, kitsutenshi, Universal Hope, breakingheart93, Cuervo Blanco, hinanarulovr, rasen mokuton, Sir Nyan of Canterlot, Mexicano27, hga, Shizuka Taiyou, Ddash2157, DarkWolf991, foxmage, Adam218, Zerosixnine2011, **and anons signing _M, Jack of no trade, _and _Dan_! Once again, you keep this story alive!

A few more Gaiden chapters are out – second part of Akane and Midori's backstory, first two parts of Hiyuki's, and a short, humorous Naruto and Hinata sidestory.

Also!** A_T_T_E_N_T_I_O_N! **No, really, if you skip the rest of the AN, please read this! **The story's mock-AMV is now complete!** If you're reviewing, or even just reading this story, there's a video dedicated to you ;) Link is on my profile, so watch if you care to, and drop a like if you can!

Note that this chapter will have a bit of third person-limited POV, with two parts that unavoidably needed to be told from the eyes of two outside the central five characters.

Finally, chapter song is "Jump" by Two Steps From Hell :P

**Disclaimer: **Watashi wa… NARUTO wo… do not own. *seriousface*

…Yyyyyeah, I don't own NARUTO!

* * *

**Journey of the Three Failures**

**Chapter Twenty-Five: Toward the New Age, Act One**

**Part One: Come What May  
**

**Naruto ****ナルト**

_A new day approaches…_

I drew in the cool mountain air, felt it in my nostrils, my lungs, even as it played over my body, my face, my hair.

_According to the toads, a week in I had progressed to a level beyond that most students might attain in years of study. How that is, I'm not really sure; after all, for the longest time all I had going for me was my gut and my grit. I'm only fourteen, for the kami's sake…_

_Now it's been two months, and I feel things are finally beginning to come together. I used to fear my power – I still do, but the fear can no longer rule me. I know what I am, and it's more than a container to hold a demon. I'm ever changing, transforming, growing… and the things I've learned here are nothing short of amazing. I can feel the world breathing around me, now…_

The path of the Sage had brought me into balance without as well as within. Sharpened mind, abundant energy, grueling work. Destroyer, healer, trickster, wraith, demon… sage. All of these things had meshed without my even realizing, and I was finding that I had come to possess true strength.

_It's with this strength – this frightful strength – that I will protect the ones I love, without fail._

I relished in the breeze. Floating down from a state of meditation, I blinked and laid half-lidded eyes on the horizon as I sighed slowly.

_The critical hour only draws nearer, now… My peaceful sunrises are numbered. It's time to return – for the dawn of war, and for whatever certainty may lay beyond._

"_OI!_ Naruto-chan!"

A voice boomed across the canyon, and I started – a motion that didn't bode well for my seating on an earthen tablet balanced atop a tall and fine-tipped stone spire. I flailed and scrambled, clinging to the column as the thin tablet tipped and split in two.

"Hai?" I called, eyebrow twitching as I watched the two halves tumble to finally shatter over the distant ground.

"Ma will have your chapped hide if you're not at the table for a last meal before ye're to be heading out! What're you doing out there, anyways?"

I smiled. In a nimble move I climbed to stand with the peak beneath the ball of one foot, the other foot tucked neatly behind. "Just… savoring the daybreak."

"What? Speak up, boy!"

"It's nothing, Shishou – I'll be at the table soon!"

* * *

**Lee ****リー**

In this land, the Land of Iron, I had found many a great warrior to challenge.

And, though initially drawn by the promise of battle, it was in Iron that I eventually became one who followed not only nindou, but bushidou as well.

"You are a great shinobi, Rock Lee… and a fine samurai as well."

"Lord Mifune…" I bowed at the waist, in the hope of conveying some fraction of my gratitude. "I cannot thank you enough."

"Raise your head, Rock Lee! Meet my eyes in the knowledge that you, as Lord Washi before you, stand among the finest practitioners of the art of pure and honorable combat. Carry the pride befitting of such stature ever upon your shoulders as you now go along your own path, and wield steel always with valor. On this day, I see before me a young man who is neither shinobi nor samurai. You are beyond these. _You_… are a warrior."

My lips parted slightly in shock; I knew that he did not toss words about lightly. Heeding his command, I hardened my expression and refrained from lowering my head again. Rather, I met his strong old eyes firmly and without wavering, my jaw set.

"Arigatou gozaimasu."

* * *

**Hinata ****ヒナタ**

A methodical, smooth wooden scrape wheedled intermittently through the nightsong of the borderlands as a lone claw steadily carved. Sliver by sliver, the instrument was taking form. Around me, this enigmatic rift, this northern shore of the sea that divided the over realm and the demon realm, was steeped in twilight. An array of noises crept from the misty woods, some but never all identifiable; auras swirled with soft sighs in the shadows. In the flickering glare of a small fire, I kept undaunted about my work.

–"_If _you_ wish to train in the way of the bow, you will craft your own and learn yourself, as the Branch do."–_

The voices of the night. The smoothing of the wood.

–"_H-hai… Otou-sama."–_

Hemp fiber, deftly woven. Strung by knots at the ends. I tested the flexibility, the strength – two factors so precariously intertwined, and found both satisfactory.

–"_A-a-anou… could you, p-perhaps… teach me h-how to … anou… to shoot this…?"_

"_Lady Hinata? Shouldn't m'lord be teaching you?"–_

Unhurriedly I stood, taking a moment to stretch my arms and legs with a groan. I lifted the bow in one hand, an arrow fletched earlier in the other, and within a moment of straightening had notched, drawn, and fired. The projectile whizzed into the darkness, and a muted thud was followed by a screech – then nothing.

"So it works," Kurogiba said, practically materializing at my side. I would have started, had I not first sensed his spiritual presence. "All set, then? You've been at that all day. You'd think you would be quicker by now, with all of those contraptions you've gone through…"

"The first bow I ever made wouldn't shoot an arrow any further than a rubber band," I said, making my way to the trees. "The second exploded in my face as soon as–,"

"As soon as you managed to hold the full draw, yes, and it nearly put your eye out to boot."

"W-well, right," I said, parting shrubbery with my hands. "There are things you can't rush. But what were you doing all this time? You weren't keeping an eye out for this thing sneaking up on me," I said, holding up by the hindmost set of knobbly, three-toed feet a fanged, six-legged creature that sported a charmed arrow in its neck.

"Like spiders to us," he scoffed. "I would've warned you of something big."

"These little devils are dangerous!" When they got their teeth into something, there was no getting them to part their jaws even in death. I had learned from experience, and wouldn't soon forget the taxing muscle tissue regeneration that had followed.

"Nothing you couldn't handle, evidently. I had faith in you, and you've got a snack on your hands. What's to complain about?"

My stomach rumbled as I was about to reply. Blushing, I pulled the arrow from the fiend and set about my meal.

Kurogiba sighed as I polished if off a few minutes later. "Why bother with that thing?" he asked, picking up the arrow neatly in his front teeth. _'Human weapons, when your claws are plenty for you to hunt and fight…'_

'_I carry _this_ thing, don't I?' _I pointed out, tapping a claw to the New Moon Blade, the dagger of obsidian at my hip.

'That_ is the token of your second Trial, forged of a fang of a prior incarnation of Gobi no Ookami – that we retrieved at no small risk of life and limb. And soul. That can help reign in your darkness. You know what I mean, Pup.'_

'_My claws are plenty for hunting, yes,' _I thought back, accepting the arrow with a mental nod of thanks. _'But my proficiency in Juuken and Kyuujutsu alike are vital … if I am to be a Hyuuga of consequence once more.' _Of status. Of importance. Of the Main House.

'_Human clans can have such strange ways…'_

I could sympathize with the remark. Ookami cared far more about a leader's individual prowess than adherence to any specified arts or traditions. And Ookami would never dream of subjugating their brethren. They – we – were wild, but free.

'_I can't argue with that.'_

* * *

An expansive sea of muted blue was sprawled before me; it stretched on, an uninterrupted sheet of dull, glassy grey, until it vanished behind a curtain of heavy mist. I stood unmoving, clawed toes tensing and untensing in the coarse, chalky sand that lined the eerily tideless, lightly frosted shore.

'_What's the matter now?' _He came to my side, studying me briefly. _'Huh? You ready to head out, or not?'_

'_Ani-ue… you've probably figured this out, but I don't trust your mother.'_

'_I'll say. When Mum finds out I really let you go without visiting her even once, she'll probably cry. I'll be nervous around her for weeks.'_

'_Ani…'_

'_She's stopped opening her mind to us, Hinata,' _he gave, referring to the other elemental wolves.

'_That's unusual, right?' _I pressed, brow furrowing to the smallest degree.

'_It has never happened before. For her to conceal her intentions from her children, even from her favorite, Kurochi … it's strange, yes. Even unprecedented. I can't tell you what she's thinking, but I do know she values your life. She always has…'_

'_Valuing my life, alone, is not necessarily enough.'_

'_No; no, it's not.' _He shook his head, crimson gaze leveling skyward as a stale breeze went rippling over his blazing pelt. _'But no matter the uncertainty, what can we do but move forward?'_

Withdrawing in thought, I fell silent. I needed to save my cousin. To fight for my village, to protect my comrades. To reclaim the Hyuuga Clan. To control my demonic side. With all of these resolutely accepted musts that could play out in any number of forms, one additional, vague unknown was disconcerting in many ways.

Watch out for the Gobi.

Do not trust what she says.

Beware of manipulation…

I was out of sorts, standing here like this. I was wary to move forward, even when – or perhaps because – there would be no going back.

Kurogiba groaned beside me. "Pup."

"H-huh?"

"Fight me," he said, "Right now."

And he attacked.

My reaction was sharp enough to evade his first, sudden strike; the swipe of heavy claws passed beneath my leaping feet and coiled legs. Then the wolf vanished in a blur, and a solid mass of force slammed soundly down against my back, knocking my breath away and smashing me into the earth.

_Holy… _I rolled neatly aside as he reared and stomped with enough strength to make the earth jolt beneath us. Darting to my feet, I scowled and dodged slash after lunging slash, rolling and weaving outside the rapid blows. Kurogiba's combative power was enhanced perhaps twofold within the border of his native Youkai no Kokudo. Here, a strong enough dead spirit could possess something approaching true substance – while still moving about swiftly as a whisper on the wind.

His movements blurred; a short line of blood broke into being and spilled down my cheek. I lunged to my right, and my left arm prickled with the flicker of invisible force that was the Wolf of Fire shooting past in the blink of an eye. Twice more he charged curtly, flashing with ferocious speed, and twice more I dodged, teeth clenched and eyes morose as shaking air throbbed past me.

I sensed his pouncing for my back and turned, raising my claws; he came smashing into existence with front claws sparking painfully against my own. My toes dug a short way, sliding back a few inches into the shallow water before I could find traction, and we were locked this way with enormous power shuddering between us.

"Gh... What are you _doing_?!" I snarled through grinding teeth, eyes wide with effort as my muscles strained to hold off his strength.

"That's easy!" he sneered, giving a shove of force. The instant I braced to withstand it, the wolf was evaporating in a burst of flame. I staggered forward as he materialized in a crack of swirling fire a few yards back, launched himself forward from low, and drove the crown of his skull clean into my gut.

"_GAH!_"

"I'm getting you to stop thinking…!"

I was sailing, thrown by the strike so that the sea and sand and sky tumbled across each other. I yelped when he snagged me from the air, with a line of searing fangs lodged firmly in my side and lower ribs.

"And start acting!" he snarled, plowing my back viciously into the earth.

My ears rang. "D…dammit, Brother…" I croaked.

'_What the Hell happened to all that resolve you spoke of?' _he asked in frustration, increasing the pressure of his jaws. _'You're the one who taught me, a wolf, how to charge ahead like an idiot and fight through, come what may. You're the one who told me, even though you were still a stuttering scrap of meat, that you would become a kunoichi I could be proud to fight alongside, and got me to _believe_ you! Do you realize what a fake you are, if you let your so-called _resolve_ fall apart now?!'_

'_Ani-ue…' _I ground my teeth.

'_Tch… Anyways,' _he thought, pressing me more firmly into the ground, _'you'd better give up now. You never have escaped this one.'_

It was true. I was pinned on my upper back, shoulders and neck, with half my torso in a jagged vice, immobile arms splayed out and my feet hanging above me. I couldn't draw enough breath like this to stay conscious for long.

But…

I pulled my feet in, curled my body what little it painfully could.

'_Brother… If you put it that way…'_

A jet of flame shot from my mouth, crashing across the wolf's face – and my own legs – above me. Kurogiba was so shocked that I'd attempt to attack him with an element we both knew him quite invulnerable to that he didn't realize I was gathering my strength – not, at least, until I shoved off my shoulders to get my feet fast on the ground and straighten with a yell, flipping the wolf onto his side by way of his fanged grip.

My right palm clapped down onto his head next to my right side, fully charged. Standing on my feet, blood running down my side, I gave a wolfish smirk.

"Don't ask me to give up after challenging my resolve."

The fiery eye that I could see widened. It was too late for him to pull away.

The Chakra Concussion Blast broke from my palm with a mighty crash, its shockwave dissolving in a spray of phantasmal flame the head and the jaws that gripped me, before his substance was altogether banished, and scattered.

It was minutes later, as I sat periodically spitting blood and manipulated my youki to patch up the substantial damage to my side, that a small ball of flame slipped into existence in the air. Following its materialization, residual bits of simmering fire and tatters of spiritual energy from the surrounding area swept to feed the sphere, which in turn expanded, shone, and exploded in a billow of flames; left in its place, Kurogiba grimaced and shook himself out.

"You actually broke free," he groaned, half in annoyance, skulking my way. "You tore yourself up worse to do it, but you got me. Tch…"

"You woke me up. For a minute there, I was a kunoichi my partner would be ashamed to fight alongside. I'm sorry. It's by virtue of my propensity for proving a negative old dog like you wrong, though, that you've been able to stay by me no matter how unbearable I can be, isn't it?"

He snorted good-naturedly, eyes shut. "Cheeky pup. If you're done cleaning up, let's get on with it."

"Right," I said, pulling a fresh shirt over my head. Bow in hand, I stood. "With no more delays."

"You lead, then. Where you go, I'll follow."

I smiled.

_Across this sea, to the others… and onward, to whatever may await._

* * *

**Neji ****ネジ**

Eyes trained loftily ahead, I paused and slipped a hand from the warmth of a pocket to adjust the collar of my coat. People like cattle milled around me on the street, heads down, uniform in grey garb as well as in measured pace and singular direction. None made eye contact with any other. At the conclusion of the rally, without deviation, the herds of humanity had dispersed for the respective residential districts; night was oncoming, and curfew would shortly be upon them. My breath frosting into a brief puff of mist in the December air, my steps gliding, I pressed on after the dissenter.

New Oto achieved efficiency through fear – such a caliber of efficiency that, surrounded by the subdued acceptance of the masses, discontent became palpable in those souls it burdened. It was amazing what signals a difference in mindset could produce. This one – even his gait was different. He kept looking furtively over his shoulder; he hastened restlessly through the crowd. Whether his unfortunate heart was plagued by an innate need to cling to his discontent or he could not quite shake the lingering sentiment made no difference to me.

"Halt."

Everyone in the vicinity stopped, as one; all, but for the poor dissenter, who flinched into an extra step. None of the mass so much as looked up. Even surely beyond the range of my clear voice, those further behind, upon finding those in front of them had stopped walking, conformed in a wave of ceasing motion without questioning, or so much as expressing their confusion at the disturbance to their progress. Head high, I spoke.

"You know who you are. You were glaring at our Lord Orochimaru for the duration of the event."

The man turned, looked me in the eye. I scoffed, unable to help but feel amused at his confrontational boldness. For all his glowering, he was unable to hide the slight shaking of his voice. "I will glare at _tyrants_ as I so please…"

He knew how this would end; everyone knew. I shook my head. "Tsk… the temerity of the powerless knows no bounds. Do you wish for correction?"

His hands curled into trembling fists, his jaw set though his seething eyes were wide. Resolute, he drew himself up from the slouched posture that was customary for the ones in the grey, rationed garb, and turned to face me fully. "Th… There is _nothing_ wrong with me!"

"Piteous soul…"

"A brave soul never dies."

"Let us see."

In a blur my foot was touching down, so lightly, ten yards behind him. A short, sharp cry – a flash of crimson bursting from rent flesh – and he thudded to his knees, and flat to the earth. A shiver might have run through the crowd of drooping heads; eyes perhaps shut, but nothing more. Outstanding: such was the level of their restraint.

There were no martyrs here.

I rose where I knelt, slipping one hand into my pocket as the other flicked away the hot life's nectar streaked upon clawed nails. I glanced back, and watched as with a hoarse croak the dissenter's bulging eyes glazed.

Nearby, a child whimpered; a mother swiftly covered its mouth. Seeing me taking notice, the woman paled and dropped to her knees, holding her girl close and bowing her head. She had met my eyes briefly, and though by no means in challenge must now have realized her mistake, for her breath became rapid. None acted in the frozen world around us, not even as I stepped toward her. It was remarkable.

She looked up, eyes pleading, wordless in her terror as I stopped before her. I smiled grandly, fangs bared, eyes murderous. Then I spoke, to the woman and child and to all the rest.

"Proceed."

The mass had sufficiently proven its restraint. At my word of permission they continued on, plodding subduedly for their homes. Dazed, the woman rose and shakily fell into step, her daughter's hand clasped too tightly in her own. That was the end of it. I watched the sea of bodies part around the corpse of the dissenter as it was passed, desolate faces impassive. Walking against the crowd, I radioed the location for identification and disposal as I headed back for the Hokage tower.

It was unfortunate, but the masses needed to stay broken.

* * *

**Hanabi ****ハナビ**

"_HYA!_"

"_HRAH!_"

Between my small palm and his broad one, chakra crackled and burst in a clash of ferocity. I reeled, palm smoking – and realized that this time, he was recoiling as well.

Our strikes had been even.

In a flash of speed, he was whirling – I leaned away, and a heel kick blazed past, a hair's breadth from my chin. From the backbend I pushed off my hands, and found myself repelling the first of a chain of strikes almost before I had even gotten my feet on the ground. I wove furiously outside his flawless strikes, teeth grinding all the while.

This was it – I could feel it in the flow of the battle. I was reaching him. Since he never held back, I had first learned to barely hold my own. Since I couldn't take many hits, I had been struck and struck until I learned not to be struck.

And now, because I had held forever at heart the will to surpass him, I had learned to strike back.

His palm cracked the wall beside my head – in the same instant that two of my fingers jabbed swiftly and firmly into a tenketsu below his wrist. I knew from experience that the point I had hit was particularly painful, but being the seasoned fighter he was, he barely flinched. In the heartbeat of weakness I kicked out, and his arm caught my sandal's sole before his abdomen – but not the successive kick of my other sole as it cracked into his face. The blocked kick had been used to climb, and from the second, once it connected, I pushed off of him to flip neatly so that my feet met the wall. I was poised for scarcely an instant before I shoved toward him, palm lashing out.

It was a manner of strike Kiba had flattened me with on two separate occasions that I had pushed him to a wall; so decisive an attack, of unexpected height and velocity, had been enough to catch me off-guard at the time. My current opponent, even after a boot to the face, was not to be so easily thrown for a loop. He whirled in evasion, nailing a tenketsu on my calf muscle as I passed.

I grunted. My hand met the ground, and after sliding a bit I stabilized with my feet and kicked myself into an inverted spin, unleashing a burst of the Hakkeshou Kaiten to knock my foe back from his lunge of attack. I came out of the artful twirl with my feet safely beneath me, and from my crouch I launched myself – more off the leg that was not weakened – and from the air rained a storm of strikes upon my off-balance foe.

He was good – so good it was frightening. Even so, I realized I was smiling, throbbing eyes wide with excitement as I lashed out in a frenzy of palms, driven, possessed by a thrill of combat that set the Hyuuga blood in my veins ablaze. I was reaching and breaking new levels of speed; my movements were growing sharper than ever they had been before. He was forced to take a number of hits with his forearms.

My feet clapped to the ground, and we traded blows, paused so very briefly, and were at once engaged heatedly again. Two more such bursts of outrageous intensity occurred before the heel of his palm smashed against the side of my ribcage, just below my underarm, throwing me back from a failed lunging strike.

My mouth fell agape as I staggered back, side searing. My body wanted to crumple in pain, to give out right there.

My opponent closed for what he fully knew would be the final blow.

My body _wanted_ to quit, but my raging spirit wouldn't let it. Wildness snapped into acuity, and with a mindless certainty I spun sharply in place. His palm arced by, and just like that I was inside his strike as well as his guard – he was near my level, having forfeited the advantage of his great height in order to attack – and my rising palm was cracking soundly into his jaw.

Then, with an ascension of prowess born as I then willed it, I closed in a swift series of steps and drove both my palms into Hiryuu-oji-san's gut.

Never, never before, had I thrown him off his feet.

I heard, indistinctly, the shocked exclamations of our three spectators; I saw Uncle begin to sit up, panting, face pale in disbelief and… fear. Fear, on one of the only faces on which I would not have thought it able to manifest…

But now, the inexplicable thirst for victory quelled, I slipped from my high – something buckled inside me – and I dropped to my hands and knees, coughing, Byakugan vanishing, an arm cradling my ribs as I realized my fatigue and shivered in pain.

"I… I am surpassed…" The fear on Hiryuu's face had been overtaken by awed admiration. "And m'lady Hanabi, not nine years of age… I fear to so much as imagine her a grown woman."

Catching my breath, I looked at him with one eye shut. "Th-this… it's good, right? Wasn't this the goal…?"

"Yes… Yes," he said, and beheld me with a warm smile, partly of joy, part of pride. He got to his knees, and I saw Harumi sink gracefully, pressing her forehead to the floor. Hikujaku and Hitaka, still in shock, started and hurriedly followed suit, prostrating themselves to me. Head bowed, Hiryuu clasped my hand in his own. "I am surpassed, and thus…" He pressed his lips to the back of my hand for a moment, and then lowered his head again. "And thus, our finest hope… is born."

I was soaked in sweat, battered near as badly as he, and didn't feel all that worth being bowed to at the moment. But suddenly I was the leader of New Konoha's Hyuuga – not merely arbitrarily in name, blood, and the faith of a possibly misjudged role in prophecy, but in power.

Suddenly, I was fit to lead.

I nodded, eyes softening. "I won't let you down. I will be worthy of the allegiance you've shown – I swear it."

* * *

**Twenty-Five, Part Two: Final Days**

**Hinata ****ヒナタ**

–"_So, you're the last of the Three Demon Generals? Our own Naruto-chan, and your swordsman friend, arrived earlier today…"–_

_Three Demon Generals, _I thought, suppressing an embarrassed smile as Kurogiba and I followed the escort of Sky ninja up the mountain path. _That's what people are calling us now?_

It was on the sunset of the twenty-first of December, the longest evening of the year, that I entered Yama no Kuni and set foot in the territory of Soragakure no Sato. Not only having trained here in medical ninjutsu and naginatajutsu, Naruto had apparently lent a helping hand to the village, sticking around through a series of rough stints and raiding a while back, and shown a selfless commitment and fortitude of character that the Sora-nin respected. Naruto was the first outsider in a long time to be seen in this place as a dependable friend; having the village's chief medical expert, Seifuu Matsuzuki, to vouch for his trustworthiness was an extra plus. By fortune of this connection of Naruto's, the Leaf's army had a place, centered on an abandoned barracks and training field outside the village proper, to gather and make final preparations for the march back north to Fire and New Sound.

A whoop up ahead snapped me out of my reverie. Further down the path, a group of people grew distinguishable. Among them a swordsman in green robes and the light armor of black shoulder and hip guards, sporting his Leaf hitai-ate around his waist, stood with well-muscled arms crossed as he beamed happily; his teeth sparkled even in the dim and wavering lantern light. And, in front of a black-haired, bespectacled Sora-nin who held the lantern, a blond youth waved enthusiastically. The black cape he'd added to his outfit accentuated the shoulders that seemed to have grown a bit broader since I'd seen him last, and the gentle angles of his face were handsomely defined in the flickering light – changes that must have been happening gradually even during the time we'd been together, but that were now all the more appreciable with time spent apart.

More than anything, though, what set my warming heart aflutter was the goofy, crooked grin on his face and the familiar sparkle in animated indigo eyes.

They were walking out to meet us. Unable to hold in my smile, I ran ahead and finally tackled my two favorite guys in a hug.

* * *

**Naruto ****ナルト**

It was with a great amount of laughter between us that Hinata threw her arms around Lee and I, and we lifted the girl up; somehow, though, we fumbled our balance and toppled into a guffawing heap on the ground. I was wiping away a tear of laughter as Hinata planted a kiss on Lee's cheek and another on mine, blushing like mad.

"I-I didn't even realize how much I missed you until I–,"

I sat up, catching her soft lips in a brief but loving kiss. "Until you saw us?" I guessed, snickering cheerfully as we parted. In reply she grabbed me in an embrace, which I gladly returned. "Oh?" I said, one hand lightly patting her back as she nestled her head fondly at my chest. Her eyes were shut in mirth, and her smile, wide but still soft, sweet as ever. Her short midnight hair was untidy without being unkempt, and the lightly tousled look added to a sense of lovable scruffiness about her. Otherwise her hair was much the same, except… "This is new," I remarked, hand brushing a short ponytail that fell close to her neck, tapering to an end just below the level of her shoulders.

"Do you mind it?" she murmured, looking up at me with inquisitive white eyes.

"Think I can make do," I teased quietly, winking. "It compliments your bangs, y'know?"

As we had probably been on the ground for longer than Three Demon Generals ought to, Lee stood and cleared his throat softly. He gave Hinata, who was blushing with renewed vigor, a hand to her feet, and she in turn took my hand and pulled me on up. As they caught up, the han'you ducked her head to the squad that had been her escort, smiling shyly for fear of a negative impression. "P-please pardon our silly behavior, if you will…"

The Sora shinobi had been surprised, sure, but were neither quick to judgment nor beyond empathy by any means. The squad leader smiled. "You had not seen your friends for some time, right? We can pardon you your happy reunion, Hyuuga-san. If anything, it is a joy to see such close camaraderie."

She bowed her head in appreciation, while Kurogiba yawned.

My chortling was cut off by a sharp elbow to the ribs. I growled at Senpai for a moment, but straightened with a start as I remembered. I put on a smile, setting one hand on his shoulder and the other on Hinata's.

"Hinata, I'd like you to meet Seifuu Matsuzuki, the man who taught me to save lives. Matsuzuki-senpai, this is Hyuuga Hinata… my dear comrade, and my beloved."

They bowed to each other and spoke their greetings. Hinata was surprised when, once they straightened from the formality, the medic stepped up and bent to give her a hug. "You have my blessing, Miss Hinata, and my best wishes." He pulled away, hands resting on her shoulders, and beamed. His voice was warm. "May the two of you bring each other happiness and fulfillment in your lives."

The girl was blushing, but happily so. "Thank you very much, Seifuu-san."

"Hey, loosen up," he said with a smile, hands fisted at his hips. "Naru-chan hasn't told you too many horror stories, has he?"

"Only how you're about as cuddly as a porcupine," I muttered. I could have sworn the eyes that fell on me glinted ominously in the darkness before they were lost behind the glare of his glasses lenses.

"What was that?"

I garbled out a jumble of words before stepping to put Lee between Matsuzuki and me. "H-huh-wha-who said something? Not me!" I laughed.

"Why're you standing behind Lee–?"

"So, the festivities!" I interjected. "Let's show Hinata-chan to the Solstice festivities!"

Matsuzuki brightened, his vicious smile turning carefree in the same moment that kindly eyes became visible, and my heart felt safe beating again. Gods, that guy was a terrifying chuunin. "That's a great idea! The night is young; things should just be getting started."

Kurogiba blinked, looking from me to Matsuzuki to me again, a 'What the hell?' in his eyes. See? I wasn't crazy! 'I don't know!' I mouthed, drawing a flat hand levelly in front of my neck.

"Solstice…?" Hinata was saying, and Lee nodded.

"You have gotten here just in time!"

* * *

**Lee ****リー**

In the field by the old barracks, a sparsely vegetated plain nestled comfortably between a few hills, the chill winter night was coming to life with merriment. The scent of roasting bird wafted smokily through the air along with pungent spices that went into warm beverages. Being an amiable people, a considerable number of Sky villagers had come down from the mountain village to commingle with their guests, bringing festive spirits with them. Fiddlers and flutists cranked out traditional-sounding tunes that many danced and skipped to; shinobi of all stripes and origins took turns recounting tales by a bonfire. A few rings had been set off for friendly bojutsu sparring, with crowds of spectators gathering to cheer on the most proficient staff-wielders; I smiled as I saw a Sky ninja guiding an ex-Waterfall-nin, who wore a green bandana around her neck, through a few basic forms with the practice staves in their hands. The spiteful cold of another long night was simply no match for the electrical liveliness concentrated here.

Naruto, after a hearty staff bout with Matsuzuki-san, caught sight of Hinata and Seifuu Kiremori both among the clapping spectators, and took the opportunity to pull them aside for introductions. The chuunin woman kissed Hinata on both cheeks, evidently happy to finally meet her. In a minute the four were dancing, skipping and twirling to the fiddlers' current upbeat, folksy tune. Smiling children scampered through the crowds, flinging woven wreaths of grass and mountain flowers into the air. In a graceful motion Naruto snagged one as it fell toward him, and placed the prize carefully upon Hinata's head, his expression suave. For several moments the two peered into each other's eyes. Then the tune came to a close, and they lightly embraced each other to share an ardent kiss.

I looked away, shaking my head. The bonfire – over there, a large group had gathered as Jiraiya took center stage, arms gesturing to accentuate his words, and Tsunade snapped what could only be corrections to his tale.

_That should be interesting…_

"Anou… Rock Lee-san, isn't it?"

I looked up to see a maiden, around her mid-teens, with autumn red hair framing her softly blushing face. "Hai," I answered, "I am Rock Lee."

Her mouth fell open a tad, her cheeks glowing brighter after I spoke. She collected herself, smiling kindly through her evident timidness. "A-ah – I'm Akiyama Fuyumi–," she bowed slightly, "–and, I was wondering if you might wish to join me for a dance."

I smiled soberly. "Gomen nasai. I fear that I must decline."

"O-oh… Well…" She held in front of her the distinctive flower wreath she had been hiding behind her back, and after a moment's hesitance held it out to me. "Even so, if you might take this, and perhaps keep me close to your heart…"

I clasped one of her outstretched hands softly. "You are very kind, Fuyumi-san. Still, I am not for you. There is too much uncertainty before me; the coming battle will be a difficult one. Forgive me."

"Lee-san…" Her eyes were saddened, but she nodded. "I understand. I will pray for your and your comrades' success."

Moist-eyed, she left the grass wreath in my hands and ran off to join the group of girls that had been watching at a distance, shaking her head at their questions.

"You should dance with one of them, Lee-kun." I blinked as Hinata sat beside me on the half-log bench, a mug in her hands. "How many of Sora's young ladies have you turned down?"

"A few." _Seven. _"Partaking of the rum?" I asked, nodding toward the beverage in her hand.

"Apple cider – dry," she assured me. "I had my fill of rum in the drinking contest earlier."

"Right…" I remembered watching. About an hour ago, once facing down the final contender, a hulk of a Sora-nin, she had hiccupped once and summarily declared herself unable to continue – effectively, throwing the contest before the poor man could pass out. She could stomach almost any intoxicant (or outright poison, for that matter) without consequence, after all. "_Hidoi_," I teased, smiling subtly. "Trashing a competition simply because you can?"

"A half-Ookami youkai has to have some fun," she answered innocently, though I caught the slightest twinkling of mischief in the corner of a white eye.

"No one anticipates that mischievous streak," I sighed. "Meanwhile, a fellow with a dangerous ineptitude for holding his liquor is going thirsty…"

"Oh!" she said in realization. "It's great to err on the side of caution, but I can sniff out something clean for you…"

"Iie," I said as she started to rise. "Do not worry about it."

"If you're sure…" She sat back down, eyes thoughtful. "Lee-kun… actually, I was wondering if you're feeling alright. Even with so much going on, you've been sitting alone for so long – it's not like you. You haven't even visited the sparring rings, have you?"

I frowned; so, I had been causing her concern. "It is nothing, really."

"Lee-kun…"

"I cannot bring myself to relax," I conceded. This was not a lie. "Truth be told, I do not think I have felt such anxiety since the night before we fought in Wave."

She winced. "I see… I feel the same, but this is probably the last chance we'll have to relax like this for a while. I really do think we should try to enjoy it. It might even ease your nerves, if you let it…"

"You are probably right."

She smiled, reassured. "See? Go ahead and eat something. Spar a bit. _Dance _with someone, even – it doesn't have to mean anything. Do you know – a Sky kunoichi asked me earlier whether you already have a sweetheart?"

My face warmed; I rubbed my neck. "I do not know why they keep approaching me…"

"Don't you?"

I blinked. She sounded honestly perplexed at my statement. Evidently she understood something that I did not; gathering this, she chuckled.

"You don't realize how much you've changed, do you? Your strong chin and jaw, your muscle definition, your clothes and hair…" Her small hand cupped my face, and attentive eyes traced the rough scar that I knew ran across my nose and down to my jawline, and a smaller one that had been dashed near my chin, before she met my eyes again. "You've become ruggedly handsome."

"N-nani? Boku ga?" I asked quietly, pointing to myself with a flustered frown of uncertainty. She shook her head in amazement. I considered that perhaps the rum really was getting through to her.

"And when you're the spitting picture of masculinity, it doesn't hurt, either, to be a warrior renowned for strength matched only by the immense kindness of your heart. Any girl could consider herself lucky to be with you, Lee-kun."

I gulped, surprised by the sudden flattery. I could smell the flowers in the grass wreath on her head. "Y-you… really think so?"

"Of course!" she chirped happily, clapping a supportive hand on my shoulder. "Who wouldn't be attracted to my cool, tough Onii-san?"

My mouth opened and shut, and I put on a grin. "Way to inform me now, younger sister," I chortled, tousling her hair to mild protests. Laughing, she got to her feet and thrust her mug of sparkling cider into my hand.

"It's true that some of them might be looking for love, but plenty are just looking hoping to socialize. I know you don't want to get any hopes up, but dancing with someone is harmless. The celebration's as much of friendship and community as it is of love, if not more. And for all you know, the perfect girl for you _is_ here today – but you'll never be any the wiser if you don't open up and give them a chance!" she called, and skipped off to catch up with Naruto again.

I blinked. Then my jaw set.

"YOSSSSHHU! ! !" I bellowed, rising to stand tall.

Unblinking, I paused – face warming, lip wrinkled and one eyebrow twitching with the knowledge that I was ruggedly handsome.

Then, spotting a downcast Fuyumi-san and her friends in the crowd, I downed the half-mug of sparkling cider and hastened over to request a friendly dance.

* * *

**Hanabi ****ハナビ**

New Konoha had received correspondence from the outside. The loyalist army was gathering, and making final preparations for its strike.

–"_I'm not sure if I can do that again, actually…"_

"_Then we practice, until you can tap that intensity at will."–_

_The biggest battle yet is coming. When it's here, I need to be ready to do whatever I need to do!_

With a yell, I knocked my off-balance opponent decisively to the ground. Mitarashi Anko-sensei grimaced. "The hell?!" Her eyes turned to Hiryuu, who observed. "What kind of training have you put this kid through?"

The man's face was indifferent. "You laughed, Anko-san, when I asked you to go all out against her. M'lady's skill is prodigious; she grows more formidable with each passing day. I take it you will not underestimate her again?"

Anko smirked as she stood. I'd thought as much. I had seized and won our brief skirmish more quickly than she had realized _not _to hold back – a fluke, by surprise. I fell into my stance, nodding. "Don't worry about hurting me, please. I am a chuunin of New Leaf, after all."

"Got it," she said. Then her hands flew together and blurred, and a stream of fire was lancing my way.

–"_You know how Hyuuga fight – but Anko-san has something else in common with Neji."–_

A ninjutsu, right off the bat? I leapt to the side, Byakugan flaring to life – and ducked to narrowly avoid a kick from behind that swept above my head. I rolled backwards to get some space, but was immediately occupied with deflecting the flurry of shuriken that she threw backhand as she lunged. Arm drawn far back, she swung her fist.

_Such an obvious strike…_

I caught the blow in my hands. As I did, however, something shot from her sleeve to dart with blinding swiftness around my arm.

_Snakes–?!_

And a knee cracked sharply into my gut.

Spittle shot from my mouth as the serpents withdrew. I staggered forward with a wheeze before my feet slipped from under me, and I crashed down on my side in the grass, wincing as I tried to control my breathing. _What a shot…_

"You can't be thrown off your game that easily, Hanabi-chan," Anko chirped, smiling devilishly.

I groaned and started to push to my hands and knees, eyes determined. "R-right…"

_Show me… How does a student of Orochimaru fight?_

* * *

**Lee ****リー**

On the twenty-sixth of December, a small group of us accompanied Lady Tsunade to the Village Hidden in the Sky, nestled in the heart of the range of mountains. Part of the agreement that allowed our army to base its operations so near the village required the sannin kunoichi's visiting their medical facilities, evaluating their program, and sharing her expertise.

We had stayed with her only long enough, however, to see an ecstatic Matsuzuki-san greet her at the head of the facility (and unabashedly ask for an autograph). Naruto's true interest was in showing us around the village, and catching up with occasional friends and acquaintances.

Soon enough it became evident that we were spending more time keeping Master Jiraiya out of trouble than anything, for his regular antics would not bode well for Sky's opinion of its guests. Naruto had the presence of mind – to the master's great dismay – to cut the tour short prior to reaching the natural hot springs district, and we had thankfully ended up with little incident at a dojo clear across town.

_WHAM!_

"S-sugoi…!" A Sora genin whispered beside me on the sidelines, wide eyes glued to the combatants. "What a sparring match! I-I can't even see Naruto-nii-san's strikes, but this Hyuuga-san is defending against them!"

My eyes darted as Hinata, Byakugan active and skin patterned with black, ducked and sidestepped from invisible, pulsing blows that hummed on the air around her, never leaving her stance. Gritted teeth in a smirk, she caught on her forearm a strike that connected with a crash.

_I can track his Shadow Strikes; that much, the two of us have long since learned to do. But…_

Hinata blurred side to side, and with a thud Naruto was blocking a driving fist before his face. He backpedalled from an artful string of palms and fists, diverting one in such a way that when he turned, his face came into my view – yellow eyes with laterally elongated pupils, underscored on his face by twin, rounded swathes of orange, twinkling competitively.

"Hinata is among few comrades he can feel safe sparring with like that; anyone else trying to block those blows would just wind up with shattered bones…"

On Jiraiya's other side, Kakashi observed with the Sharingan. "Sage Mode… I still can't believe he mastered it."

Jiraiya nodded. "In the hills the other day, I had him pit his Senjutsu against mine. While our han'you Hyuuga isn't showing the full extent of her strength right now, either… if Naruto were to go all out, I wonder whether her demonic powers would be able to stack up…"

A few yards between them, Naruto made as if to lunge, a hand outstretched; Hinata jumped upward to dodge the clone that launched itself for her feet, and the true Naruto darted to snag her ankle in his hand, and slam her flat on her back to the floor. With a recovery speed bordering on nonsensical, Hinata pulled by the leg he held to smash her other foot clear into his face.

"Still…"

Hinata landed on her feet and slashed, nearly stumbling as he evaporated under the strike; he spun in place ten yards off, the elegant flaring of his cape distracting from the arm he drew back, before he reappeared before her, a fist sinking into her gut. She snapped double with a grimace, and he landed a savage blow to her face. Thrown off her feet, she got a hand on the ground, flipped to all fours, and launched in a burst of speed to mash her shoulder into his gut, propelling him fifteen yards. Her feet touched down a moment before his did, and she launched her foot into his face with all her strength, sharp teeth glinting in a smile as she straightened him out again.

"You are getting blood all over the place…" I muttered, lip twitching.

"Pint-sized demons," Kakashi said, as much in bemusement as in exasperation. "Look at them – they're having a blast. Almost hard to believe they're crazy for each other."

"Nothing says 'romantic' quite like beating the tar out each other!" I said, flashing him a smile.

"You have Guy's sense of humor – ah, sorry, Lee, but that's actually _not_ a compliment."

Jiraiya, who had been silent in thought, tapped a fist on a cupped palm, his mouth forming an 'o'. Eyes narrowing, he leaned over toward Kakashi, whispering his theory behind his hand. "Their relationship emphasizes a strict no-touch policy. This must be how they deal with their pent-up sexual frustration!"

Within the instant, a young Sage was landing a flying kick at his tailbone as a young demon levered a leaping elbow into his jaw. His back smacking to the ground, he was already shrieking a stream of apologies as a five-foot tall girl, eyes shut and face glowing red, shook him furiously by the neck.

"Stupid perverted old man!"

Naruto stood by, fists on his hips and stormy scowl dampened by the color in his cheeks. Kakashi popped a book open, turning away with a sigh and strolling off to lean against the wall. "You bring these things on yourself, you know. Just be glad Lady Tsunade isn't around…"

"Um… will they be alright?" the Sora boy asked me as Jiraiya got throttled.

I laughed awkwardly, patting him on the shoulder and steering him away.

_How embarrassing._

* * *

**Hinata ****ヒナタ**

_How embarrassing…_

I scowled, arms crossed. Lord Jiraiya, when things calmed down, had vowed to win our forgiveness by sharing with the three of us an art certain to strike fear into the hearts of even the most formidable of enemies. When Tsunade had finished her work for the day, we had headed back to camp; for the length of the trip the toad sannin had not divulged a single detail of this grand art, no matter how eagerly Naruto and Lee pried.

"Ready, and… staaaart!"

Jiraiya's own 'Ninja Art' of Dramatic Introduction.

"Yosshu! The honorable whirlwind of rugged might, a lord of steel, descends to strike – a fiend of flashing silver heralds the undoing of all that is wicked!"

"Behold! The cunning fox moves as a wraith's shadow in the night! Foes shrink back in terror before his name – sinister and dashing, he materializes to strike!"

"Cower. The demon's flesh is wrought of steel; her bones, of adamant. Forgive the thirsting obsidian claw its strike, as it sheds your blood with otherworldly grace…"

"Unwavering in the face of danger! Blossoming before the crashing tides of adversity! Fear the Aoi Moujuu!"

"The Murasaki Kitsune!"

"And also, the Kurouga…"

Jiraiya's eyebrow twitched. My eyebrow twitched right back. Seated beside the old sage, Guy-sensei 'ooh'ed in amazement, clapping his hands approvingly. Naruto looked over at me, blinking, and whispered behind his hand.

"Hinata-chan, you forgot to pose again!"

I blushed and muttered something in feigned surprise.

"Naruto and Lee," Jiraiya said, smiling, "either you've had practice at this, or you're stinking naturals!" The two grinned, slapping a sharp high-five between them. "Hinata, on the other hand…" The man grimaced, and spoke at a deadpan. "Dreadful."

"Sorry, it looks like I have no talent for this after all. Can I go, now?"

Jiraiya sighed. "If you truly wish to give up on this special training, there's nothing I can do…"

"You're tutoring us in boasting and posing. And people are _laughing_ at us!" I pointed out, indicating the fair crowd of snickering Leaf Loyalists that had collected off to one side.

I gagged as Lee caught me in a headlock, crying manly tears as his fist was held skyward. "My poor, adorable junior is having difficulty in our training! But do not despair, Hinata-san – I will stand by your side through this hardship!"

"A-actually, I'm fine with failing if it's at this. Really–,"

Naruto clasped my hand in his own between us, looking into my eyes with rapt meaning. "I won't give up on you, either! So don't worry, Hinata – we'll help you find your pizzazz! Even if your lines are little flat!"

Then their free hands rose, and the two of them pinched my lupine ears, one apiece, between thumb and forefinger, leaning in to speak in lowered voices.

"_So shape up._"

I laughed nervously, glancing between them and suddenly quite conscious of the headlock I was in. "Ah… guys–? _Ita_! Wait– itata! Don't pull on those! Not the ears – quit it! No fair, guys! Alright, alright, I give! I'll actually try–!"

A throat cleared; the two let up on their tugging, and I on my kicking of their shins, and we looked in the direction of a tall Sora man who had come from the direction of camp. He averted his gaze, evidently finding difficulty in keeping his straight face. "Um… they pointed us in this direction… said a lot of the leaders were over here…?"

"They _are_ here," a familiar, low and slightly scratchy voice confirmed, and a gently smiling redhead stepped from behind the Sora-nin. The muscle where an eyebrow would have been quirked. "Are you bullying Hyuuga-san?"

"Never!"

"Never!"

"They are!"

Promptly sand was thickening in the air around us. They had only started to release me when twin pools of it burst outward, slapping them to the ground.

"Gaara-kun!" I exclaimed happily as he swept forward. He had changed as well; his stride seemed easy and sure, his back straight and shoulders strong. He could hold his head up now, it seemed, and was comfortable doing so – with cool eyes no longer perpetually haunted but bright and powerful. We met in a hug, and I planted a kiss on his cheek as we separated. "Someone with a whit of sense has arrived at last. You saved me." And if he'd brought any news, the others might even forget about pursuing the Art of Dramatic Introduction.

"How dare they go about pulling your ears…?" he said, mildly perturbed, and reached up to thumb and smooth them himself. I chuckled.

Naruto and Lee had gotten to their feet, and clasped forearms warmly with Gaara in turn. Once greetings had been exchanged, Jiraiya asked after news from the Sand. At this the Sora escort smiled. "Oh, he brought a bit more than news."

The envoy of the Sand beamed confidently. "Suna has…"

Gaara had returned, weeks prior, to his village; with his chin held aloft by determination, he had faced and spoken to so many who had scorned and feared him, to citizens, councilors, and lords, to share his experience of fighting alongside the Leaf Loyalists, and to profess in our army the power to bring a common enemy to justice.

And he had today returned, traveling ahead in the final stretch, to announce the arrival of the army he'd brought with him. With the addition of the Sand's force, which consisted of one jounin to every seven chuunin, the army's numerical strength was nearly doubled. In the next few days we welcomed a similar force from Mist, which had hardly chosen to forget Orochimaru's attempt at its conquest, nor our part in foiling his plan of attack; a few squads from Stone, as a show of good will and thanks for the safe return of a long-missing war hero freed from a Land of Rice prison; and a few more fighters from Cloud, sent to convey support for our mission and also, it seemed, simply to get in on a piece of what was happening here.

As it were, history was being made; the Godaikoku, Five Great Nations, were however temporarily to be represented in a single force. It was true that Orochimaru had made far too many enemies in his time, certainly – but it was said that it was the incredible tale of the birth of a loyalist army from the ashes of his conquest, the ability to believe that that ragtag army might succeed, and the impending action of such a force that would bring them all at once back to haunt him.

It was on a cloudless, cool day that a dozen of Soragakure's finest shinobi trekked down from the mountains, marking the final addition to the army. A meeting of commanders. Handshakes. Reviews of all pertinent intelligence. A plan of attack.

Finally, an address to a force of three thousand.

There was no more relaxing; we marched north at dawn.

War was soon to be upon us.

* * *

**Naruto ****ナルト**

"Hinata."

I'd found her standing on the northern hill, gazing into the distance. The girl looked back, hesitant, her pale face clear and beautiful in the evening moonlight. She blinked as I dug from my bag a small parcel. I held it out to her, and smiled warmly.

"You're fourteen."

She blushed. "Naruto-kun…"

"Don't tell me you forgot it again?"

"I didn't, but I hoped you had. It's only a day, the same as any other. Even more, it's the day before we march to war. Something like this isn't worth distracting you, even if… even if it might be my last–,"

"No!"

She started with the firmness of my voice. The gift thudded to the grass, and my arms enclosed her in an embrace. Scowling, I cupped her head in my hand, nestling fingers into short hair. My heart was beating too rapidly.

"Don't you say that, Hinata. Don't. I beg of you…"

"Naruto…" She tried for a moment to pull away. Then, stifling a sob, she buried her face in the crook of my neck. I shushed, rocking her soothingly side to side. Alone here, on a night before the storm, was one of the last precious chances we had, I knew – a last chance for her to show weakness, and my last chance to offer her comfort. In a few days we would make our hearts stone, and we would fight – as leaders who inspired courage, and enemies who inspired fear.

"Hinata… this is _not_ your last birthday."

_There will be many, many more … not on the warpath, but spent happily at home, with family and friends._

* * *

**Hinata ****ヒナタ**

By the thirty-first of December, we were nearing the heart of the Land of Fire, and our destination. Right on schedule.

Those few Sound and New Sound shinobi that had been encountered in the last few days had fled when spotted, without a thought of fighting. The snake was holding true to his bold words, it seemed; we had seen occasional scouts, but it was evident that no force would be coming out to greet us. It was to be a battle for the village, at the village, and tomorrow this loyalist army's forces would be the initiators of the day of bloodshed.

It was on such a night that I had found myself unable to sleep soundly, even within Naruto's arms; that I had headed alone for the eastern ridge that marked the edge of camp; that he had followed me, like a shadow in the moonlight, and stayed with me on the chill night. On my feet were the warm footwraps, of hide strips stitched on one side so meticulously with soft rabbit's fur, that he had made me for my birthday since I rarely wore shoes any more.

A breeze stirred, but I felt little of the mild cold, lying at his side with my fingers loosely twined with his between us. Here in the cool grass, with only the stars and moon above to see us, we spoke.

I couldn't understand, really, why it was so easy to put my thoughts to words. There were simply so many things I wanted to say, or wanted not to leave unsaid, things I had never thought of sharing but wanted now so eagerly to, and all came out lucidly clear. The flow of thoughts between us continued, rolling on like the smooth, sweet wind that danced, ebbed and flowed over the plain.

"For a long time, truthfully, I longed to become a medical ninja," I admitted slowly. I smiled meekly into the dark blue sky. "Along with finding a way to remove the Branch curse mark, it was my dream to be a healer, and now look at me – feared as a berserker. I envy you sometimes…"

"I never knew that," he said sadly, a thumb caressing my calloused palm. "Why didn't you? Learn to heal people, I mean?"

"Years of Juuken training tend to build up a difficulty in molding one's chakra into a restorative form. Healing chakra is the gentle, wafting warmth of life; Juuken chakra is the piercing, frozen fire of death. Only a few, geniuses even among Hyuuga at controlling their chakra, have ever managed to master both." _And once, one of them saved my life… _I held up my right hand; the pale scars on the back of the forearm were white in the moonlight. "After my chakra network injury I started experiencing these… sporadic, uncontrollable little jumps in my chakra flow, and that only rendered it harder for me to humor any dreams of performing the healing arts safely. Then I found out Tsunade-sama could have fixed it, actually, but… I guess it just wasn't meant to be anymore. I'm on this path now – the path of a Beast – by my choice, and I accept it."

"You broke away from what fate had drawn out for you, and against all odds became a fighter. Maybe it's something you should never have been forced to endure – but you pushed ahead without complaining, because it needed to be done."

I smirked. "The road of strife wasn't a kind one for any of us, but all this time, maybe before we knew it, the three of us had each other to lean on when we needed it most. We were able to bear it, together…"

"And now… we've come so far, haven't we? If you step back, and take it all in, it's almost hard to believe. A couple of years ago I was just hoping to pass the Academy graduation exam. All I could think about was being a super-cool ninja, and becoming Hokage." He laughed a little. "I never once thought that the life of a strong ninja could be anything but glorious. We've grown, and we've changed, for certain… but you're wrong about one thing, Hinata. Beast or not, you _can_ save lives."

My gaze fell from the skies, and I studied his smiling face. A sparkle of starlight glinting off his eye, he turned his head to look toward me. "You save lives through love … through the kindness of your heart. Your power to forgive, to hope, and to keep believing in people well beyond the point that any other would… it's something I think only you can do."

"Naruto…"

He chuckled. "To think we've come so far … and to think, how far we may yet go. Everything'll change now, won't it? This time tomorrow, we'll have taken back our home… We'll be able to settle down, to live the lives of lawful shinobi, in a village."

Even though I made a sound of agreement, I looked down, hiding my eyes. "What… What'll happen, then? What comes next?"

"Hm?"

My fingers clenched in the soft grass. I looked away from him, uncertain, but this was another thought I found I needed to speak, however painful, if I did not want it gnawing away at me. "When we return … will things go back to how they were? Between… us?"

A hand reached across me, cupping my cheek and gently bidding me to face him again. I opened stubbornly shut eyes as I felt his forehead against mine, his soft breath on my face. In a moment he pulled back and opened his own eyes, his face firm, but indigo orbs ardent.

"Let's get one thing straight… I will _never _stop loving you."

His voice was but a whisper, stifled as it were, its volume smothered in the strength of the passion it contained. My heart gave a bump as I held his eyes; then, with a small 'oh,' I stroked his face with my hand and shut my eyes again, content to breathe his warm, spiced greenery smell as he ran languid fingers through my hair, brushed them down the back of my neck. My skin tingled beneath his hand.

"The journey may have brought us closer," he said, "but its end will not push us apart. Nothing can; that's what I'd like to believe. You inspire me, Hinata; we make each other stronger, in body and spirit alike. I'm a better man for having met you – you've taught me so much about myself, without even meaning to. I'm not letting my dearest one go so easily… Unless you'd like me to?" he asked, and I snorted softly, nuzzling my nose into the crook of his neck.

"Never… Oh, Naruto-kun, it's just so confusing," I breathed. "Traveling around like this, it's something we've almost never known for sure. 'What does my tomorrow hold?' But here, at the end … at last on the brink of certainty, it all seems so strange…"

He embraced me; then he rolled so that I lay on my back, and he above me, and cradled my face in his hands. I looked up at the blond, eyes filled with complete trust.

"You're apprehensive, love…?" he asked.

"I don't know, I don't know… What if… I mean, if things go wrong…" I slipped my hands behind his neck, draping entwined fingers lightly over him in something like an embrace. His hands brushed down onto my shoulders, offering a gentle squeeze, and I continued, spurred on. "I don't know what I'd do. Even after all we've been through together, there's just so much … so much _more _that I want to see with you… days, I want to spend smiling with you… things I want to experience with you, Naruto-kun…"

"Oh, Hinata…" There was a gentle burning in eyes half-lidded with longing. Lips parted, he lowered his hands to my sides, just beneath my arms, and bent to leave a trail of kisses smoldering along my collarbone, my neck; my breath pitched as each gentle press of his slowly passing lips, so warm against skin chilled in the night air, lit up pinpricks of sensation that melted ardently into my flesh, sank into it and brought it to blissful life. Was this what it was like, to ache for his touch?

The lips that indulged in the length of my neck, their caress soft as velvet, drew me in even as my head turned away with a hushed gasp.

"Are you uncomfortable?" he murmured, pausing.

"N-no," I managed in answer, finding myself breathless, and I furrowed my fingers into his hair as he continued. My eyes had shut as he reached my jawline, and I fell still as my parted lips yearned to greet him. He ministered only briefly to the flesh at the corner of my mouth before planting a final, melting kiss on my cheek, however, and then pulled away, slightly shaking his head. I was a moment confused, but could hardly feel disappointment before the expression on his face. He was beaming.

* * *

**Naruto ****ナルト**

I smiled down at her, suddenly joyous as she opened her eyes and sent a soft smile back. It was amazing – so amazing, to look into her eyes and know, every time, that I was loved.

"We're surviving this battle – you, and me, and everyone else. We're the heroes of the Leaf, Hinata…! And after tomorrow, we'll have everything – all the time you want – to share with each other." We touched noses, fondly, as I began to laugh with sudden mirth.

"Naruto-kun…!" She turned so that she was above me, her face aglow. "Yes… yes, you're right!" she said, softly, tentatively exuberant. "It's – it's all going to be okay now, isn't it? And we'll be…"

"Together, yes." I chuckled. "I really hope your dad approves."

"Of the great commander-hero of the Leaf? And if he disapproves, then – then, so what?" she said, almost breathlessly but smiling as if in discovery – self-empowered. "This is my life – _our_ life – and I'll spend it with the person I'm meant to. I'm yours…"

"And I, yours," I pledged, my heart warm in my breast. "So… so you'll be with me, love? One day, you'll join me in union… and make of me a husband? 'Til death do us part?"

She was surprised for but a moment; the smile that followed was positively radiant. "Yes!" she whispered. "Yes… I marry you, I marry you, I marry you," she murmured slowly, kissing me with each one – sealing each soft reiteration gently between our lips. The third lasted longer, slow with the sweet warmth of passion, slow with the unconquerable love exuded from our hearts as it ran together and blazed inextinguishable, yearning to be cherished.

As we settled, she drifted off resting against my chest. I knew her slumber could only be peaceful, judging from the soft smile that graced her sweet porcelain face. Nuzzling my nose lightly into her hair, I rested my head on the grass and shut my eyes. I was content to face whatever the future might hold, by the virtue of one fact that spoke clear from my heart.

_Come what may… As long as we have each other, we can survive…_

* * *

**Twenty-Five, Part Three: Zero Hour**

**Hanabi ****ハナビ**

"You are strong."

"I am strong. I am a Hyuuga of Lightning. My prowess knows no limitations."

A single candle flickered in the stone room. We had risen before dawn, as had all of New Konoha. The day was to be a momentous one.

"You are gifted."

"I am gifted. I can stop an enemy's heart with a single touch. I can best opponents many times my own age and experience."

Candlelight dancing, the man paused to study me contemplatively, hands folded behind his back as shadows flickered across his face. My gaze remained steady, trained unwaveringly forward from where I sat as he proceeded to pace, stern eyes on me all the while.

"You are fearless."

"I am fearless. I can have no fear, for my duty is certain. Everything I do, I do because I must. No amount of peril can faze the resolute."

Footsteps rang down the hallway outside. My focus stayed pure, for all the activity of the underground world around us.

"You are prepared."

"I am prepared. I have devoted myself to training, and am prepared to fight and kill the one who has put my house in turmoil, if fate demands it of me, in the name of my village, my comrades, and my clan."

He nodded slowly. "You're ready."

"Hai."

I took the hand he offered, rising smoothly to my feet. If I really was the One that the prophecy needed to avert destruction, I was ready.

"Let us be off, then," Hiryuu, said. "Things will be starting shortly."

"Wait," Harumi said, entering the room. "I've brought it. Hanabi-sama, this is for you."

"What…?"

* * *

**Neji ****ネジ**

I stood with my head high, arms folded behind my back as I surveyed the sky above. A diffuse glow seeped through the shadowed, grey and white-dappled clouds, creating an indistinct quilt of alternating dark splotching, pale white, and silvered edges. The day was awakening chill and solemn, stale winds carrying softly on to stir in my cloak and hanging hair. At my back stood the Hokage tower; on its rooftop plaza, the Hokage himself. And before us, the whole of the Sound empire's might – twelve thousand shinobi stretching in block battalions down the broad main street, standing on rooftops, or lining the village wall as a strong front of uniformed bodies, awaiting our foes' approach.

"Today…" I observed, "will be a grand day indeed."

"You think so?" I watched from the corner of my eye as the speaker body flickered in nearby, and walked toward me, hands in his pockets and eyes on the wall. "I just came from up there. The spies' reports were accurate; their numbers are greater than we first predicted."

I wrinkled my nose. At such a time, despite the New Sound insignia that shone on his forehead, or the uniform black bodysuit and pale, white-grey vest that he wore, this one managed to look unbecoming. It must have been his posture. "You're scared, Uchiha? A few paltry forces from the other villages will not be enough to change the outcome today. We shall be victorious; Fate has ordained it."

He eyed me. "Lord Orochimaru's got something up his sleeve, doesn't he?"

"Quite the intuitive one." I smiled darkly, glaring ahead. "It won't be long now. We shall prove victorious … and in the wake of the necessary slaughter, we will take our first steps toward the New Age."

"The age of Sound's supremacy… but in case you've forgotten, you're not exactly a part of that picture."

I chuckled. "This strong body will become our Lord's vessel and sustain him on his noble path. I have already freed my people, named my successor. After today… after wrapping up a few _loose ends_… I will have fulfilled all that I am meant to do. It will be the highest honor imaginable to surrender my being and be reborn, as one with the name of a greater purpose."

"All for a greater purpose, huh?" He scowled. "Tch. Your faith is strong – I'll give you that."

"Haven't you faith?"

"I have plenty of faith in him making me stronger once you're out of the picture. I am a slave to no one's ambitions. My _own_ purpose comes first."

"And this is the place for you to achieve it? Even if you despised us?" I smirked. This fellow… "To each, his own reasons," I said. I nodded in the direction of the wall. "Something is happening."

* * *

**Naruto ****ナルト**

We halted in our march. We were here, at the fore of an army – three hundred yards from the wall of our village. I ground my teeth.

"By day's end, the New Village Hidden in the Sound will be no more. We're taking it back."

"Yes," Lee said at my side, eyes stony. Hinata nodded subtly in agreement.

My gaze slid to my left, past Lee, who stood before Guy-sensei, and down the front line that stretched across the plain a step behind us – to Gaara, Temari, and Kankurou, to Baki, to the once-Sound four, then to many more of the shinobi of the Sand. To my right, beyond Hinata – Kakashi-sensei, Asuma-sensei, and Kurenai-sensei, Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Shizune, and more jounin of the Leaf. Then I turned my head to look back directly, just once, upon the army that stretched into the distance, and the interspersed standards – the most frequent of Leaf, Mist, and Sand – that flew.

_It's time…_

I heard the activation of Hinata's Byakugan. I left her to a moment of studying, and then asked, "Can you do it?"

She nodded. "I can."

My hand clapped onto her shoulder. "Just like we planned, then. You're up."

The village's great outer wall was lined with a rather intimidating barrier of unmoving Oto and New Oto-nin, the effect of whom seeming to make it just a pinch taller – and many times more dangerous. They stared us down from above, steadfast and uniform.

This strong façade wavered momentarily when they sighted a lone figure striding from the motionless body of our army, slipping her bow off her back and retrieving an arrow from her quiver as she walked. They suppressed whatever confusion they felt, however, as she stopped, notched the arrow, and took aim.

The puzzlement on their part was quite understandable. What were we thinking? What did one crackbrained archer think she could accomplish from such a distance _and_ inferior height, and how could the rest of us be daft enough to let her try?

_THWNG!_

The arrow zipped off skyward, its optimal angle beginning to decline as it sailed. No doubt it would've soon leveled off, caught its maximum height, and gone on to hit the ground at least a hundred yards shy of the village gate.

The han'you maintained her form still, bow held out before her. White eyes not once straying as the arrow's angle of ascent gradually decreased, she flicked up two fingers of a right hand that still lay poised back where it had released the bowstring.

"Kai!"

And the seal that I knew to be near the head of the arrow, a seal packed tight with youki for the purpose of propulsion, exploded.

* * *

**Neji ****ネジ**

'A lone archer approaches' – such was what a chuunin had just reported. The distance? Nearly three hundred meters.

An archer? Alone? At a ridiculous distance and adverse height? The possibility of any effect was nonexistent; the fool would enter the range of our longbows on the wall first. The fact was as simple as the advantage of height.

I was scoffing at the chuunin's concern, and at our enemy's idiocy, when a man was launched backwards from atop the village wall.

He sailed and dropped like a stone, until soon all could see the arrow lodged deep in his eye.

In the moment of stillness that ensued, I would have heard a pin drop. I certainly _did_ hear the distant, cracking thud of a dead body colliding with the ground.

Then an uproar began on the wall; the rigid columns of shinobi in the street stirred in uncertainty and confusion. I bit back my own bewilderment, activating the Byakugan. "Don't panic! Their range is not indefinite, fools! Hold your posit–!"

A bolt of darkness lanced well over the wall and split the grey sky in a flash of speed, trailing a lingering tail of energy in its wake. I saw the projectile zip within a meter of Lord Orochimaru's unamused face atop the tower – and lodge itself with a steely crack between the eyes of his carved stone semblance on the mountainside.

A fracture began to run, slowly, from the place the streaming arrow had struck.

Then the arrow exploded, bringing down the Fifth Hokage's face in its entirety. The village watched as the great mass of broken stone tumbled down the cliffside with a long and momentous roar, piling in a heap at its base.

I growled, teeth bared in outrage, and looked to Lord Orochimaru for a signal. He lifted a hand, nodding.

Eyes wild, I turned and swept my arm forward.

"_ATTAAAAACK! !_"

The main gate was heaved open, and the column of shinobi that filled the street raced out to meet our foes.

* * *

**Hinata ****ヒナタ**

My glower was steady, my jaw set as I stowed my bow, flashed a thumbs-up to those behind me, and continued forward. Unhurried strides did not falter as the gate opened, pouring out a steady flood of charging enemy shinobi. _That's right… come on out here…_

_Mi, Hitsuji, Saru, I, Uma, Tora. Ookami._

I turned my head to spit the Fireball; Kurogiba swirled into being at my side, smoothly matching my stride as he took blazing form.

The Sound were a scant two hundred meters away. I picked up my pace, moving from a brisk walk to a jog as Naruto and Gaara caught up, and we sprinted together. I growled as my youki blazed to life, flinging inky patterns across my skin and lengthening my fangs and claws as my hair blackened. Gaara held his palms together as he ran, while Naruto, hair flecked with color and body blazing in an aura of raging violet, ran through five handseals of his own.

We were sixty meters from the approaching front of Sound forces – four, alone, with the army just beginning to charge well behind with Lee's command – when Kurogiba leapt in a bolt of flame, stripped of his medium, and crashed his spirit down upon me.

Teeth clenched, I hunched over with claws spread, beginning to pounce forward – and exploded into the combined transformation that rendered Kurogiba and I one tremendously large, black-and-white wolf. The head Sound battalion barely had time to falter before a sweep of the Shukaku's massive tail, emerging from an adjacent cloud of smoke, crashed across their ranks, scattering men easily as grains of rice. Emerging from the smoke of transformation alongside us was a titanic, purple demon fox, menacingly crouched with steam pouring from its fanged maw, and its charade complete with nine wildly whipping tails.

Prior to the time he would be called upon for his duties as envoy, Gaara had not sat idle; against our instruction, he had in fact strayed from the army for a time. During a few weeks of solitary training in the desert, self-imposed with the intent of learning control, Gaara's enigmatic soul had leveled with and in a sense befriended the eccentric Shukaku. Naruto, by contrast, had now summoned Gamabunta and transformed with him in the instant of the toad's appearance – a ruse that our enemies did not need to know of.

The fox snarled, batting a wiry arm at shinobi who tried to circle around us; with unexpected speed its claw lashed out, closed around a handful of them, and hurled them toward the village wall with devastating force, where some struck into a few of the shinobi, manning the walls, who assailed us ineffectually with shuriken. Growling and snapping in a show of malice, the violet beast took another handful and flung its captives to lethal heights. Our minds as one, Kurogiba and I lowered our head, sweeping it forward across a number of the ground force as they tried to fall back, and we darted to snag a few in our great jaws. We bit down until a crunch sent liquid streaming hotly into our mouth, running from our teeth, and spat them away again. The Shukaku, shrieking in glee at the banquet of destruction, leapt to crash down, belly-first, upon a sizeable throng of Oto-nin, and went sliding from a body slam that shook the land.

"Fall back!" a kunoichi was shouting. "We'll be slaughtered! Back to the village! The demons won't harm the village–!"

A flame bomb seared from our mouth, crashing explosively upon the heart of the bottleneck occurring at the gate. Twin air bullets were striking the wall, one from a fox and the other courtesy of a tanuki; their shockwaves shook loose scores of shinobi racing up it in retreat, setting them tumbling toward the fresh picket barricades, the long stakes our advancing forces had been meant to fall on, that stood at the foot of the wall. We as Kurohi crouched, and now sent a controlled blast of flame hurtling clean through the gate, straight up the main street where it razed those shinobi too slow to jump aside, until it weakened to disperse against and lightly char the front of the Hokage tower.

We raised our head, dripping crimson staining our mouth, as if innately drawn to the stench of depravity. We raised our head, and met the pair of golden and serpentine eyes belonging to the man who stood atop the distant tower, his black hair lashing back as embers rushed and swirled in the air before him.

Hackles raised, we inhaled. Our mouth opened and, without breaking eye contact, we unleashed a long and tremendous roar, a hellish utterance to be heard for miles around.

Such was the extent of the words that remained for the likes of him. He scowled and flickered from view.

"_Heheheh! **Now**, then…_" said the seeming Kyuubi no Kitsune, voice low and wicked. To the astonishment of not a few Sound ninja, it proceeded to crouch and leap – sailing in a single, grand motion clear over the outer wall; Kurogiba and I mirrored the action.

The landing was careful but smooth, our agility and the fox's sufficient in finding us places to put four paws apiece on solid ground rather than on homes or any other buildings. The fox had turned in the air so as to land facing back, and met the confusion of the shinobi manning the wall with a howling shockwave of searing wind; the beast's cry battered the air at a safe height above other structures and exploded out, hurling them away from the village. Those survivors who happened to land in any good condition, and who also managed to escape the Ichibi's wrath, might return if they dared.

Frantic words reached our sensitive ears from the shinobi who stood tensely around us. They cursed and swore; a man wondered how strongly the gods loathed them, to once more send these fiends upon them.

One wondered where our army had gone.

Others realized in surprise the considerable relevance of her question.

The fox smirked broadly, its glower shining and devious; this had been Naruto's plan, after all, for circumventing an otherwise-necessary direct assault that would have likely entailed a dangerous storming of the walls. In the chaos of our initial attack, little attention had been afforded for the actions of an army left to its own devices in the thick fog clouds produced by such large-scale transformations. The fact remained, now, that not a single other member of our force was anywhere to be seen, and as the knowledge flitted from ear to mouth to ear throughout the ranks of our disconcerted foes, their unease only escalated. This was the type of unorthodox scheme of ingenious artifice and psychological lambasting that could only have sprung from the mad mind of the Demon Illusionist, and an audience of twelve thousand had fallen prey to the trickster's finest scheme.

The purple fox spread nine drooping tails, fanning them out around it.

Then, with its deafening bark of '**_Attack!_**' a horde of blurs shot from where they'd hidden all along its long-furred tails' lengths, as well as from our one tail and the shaggy fur of our underbelly, and our army's shinobi fell upon theirs with several thousand cries of war.

* * *

**Naruto ****ナルト**

Rather than release the henge and then dispel the Chief Toad, I had Gamabunta simply dispel first; this resulted in the release of our combined transformation, while ensuring the toad himself would not once be seen. The way I saw it, if our enemies could be daunted by the illusion that I had attained mastery over the Nine Tails – particularly the New Sound shinobi, who balked at its likeness – then so much the better.

Fog streamed and sifted around my spread fingers as I sailed from the cloud, knees bent and teeth slightly bared in a fanged smirk. My arms formed and 'X' before me as I fell, and I ducked my head as energy stirred and swirled across my skin. After a moment I swept my arms out with a yell, and at once a cracking shockwave of violet repelled a flurry of oncoming shuriken – and three tails of power sprung from the sleek vulpine shroud of solid energy that leapt to enfold me.

I landed near the shuriken throwers, slamming my hands to the street with a crash; my mouth opened, and a burst of invisible force blasted the group of Oto-nin, testing. The lot of them fell and tumbled, or slid on their feet.

A crouching New Oto shinobi, as he came to a halt, looked up from the arm he'd raised to shield his face, scowling. "Demon," he spat. "We will be the ones to destroy you…"

Sharp violet eyes cut to the side, and I took note of a new group of enemies, behind, as they spread to surround me. I clicked my tongue once, reaching to grip the naginata on my back before I spoke. "_I regret to inform you of the imminent failure of this tactic of yours…_"

"It's said you've got a smart mouth. Mocking us already, Murasaki Kitsune?"

"_Not at all. The thing is, regular attacks won't easily get through to me in this form; ideally, you'd want a high-level shinobi to strike with some moderately powerful ninjutsu – the kind of jutsu that you generally avoid using when a lot of your comrades might get caught up in the crossfire. There are more of you, yes, but I do my best work when the concentration of enemies is high. So many fighters, so much confusion, and so many places to disappear…_"

Scowling, he signaled to his men. "Get him!"

I bent my knees, the polearm extended to my side as a ring of shinobi leapt toward me. _I'm sorry… for your captain's rashness._

I _was _sorry, but this was war.

"_Kageken:…_"

A bolt of wind shredded and eschewed the heavy cloth wrap that housed the spear's blade. Weapons were drawn back, ready to strike at me.

"_…Soaked in Blood._"

A graceful flicker of singing steel – a spattering storm of liquid crimson. The captain's eyes grew, his hands frozen in a seal as twenty-three hewn bodies were thrown at once away from me, and thudded lifeless to the ground. Whether he had thought ninja of their level capable of defeating me in this state or not, he had by no means imagined it would be decided so quickly. The fact remained, and would remain, that few enemies had witnessed the fully realized Kageken and lived to share their experience.

Before the jounin could blink I was before him, two fingers pressed above his heart as circlets of wind tumbled about my hand.

"It's unfortunate … but I'm not an opponent who can be overcome by quantity alone."

The jet of fire from his mouth was blinding and fierce. In the same moment that he scorched the air before him I was at his back with arm outstretched, loosing the pressurized lance of wind from two fingers behind his heart with a sure and resounding crack of force. I had vanished from the scene before the lingering, thinly solid and slightly luminous column of air passing through him faded, before his flame missile exploded forty meters away, before he even hit the ground.

This technique, this cloak-and-dagger style of fighting, was truly detestable. Against opponents like Uchiha Itachi, perhaps, it was necessary for a fighting chance; against the average shinobi, it all too often spelled a death preceding the victim's own comprehension.

My eagle eye sighted a group of New Leaf shinobi in ragged garb and green bandanas, fighting fiercely but near to being overwhelmed by almost twice as many foes. The Oto-nin, pressing their advantage, could not have expected to be in the next moment butchered by effectively invisible duplicates of a single, distant assassin's wind-shrouded blade. Those mixed up in direct combat with the Konoha-nin, finding the threat of their backup abruptly absent, were quickly overtaken by their foes. Another few Sound squads, waiting close by to assist them in finishing off the recently outnumbered group, failed to determine a course of action before being felled in one successive slash of my naginata, blasted backwards in a violent scattering of wind and blood.

"_You alright?" _I asked my gawking comrades; Izumo, Kotetsu, and some chuunin I could recognize were among them. They got their wits about them, nodded, and hurried in the direction of another skirmish, while I flickered from the site.

That the Sound's forces outnumbered the combined might of our army and New Leaf's meant that, inevitably, not all of their number could be engaged in direct combat at once. This numbers gap generated a recurring phenomenon throughout the fields of battle – that being, the physical space between fighting allies and idle groups of the enemy. This space was my crucial window to strike the hardest.

A low-strength Howling Kitsune Slice blasted across the path of some dozen Oto-nin who charged toward a smaller group of Mist and Sand, some of whom already lay unmoving in the dirt. The aggressors' momentum cut off, their formation buckling, the instant they were standing still… It was all too easy. The flung scythe of wind gave me just enough time to home rapidly nearer in a couple of substitutions before the two forces could meet – and for a single instant I stood in the faltering enemy's midst. I ran them through – was briefly extant in a crouch, blade extended, on the opposite side of them as corpses toppled behind me – took a rough breath, and was gone in a flash of violet. The speed of it all was insanity in itself.

Perhaps, when the battle was decided, I might be a healer.

For now, however, my role entailed assassination en masse. The reduction of superior numbers. Destroying as many as swiftly as possible, before they could think – before they could react – before they might determine a means of counterattack. None could strike at me, for I never stopped moving.

I enjoyed calling myself a wraith, a warrior dealing in shadows. In truth I was not so naïve. In these particular skills I had power – however terrible – and because I had duty, I was obliged to use it to its fullest. This I knew, and so I hardened my heart and surrendered to becoming a harbinger of catastrophic death.

I was a decimator.

* * *

**Lee ****リー**

A violet flash went glancing by, leaving three dead Sound shinobi dropping in its wake. An ANBU, alone in managing to dodge the blinding strike, swore and turned to flicker in pursuit.

_So you can track his movements as well…? _Then, naturally…

I shoved from the earth, vanishing to the eyes of those around me, and covered a distance equaling that of Naruto's substitution in a burst of whirring speed. In the same instant that Naruto materialized for a moment in space, and the ANBU appeared at his back, hands in an uncommon seal, my foot went crashing down – with the Sound elite's cracking skull beneath it.

Naturally, he would be going for the place Naruto was about to appear.

"THUNDERBOLT KICK! !"

_CRASH!_

We plunged together in a straight shot to the ground, where a ring of dirt and debris exploded outward. I caught sight of a blond wraith, looking back with violet eyes to flash a salute, and was curtly returning the gesture as my eyes lost track of him.

I drew myself to full height, surveying the enemies around me as I removed my foot from a puddle of gore. The handful of New Konoha-nin I had been fighting alongside quickly gathered at my back. My hand rose to a katana hilt as coolly glowering eyes locked onto an Oto squad leader across from me, standing uncertainly at the head of a group. His hands trembled, however slightly; after seeing the demise of the ANBU shinobi, he felt he could not best me. He would seek the aid of a stronger comrade.

Sure enough, his focus wavered – his gaze edged to the side, as if to search for help – and his throat burst in crimson as I halted in the midst of the group behind him, hand still resting on a sheathed sword's hilt.

The immediate reaction of one of the bewildered shinobi around me was to lunge toward me in retaliation. Disoriented, the thoughtless reaction of the rest was to follow suit, in panicked desperation. My eyes fell into shadow, my head bowed so that likely only my small scowl was visible as my arms crossed my body, as hands clapped smoothly onto twin hilts.

Shinobi of their caliber would not likely have seen the blades unsheathed – would perhaps not even see me move.

_Iaidou._

In succession approaching instantaneity, a string of slashes gouged into their approaching ranks, a blur of humming light and phantom steel. My blades were sheathed as a ring of bodies was thrown away, and as crimson then rained about but did not touch my tall-standing form.

A shuriken glanced with a clang from the air, a scant foot from the side of my face. My eye settling on a scattered group of New Oto-nin, I slowly began to draw a blade. They recoiled from the cold might of my gaze.

_Infinity…_

I spun to a crouching halt, one blade low before me and the other extended upward behind snapping to shed vibrant streaks of red. The screams of the dying assailed my back.

I rose and leapt, eyes intense, a katana hilt rolling about the hand I drew back.

_This… this is…_

"ACCELERATE!" I bellowed, and as my hand dropped a man was torn from shoulder to side.

_What must be done!_

A new group, stronger, was descending upon me; I could read in their movements, in the very air around them, the level of their discipline, and their fair strength.

They attacked, one by one, and I dashed and danced, ducked and dodged from their strikes. Neat, quick and sure steps removed me from the course of furious attacks as the drawn sword parried and deflected masterfully in my defense; the sheathed sword, each time I grasped it, was Quickdrawn and flashing into the first opening, striking invisibly, deadly and true. One by one they engaged, chose to join the twin blades and their wielder in a tempestuous dance so tragically brief, and one by one, without fail, they were felled before my unflinching hand.

Both hands clapped at once onto the drawn sword's hilt and rose to turn its blade downward at my back, where it angled to lock with a clang against two striking blades. This one – he had been so fast that I had not had time to dodge. And…

"Hooked swords?" I gasped as my katana was wrenched from my grasp, slung aside to crash heavily to the ground. I whirled to face him, backing away and drawing the remaining sword – and a weight struck across my wrist from behind, knocking the weapon free.

"Got him, Onii-san!" a girl, with red hair similar to that of the hooksword-wielder, sneered. I had not detected her a moment ago, so she was swift. Within an instant of hitting my sword hand she now brought a tonfa baton spinning in her other hand cracking swiftly into contact with my side. I grunted, shuddering involuntarily from the strike, and a third tap, to the back of my shoulder, knocked me to my hands and knees. "Too bad – you're disarmed!"

_Whap!_

The shot intended for the back of my neck was caught by a straw sandal as I kicked up, and pushed away again as my other foot kicked into her stomach. My hands crossed each other beneath me, and I used the traction with the ground to spin my body and deliver a hefty kick to her face. She spun on heel, and swung again as I reached my feet and lunged. The tonfa met my strong, taped hand with a firm crack; I gave no sign of pain, and the wood casing buckled in my grip.

"I can manage," I said as I held her incredulous eyes. Stance spread, I ducked my head and drove a decisive fist dead into the New Sound kunoichi's face, throwing her backwards with a solid crack of impact.

"Sis–!" The redheaded man blanched and threw himself from the path of a grand Leaf Hurricane kick. I landed in a roll, snatching a weighty katana from the dirt, and rose to kick a stone with such ferocity that it surely singed the air. It sparked against his blocking sword, pushing it back and giving more resistance to deflection than he had anticipated. Just as it was repelled, the taller man froze as he felt the steel of my blade at his neck.

"Gomen nasai," I said. "You are not so skilled in the Art of War."

An instant of stillness. His hookblade lashed up against my sword, but this I had anticipated – and as the katana was swatted away from his neck a wakizashi was plunging into his back. I withdrew and, following through with the motion of the deflected katana in my grasp, whirled sharply in place. The longsword's blade came around, and with its smooth arc his head was cleanly separated from his shoulders, in a blow of mercy. Liquid warmth spattered my solemn face.

There was no rest. Not here, on the field of battle.

Forty yards, reduced to nothing. My sandal smashed into a striking New Oto-nin's face from the side, all of my ferocious force channeling into a vulnerable point just in front of his ear. I knew before he hit the ground that he would not get up. Landing, I looked to the battered, pale-faced tokubetsu jounin on the ground, who had tripped over the body of a fallen comrade.

"Be careful, Genma-sensei."

"H-hai… Lee-kun?" He blinked in surprise as I gave him a hand up. "Thanks."

My eyes rapidly surveyed the nearest battles around us. A few groups were faring well; a team of Iwa-nin summoned a pair of stone golems to head their charge upon a group of the Sound; three Suna puppet masters harassed their foes while keeping a comfortable distance; a ways off, a Sora-nin atop a hawk large enough for riding took out a Sound shinobi in a single divebomb from behind. The bird wheeled to attack another foe, talons rising, but the kunoichi they targeted unleashed an amplified screech that startled the bird into tossing its rider. The Sora kunoichi tucked and rolled, lifting her spear but stiffening under the brunt of a second soundwave. I chose, and raced to attack.

I had nothing but strength, speed, discipline, and skill. I had neither special abilities nor moves that could quite be called tricks – only a powerful body, one heart, two fists, three blades, and the razor-fine sense of danger, reaction speed, and feel for combat born of surviving countless battles, and having braved them without fear of death. Because of these things, I could readily fight on a level with the most formidable of shinobi.

Thusly, my role in this battle was to prevent my comrades from being killed, and to engage as many elites as I possibly and safely could. In such warfare as this, the strongest could lay waste to the weak if allowed to. I had been encouraged to edge toward a decimator's role as needed, to scatter the weak even if only as a trick to draw the wrath of the strong. In this way, as I came to my comrades' defense against enemy elites and they to theirs against me, stronger and stronger adversaries sought each other out, and upon meeting clashed until one died. My job would be growing more perilous as the weak faded, and as my presence as an elite in this battle grew.

Victory depended not only on numbers, but on whichever side's elites proved more successful in staying alive, alive to see another minute and to kill within it, as they battled their foes.

Whereas Naruto's task was to decimate the unsuspecting who would be unable to escape him – _avoiding_ any with the strength to rival or even approach his own – my own lay in seeking out and occupying those stronger shinobi among the enemy, locking them in single combat to cripple their destructive potential, and terminating them with all affordable haste. This could leave subordinates rattled, and in turn could aid those like Naruto considerably. Brute killing, and surviving – this was my means of protecting my comrades now. It was what I was most able to do.

At one time, I had held, fostered, and striven for the dream of being a splendid ninja. At one time, it had only been about proving a point – everything, for that.

Now… now, I was no mere shinobi. Throwing myself into the endless slew of struggles, traveling the world with a sword in my hands, I had become a strange transcendence of my former dream.

I had fancied myself a warrior, in the purest sense.

And here at war, as a master of battle, I accepted the role of the counter-decimator. But there was no honor here; the strong were simply to die by my blade, before they might wreak devastation on the weak.

For I was an equalizer.

* * *

**Hinata ****ヒナタ**

In the guise of a True Henge, I raced down the village streets. It had been determined that my role today would not be to exhaust all I was worth on the front lines; I had someone to save my strength for, and a good prediction that, so long as that powerful someone knew that I was out here, he would be conserving his strength as well. My very _existence_ could prevent him from adopting the role of a decimator or counter-decimator. With this – and with the acknowledgment of the political benefit the Leaf stood to gain in the aftermath should I particularly defeat him – my request to not have my strength allocated to the fields of open battle had been supported not only by Naruto and Lee, but the other commanders as well.

Nonetheless, I had one vital assignment to attend to before I sought that person out. At least with this appearance, I could reach my destination without incident.

Or so I'd hoped.

The little black ball that came sailing toward my path was intercepted by a yellow-gold, kunai-like projectile. I deftly skirted the resulting smoke cloud, stopping upwind of the site of the explosion to regard the figure that flickered loftily into my path.

"Nyaa-hm? I knew I smelled something foul! And look who we've found, scurrying so discreetly away from the battlegrounds with a squad of her own shadowing her. Looking to bust one last prison, are you?"

_Sharp cat… _I gave no indication, though, of having understood a word she'd said. I cocked my head to the side, giving a confused whine. It was worth a try; if my hunch was right, her sense of smell wasn't strong enough to identify me beyond a doubt.

The ANBU's confident smirk faltered. "Hey – come on," she muttered, "What is this? I know you're her… Unless…" She looked about, flustered. "I've really been talking to some random mutt?"

"_Mraow!_" The sleek black cat at her side evidently thought otherwise. Keen green eyes trained on me, it snarled, fur standing on end.

'_It's got sharper senses than its master, then. Koinu, I think they're figuring us out.'_

_Hold on…_

"Mrrrr…"

"Huh-nya? What's that, Mister Doumou-tan?"

_Okay, now._

She shrieked, leaping aside with the scruff of an angry cat's neck in her hand as a jet of flame blasted from my jaws. It went barreling by, and a ways behind them the flames swirled and darkened, leaving Kurogiba to materialize at her back. The young woman looked rapidly between us, swearing. "Kuso! I knew it was you, knew it! It's not like you were fooling anyone!"

"You could've fooled _me_, in that regard," I retorted. In a puff of smoke, I left the form of a dark-furred wolf. "Kitten… If you're here for a rematch, I'm honestly in a bit of a hurry."

"Oh, no you don't," she snickered, pointing toward me with a hungry glint in her eye. "War is roiling just a heartbeat away, and with it plenty of enemies I could be tearing to bits right now – but I peeled myself away from the sweet temptation just to come after little old _you_, Wolfpuppy, so count yourself honored. You've caught my interest! And in any case, I can't just let prey I've already captured once roam free forever – it would be shameful, you see…"

"If you put it that way, I've got no choice. Of course I can't let you return to the battlefield if it means you'll harm my comrades…" My hands met in the sign of the Wolf. "Forgive me, but I'll make this quick; you're not on my agenda today."

She grinned, color rising in her cheeks. "Oho? I'd better be on the agenda! You're lighting a fire in me already, Wolfpuppy! But this time, you won't be getting your grimy paws on a single one of my lives–_GWOHF!_"

While she rambled, a moment of working my youki had partially transformed my feet and lower legs, most noticeably shifting the configuration of my heels so that they didn't rest on the ground. This canine structure was more suited to sprinting, and sudden sprinting at that, and with the space between us reduced to nothing I buried a fist in her gut. The silver kunai she'd been slipping from her trenchcoat dropped to the dirt.

Right hand withdrawing, I lashed my left palm clean against her chest.

For several seconds she was frozen, her body stiff. Then blood spilled from her lips, and she fell swaying to her knees, crumpled onto her side, and burst into smoke.

POOF!

I turned to see her emerging from a cloud of smoke behind me, her cat reduced to a sniveling kitten. "The hell! I wasn't ready–!"

"Well I _AM!_" I snarled, in one motion turning and leaping to smash a knee into her face. _Did she... perhaps need a moment to recover?_

_Crakak–_POOF!

This time she staggered from the cloud, pale and gasping. I grabbed hold of her arm as she tried to stumble away. "I told you, you're not on the agenda!" I began, but hissed as she swiftly drew a silver knife, holding it up and glowering threateningly.

"I swear, if you kill me one more time–!"

A blast of flame engulfed her, blazing by from behind. Kurogiba was more impatient than I was.

POOF!

She couldn't even keep her footing, this time. I caught the back of her trenchcoat before she could hit the ground.

"Koneko… How many lives do you have left…?"

She laughed nervously, looking sheepishly back at me. "Hehehe… Why do you ask–?" I hefted her up to height, locking an arm around her neck and planting the other hand above her head. "Wait, wait, you psycho! Not again! It's three, alright, three!"

"Three lives… and from the looks of it, using one takes a good deal of energy. Without any time to recover, if you keep repeating this so rapidly, you'll turn up as weak as the kitten that cat's been reduced to, won't you? So, do I go to the trouble of killing you three more times? Or, maybe…"

Kurogiba lifted the tiny cat by the scruff of the neck; the mewling creature was barely the size of the demon's nose. Koneko tensed in genuine panic, giving a feeble shudder in my grip. "N-no! Don't hurt Mister Doumou-tan! I've already put so much of a strain on him…!" She tried to glare my way, even while sniffling. "Do whatever you want to me, hurt me all you like, just… just…"

She yelped, toppling as I let her go. I held my hand out to Kurogiba, who passed me the kit.

Then I sat it next to the shocked ANBU on the ground. Sobbing, she shut her eyes and folded a trembling arm tenderly around it. "St-stupid dog… You're a brute, you know that? The a-absolute worst…!"

I shook my head. "I don't fight for the sake of hurting people, and I'm not about to kill someone who can't fight back. You just crossed me at a bad time and I really don't like cats."

"But you're not going to…?"

"You and the rest of the Nekozaki Clan were once Konoha shinobi, weren't you? Is it really that hard to believe?" I barked. I turned away. "I don't know how it works, but it's clear that your life and that cat's are tied; for your partner's sake, I'd hope that you might find a less reckless way to get your thrills. Whatever the case, you won't be able to impact the course of the battle for the village in the state you're in. Just play dead, and you should be fine."

She glared for a stubborn moment, and then shut her eyes. Not waiting for a further response, I turned and continued toward the New Sound Penitentiary, signaling for my squad to follow.

It was time to free the village council, and whoever else was imprisoned there. They'd been waiting long enough.

* * *

**Neji ****ネジ**

"U-uh…!" Eyebrows drawn inward, he clasped at his chest, hunching over, and looked up at me in horror.

"Does it hurt?" I asked dispassionately, withdrawing my palm and walking toward him again.

His eyes watered as he stifled a cough. "You s-son of a–!"

A boot met his face roughly. Another man flinched as his comrade shot past him, cracking into a wall ten yards further back.

"What about you?" I asked, and he shuddered. I stepped toward him, and he stepped back. "You thought that with eight halfway decent shinobi, you would be able to kill _me?_"

He shook his head, backing away. "M-mercy–_ack!_"

A blow to the gut interrupted his plea; before he could double over I was behind him, smashing an elbow into the small of his back. I pivoted sharply in front of him again, my cloak flaring, my foot extending as I spun. "_The weak should kneel._"

He howled, dropping as my kick landed with excessive force at the side of his knee. On hands and knees, face stark, he looked up just in time to see a straightened leg finish rising. Then my heel dropped, savage force shattering the Leaf emblem on his forehead, and all that lay beneath it, with a splatter of finality.

I surveyed my work, beginning to clean my claws as I glanced boredly over the bodies scattered at the site. I sighed. I could find more…

"_Neji – Neji, come in!" _a frantic voice crackled in my ear.

My hand snapped to a button on my wireless transmitter. "Tenten? Are you alright?"

"_We need your help over here! At block C of the market district – this is bad, it's–ah–!"_

I flinched as the radio gave a loud pop – and a hum of static.

"Tenten…?" I turned in the direction of the market district, fangs bared. With a growl I took to the rooftops.

I rushed there single-mindedly, skirting battles without a backwards glance. When I came upon the scene, I could only just wonder at the situation, and at the only three shinobi present, before I flickered into the path of the kunai Shino threw to catch the knife and hurl it back at him. He grunted in surprise, taking a step back as he dodged it.

"You're here," Tenten gasped behind me, lowering the knife she'd been preparing to deflect with.

I looked back at her, scowling as I smelled her blood. The shoulder of her vest was torn, and the shirt just beneath it darkened with wetness. At her side stood Ino, who glowered toward the insect user. Looking forward again, I realized the young man's forehead was bare; promptly my eyes found a New Oto headband left lying in the dirt.

"What is the meaning of this?" I demanded, fangs bared.

"He's turned," Ino said bitterly.

"Pretending to be our comrade, when he was just waiting for the right time…" Tenten said, as if still unable to believe it. She gripped her shoulder. "Then he tried to…"

My lip curled. "Traitor," I snarled.

The Aburame raised an arm; a dark cloud of insects rose around him, buzzing angrily. "There is nothing that I would say I hold against any of you, personally. It's regrettable that this had to occur in such a way, but the time has come for _true _shinobi of this village to fight in the name of the Leaf, or die trying!"

I scoffed. "Your sneak attack failed. You knew you couldn't defeat Tenten and Ino together; what kind of chance do you think you stand now?"

"I will fight to the last…"

"Hm. Very well, then. You will not need to fight for much longer."

Tenten drew her hands from tool pouches, three kunai knives in each. "We'll back you up."

I nodded, and charged with the two flanking on either side.

In the following second a number of things unfolded.

The swarm of kikaichuu reared, and shot toward me alone. This itself would not have been strange, but for the fact that Aburame's attack coincided with six kunai being let fly toward my back.

_What? !_

There was one direction to dodge.

Only as I passed in front of Ino, meeting cold blue eyes, did I notice her hands stretching out before her, fingers forming a ring as a murmur of incantation left her lips.

It felt like a blow to the head. Then my mind was effectively disconnected from my body.

"Shintenshin no Jutsu: Successful," was spoken in my voice. Seething, I mentally ground my teeth.

_What is this? _I asked. I wanted to laugh. _What the hell is this supposed to be?! INO!_

She bit her lip – _my_ lip – as Shino walked up, pulling a rope from his tool pouch. After lowering the Yamanaka's vacant body carefully to the ground, Tenten looked toward me, bleakly unreadable, fingering the hilt of the dagger at her belt. _'We're sorry,' _Ino thought, _'but we'd long since decided together that this was the only way. Tenten tried to keep hope for you, tried to understand your vision, but even she could only dream for so long…'_

_So, this is your solution? To kill me – put me down like a dog? _Inwardly, I laughed. _Unbelievable. Hehehe… You lot really are unbelievable. Filth… _I laughed even more.

'_Don't you even,' _she cried. _'There's nothing… nothing funny about this. I told you already – it's the only way! You've become something twisted. The last thing we can do for you, as your friends… it's…'_

"All right," Shino said, once my hands were tied tightly behind my back. Ino tested my strength against the binding, and nodded. Behind me, Shino wrapped an arm across my neck and held firm, but not firmly enough to obstruct my breathing – yet. I watched, intrigued, as Tenten unsheathed her dagger. "Remember," Shino said, "The second Ino releases him, you've got to do it. Do not hesitate, or…"

"I know, already!" she snapped, but she couldn't rid her eyes of her fear. "It just… It just feels so cruel…"

_Who came up with this little ploy of betrayal?_

The answer popped into Ino's thoughts before she could hide it: Tenten.

_Oho? Interesting, interesting…_

'_Neji…'_

"Tenten," Shino began. "If you would prefer, I can–,"

"No. No, it has to be me." She pressed the blade's tip just into my vest above my heart, and braced her hands to drive. Her feet spread, weight perfectly balanced. Her jaw set; her eyes, brimming with trepidation. "For him, I can at least do this much… I'm ready, Ino."

"Okay. On three."

_Hmm… _I flitted, insubstantial, around her presently dominant spirit. _Ino… do you know what it's like, inside this rotten head of mine? Does your jutsu show you how it feels?_

She ignored me, resolute. "One," she had me saying aloud.

"Neji," Tenten whispered, "I love you."

"Two."

_I can show you, if you'd like… Why don't I treat you to a taste of my soul…? And what I feel – what I live – every day without cease, with every breath, with every passing moment. Here._

"Thr…"

It was quiet.

Shino shifted a bit, trying to get a look at my face. "Ino? You alright?"

Tenten was already on edge, breathing hard. Her eyes seemed to be having trouble staying focused. Sweat shone on her brow. The pause caused something already dying inside of her to wring itself even further, to keen in pain, crying just behind her brown eyes.

Then my mouth opened, and Ino screamed.

Shino tensed in alarm as the howl exploded, unyielding, from my throat. Tenten's eyes went round with utter bewilderment. Within my domain and my prison, I laughed and laughed and laughed.

The blood-curdling screech cut to an end as Ino's body started sharply where it lay. A smile twisting across my face, I lowered my thrown-back head as serpents tore viciously from my sleeves, deftly shredding and snapping apart the cord at my wrists before leaping to bury their fangs so hungrily into Shino's neck and arms.

"_I'm baaaack_," I sang darkly as I met Tenten's eyes, and the pressure mounting behind the knife at my heart faltered. Shino gasped her name as I sneered in scornful delight, and slammed a fist into her face.

Determined not to release me, Shino had been dragged with my movement; his hands were moving, nearly positioned to snap my neck when my elbow drove back and connected solidly with his gut. He yelled, but desperately tried to maintain the hold, as if he might still slow me down or restrain me. I drew forward again and delivered a second elbow of equaling viciousness. With this his strength gave out. Still facing away from him, I pressed the claws of right hand against his right side and turned, slashing open his front with a soft smile as I did, malevolently intent. Laughing at his contorted face and taut brow, at the sound that squirmed from his parted lips, I threw a sharp swing at his face. Shattered glasses sailed as he was knocked off his feet, and left to bleed.

"Hehehehe…!" I couldn't stop laughing; I bellowed in glee, as a focused burst of chakra from my every tenketsu tore so easily through the chakra-leeching insects that fought to swarm across my skin. I turned to find the Yamanaka trying to get to her feet. "So, what do you think? Glorious, isn't it?!"

"Y… you're mad," she breathed, dripping eyes unblinking in an ashen face. Wincing, she shuddered back down to her hands and knees and lurched, losing her stomach's contents to the dirt. I walked toward her, smirking as she wretched and shook, enfeebled.

"Mad, you say? It all depends on one's perspective. To you it's a terror; to me, a comfort." With a toothy grin I tapped a clawed finger to my skull; she backed away as I moved toward her. "It's not frightening, anymore, once you accept it. Actually, it's the only solace I've got."

"M-monster! Stay back!"

Fwn–_smat._

"Hm?" I studied the knife that I'd caught before me – a knife that had grazed my cheek, from behind. "Funny… for some reason I thought you had better aim! _Tenten! !_" I roared, drawing my arm back.

"_No–!_"

Tenten paled, eyes wide, a hand outstretched as her knife thudded deep into Ino's chest.

The blond grunted in pain, mouth agape. Her eyes rolled back, and she fell flat, and fell still.

"_Damn it!_"

I smiled warmly, looking back to see Tenten charging toward me, dagger in hand, screaming as tears streamed down her cheeks.

"_HAH!_"

I hopped back from a lethal slash with my thumbs hooked in my pockets, and danced from a few more before my hand snapped to block at her wrist. I bared my fangs, and sent my boot clean into her gut. She lost her breath, blanching, and bent at the waist. Then, surprisingly, she stopped the slack bending of knees that had begun to give, rose, and swung her fist toward me.

CRACK!

The swing fell short, and she cried out, knees giving way as I snapped the wrist of her knife-hand in my steel grasp. The stubborn fierceness in her eyes crumbled beneath the pain, crushed as were her wrist and hand as I gripped firmly once more.

"What's this?" I observed. "Not willing to let go of this dagger, even now?"

Her breath was haggard. Her brow quivered above eyes screwed-shut, but her knuckles were white on the dagger hilt in her mangled hand.

"That's the problem with weak people," I mused. The wrist was released, and my hand snapped to instead firmly cover her mouth and nose. "You catch hold of these foolish notions, and do pointless things," I said, slowly lifting her up and off the ground. "You think to absolve yourself from your failure of those two by attacking me alone, without any hope of success?" I asked monotonously, free hand rising to brush the back of a few fingers over her temple. "And now you demonstrate your resolve by holding onto a knife you can no longer even hope to wield…"

My teeth clenched suddenly; my hand tightened until she whimpered.

"I thought I could help you," I hissed. "I thought I could bring you to understand the things I do, and the glory of my dream. But you always clung to the past… You seized command of _my_ squad, drawing them into your coward's scheme. You worthless creatures dare to betray me, and _you_… You really thought you could kill me, and ruin _everything_…"

She shuddered, so weakly, toes twitching once above the ground. Her face was becoming tinged with blue, as she yearned undoubtedly for the bitter cold air around us.

"You, who said you loved me… There's nothing left for you. Look at yourself – traitor! Can you not see how powerless you are?! How powerless we all are?! Look at the fools you led astray, and for what? For some worthless drivel of right and wrong? Open your eyes and face reality – The weak don't have such a luxury!"

I was smiling as I spoke, frantic. Tenten's eyes had cracked open, and she was looking … at me.

Mournful.

"Do you pity me?" I asked, eyes narrowing as I held her gaze. My teeth ground. "Tenten… I have no use for you any longer."

I lashed my arm out, and flung her aside.

I left the traitors behind me without looking back. The lot of fools had taken enough of my time; there were more significant matters to attend to.

* * *

**Twenty-Five, Part Four: Will, Passing On**

**Naruto ****ナルト**

"_Haa…!_"

I drew back the naginata, chakra pouring down into its blade, and swapped forward whilst swinging to unleash a scythe of wind. Two shinobi before me were gouged across their backs; a third leapt in place, staring with wide eyes as the wave passed beneath his feet and felled the comrades beside him. Meeting my eyes as he landed, he growled in rage and formed a seal.

I dodged a flame bomb, and threw Shadow Slash after slash as the jounin anticipated my strikes and slung a flurry of fire jutsu my way. Dodging three more blazing bullets with flickering moves, I hacked a fourth with the radiant spear's edge. In the moments that fire sprayed past me, and my cape fluttered around me from my motion, one subtle hand abandoned the staff to draw a slender knife and, obscured from the man's view, left three short, adroit slashes unseen on the air behind me. The eyes I held snapped wide, his glower failing as three vital arteries were ruptured, and he crumpled slowly to the ground.

I ducked to the side, lifting one hand as a tagged kunai, thrown for my back, came sailing in. In the instant the flat of the flying knife brushed the tip of one finger, two Shadow Substitutions were made. There came the thunk of a knife landing in a man's back, riding on the very force with which he had thrown it.

As he fell forward, one of his squad barely had time to scream. Standing in my original position, I glanced back at them over my shoulder.

BOOM!

I ground my teeth. _This power…_

Two fingers tapped against the seal that adorned the tape dressing my left palm, but I did not catch the summoned weapon; rather, I was promptly, simply gone. The broadsword that slammed down was wielded by a New Oto fellow from my graduating class: one who'd cleared the Leaf's Academy exit exams, but failed his jounin mentor's evaluation. New Oto wasn't so picky about its troops, though, and he had evidently gotten a second shot at the dream of becoming a shinobi. I glimpsed him for but an instant, however. Twenty meters away, I watched his eyes widen in raw terror as his blade crashed down upon the paper bomb left fluttering in my wake. Then he was lost, engulfed in bursting smoke and flame.

_This _power_…!_

Three more New Oto-nin, having halted not far away, were looking unawares toward the blast cloud. A phantom glimmer of violet at their backs, and an explosion rang behind me as my feet skidded a ways off, as I tore off again.

_I hate it!_

I transformed into a blur of physical speed, striding rapidly on both feet and left hand, the streaming naginata clasped in my right with the spear shaft resting across my back and the bladed end tailing. I leaped and swapped forward, always forward, while the chaotic blur of motion broke down into crucial snapshots of focus within my mind's eye. I wrenched the spear-blade forward; two Oto-nin, one of whom almost managed to lay eyes on me, were felled as I passed at their backs and was gone again without breaking stride.

_Why? Is it my fault that killing – butchering – has become something that comes to me so naturally?_

I dashed forward, forward through the great expanse of the battlefield that was my home, weaving through fights with substitutions, leaving death in my wake, but never breaking my forward, striding momentum.

_Is this the price of the skill I've honed__…_?

Leaping – the staff went cracking over the head of a chuunin. A blur of cleared distance – briefly coming into being, before a New Konoha-nin and in the face of two foes – and the bladed side whipped and lashed, opening a belly on my right, crossing a jugular on the left, in a single motion as I passed. The polearm was enlivened, rolling and striking from expert hands with abandon. Striding, powerfully wrenching, slashing – leveling the staff between one hand and the underside of the other arm and forming a one-handed seal, all while still moving forward at breakneck speed. A singular bolt of wind was loosed from the spear at my side, on a course sure and true to pass cleanly through a sprinting Sound kunoichi's heart, leaving her to collapse at the feet of the stunned Iwa-nin who'd prepared to fight her.

_Are people with strength really the lucky ones?!_

Five recognized and flickered into my path. They couldn't have stopped me, couldn't have barred my motion if they'd tried, but their challenge was clear: they intended to face me head-on. But the kitsune was a trickster by nature, a deceiver at heart, and in this battle my role was hardly to engage in honorable and glorious combat.

I stepped to give a flash of visibility several meters from their bracing formation. Then I leapt into an aerial flip, and with a pop of stringing substitutions had pressed the paper bomb in my hand to the back of the leader's neck, landed on my feet twenty meters beyond them, and continued on my way. Two fingers were poised in a half-Tora.

"_Kai!_"

And a shockwave rumbled against my back, already left so far behind me.

I was a fiend, a spirit that subsisted by riding the waves of strife and sowing cruel death as I passed, never once looking back. My role did not entail looking back; I surged on without concern for what lay behind, my only consolation the unnerving and frozen certainty that my will of destruction had done the job. I just had to keep going – to be as the fox, to strike and escape without being caught. I knew Tsunade and Jiraiya had taken over the fight with Orochimaru. The last I'd seen, Kakashi was facing Kabuto, whom apparently his lord couldn't have just let rest in peace. Lee, now with Gaara's support, was doing his damnedest to pick of enemy jounin. And wherever any of our jounin clashed with theirs, they clashed with vehemence.

I continued, slashing isolated foes, and leaving sly paper bombs – often undetected but scarcely escaped from – among those unfortunately cluttered enough for decent effect.

The bodies littering the earth, the streets and the fields, were so far more theirs than ours. Our first strike had been effective; our followup, overpowering; our coordination, superior. And for sheer speed of movement if nothing else, none could slaughter the weak at the rate that I could. So I tore ruthlessly on the assault, scattering despair, slicing and Shadowbombing without relent. We were winning – we were _winning_. Even if the mastermind himself could not be brought down, if this kept up, Orochimaru would have no other choice but to surrender. So I attacked.

So I materialized, relinquishing a paper bomb among a group of Sound headbands, when someone that I saw stopped my heart.

I had met the eyes of the New Oto-nin, if she could be called as much even for the insignia she wore or the knife put in her hands, standing shy of the level of my shoulders at full height and with eyes nowhere near quick enough to detect me. I met the unknowing eyes a foot from mine but for an instant, as a paper bomb danced from my hand – and then, without a thought but for the automatic, instinctive habit of escaping the range of the explosive placed, I found myself swapping away.

Then I pivoted and swapped backwards, placing my body between the bomb and Moegi just in time to shield the girl from the blast.

_Th-they're attacking us with children?!_

I yowled. At the third tail though I was, I typically streamlined the ungainly aura when I wore it – thinned and compressed it as much as possible – sacrificing some of its defensive capability in exchange for maximal mobility and speed. As such, the blast (that indeed took down a few shinobi further from the tag than the inches I was) was enough to shred a good deal of the translucent fox cloak and spatter pain across my front. The cloak promptly reshaped itself, but I'd taken the damage. My eyes were screwed shut; I heard the girl behind me shriek in alarm. And a crossbow bolt punched into my chest, its head cracking through the scapula to come splitting from my shoulder. I had stopped moving forward.

"Get him!"

_This will be inelegant…! _I thought, wincing as two shinobi blurred toward me. A staggering foot caught balance behind me before I could fall; a hand coated in violet chakra clenched at my side. One blurring form came into focus as a man as my fist connected with his face with a bang of impact, throwing him away again. I leapt sharply in place, my body tilting to the side as I spun into a kick that walloped onto the second attacker's head. He was stunned, and a backhand smash of claws sent him sailing as well. My hand snapped to narrowly bat down another crossbow bolt, and at once one of my three tails lashed to deflect a knife thrown from behind. I whirled, drawing my arm back – and flinched as the thrower shrank back, his hand tightly gripping the shoulder of a wide-eyed Moegi.

We were frozen as he held my eyes with a glower, a bead of sweat breaking down his face, falling from his chin.

They weren't attacking us _with_ children.

They were attacking us from behind them.

A drop of sweat met the ground. As I appeared between them, his arm was shattering in my grip.

"_Coward,_" I snarled, and rammed his skull with a devastating headbutt.

"N-Naruto-nii-san…!"

Moegi whimpered, stumbling in terror as I met her eyes. Something clenched painfully inside my chest as she looked upon me, upon the cloak of chakra I'd soaked in my enemies' blood.

"_I won't hurt you…_" I grumbled, kicking the dropped naginata into my good hand to stow on my back.

"Naruto-nii… It wasn't my choice!"

"_I know,_" I said, and swapped away, for I was a target.

My palm smashed into the neck of the Oto kunoichi who'd been heading our way; her throat gave, and her knees were soon to follow. My clenching hand supported her weight as I swapped again. A crossbow bolt, just as it was being loosed for where I'd been, was instead caught by her heart. The archer before me gaped as I let his comrade fall at his feet. A dexterous quirk of my hand on a slim kunai knife, and his throat was slit.

I was off, appearing with the wind to sling the glinting knife between a New Oto-nin's eyes. But where I would have flickered through the group before, finishing it in a fell swoop that preceded my detection, I hesitated. My naginata was in hand, brimming again with the strength of the wind, but there was no way I could just slash through them all. What if there was another kid in this bunch – small – easy to miss? The cadence of slaughter had crumbled with a single encounter; I couldn't hit in broad strokes, not now. I'd begun second-guessing. And in a style that relied on approaching instantaneity, a heartbeat's requirement of precaution was crippling to my effectiveness.

I wove and darted through a group. My deadliness here went hand in hand with my mobility, but I had now to choose – stick around to deal more damage, or keep moving. Wind projected from the naginata with a jump, easily piercing a man's gut; I wrenched, and the lengthened blade of wind was torn from him and ran across a number more – to halt beside a charging boy's neck. I pulled away with a startled yelp. Someone's sword nicked my side.

Projected wind dispelling, the polearm turned in my hands as I sidestepped a six-year-old with a knife, tremendously disconcerted, and gave his chin a curt knock with the butt of the staff. Immediately I was forced to deflect the second slash of a man's sword, and spun from the path of the following lunge. Intensely red-violet tails slammed against his back as he passed, and I lunged in a flash of speed to cut past another with a downward slash.

Steel flickered in the corner of my eye, and I swept the blade swiftly around, its reach superior, to send it splitting across the last one's throat. It was only after the man crashed to the earth that I realized he must've been a bit tall for his age, for the youth on his face was unquestionable. By my best approximation, I'd just slain not a man, but a twelve-year-old boy.

I blinked, chest heaving for breath as I paused. My hands quivered. I had gone through so much chakra, done so much moving, racing, killing. Yet something inside me burned.

Genin and children on the front lines – this was the tactic our enemy resorted to. They knew we couldn't kill them – not intentionally. There were preteens, who might deal damage as their opponents faltered, and then there were those too small to even dream of hurting anyone, sent among the ranks to cause confusion, provide shields, and very possibly, to die. My heart was hammering, shaking me from the inside.

_This is… madness…_

I looked up at a boom; in the distance, a battered great toad was slamming one of a trio of giant serpents to the ground, as another lunged to bite its arm.

_Mad…_

My eyes refocused, and across the battlefield, across spear-wielding hawk riders and enemy archers, across a thousand clashing blades and flying stars, across roiling earth, clouds of mist, and voracious blasts of flame that countered dragons of white water – I saw the distant three figures engaged in a hostile dance, enmity glaring in their moves. I saw a stark-faced man slipping from the path of Tsunade's fist, a cold smirk on his face as he cackled something at his foes.

_Smiling… He's…_

The man landed on a rooftop. Whatever he was saying, he glowed with wicked confidence.

…_Smiling, while…_

I blinked wide eyes. The ground exploded at my feet as slicing violet light flashed tumultuously about my form. I inhaled, teeth parting as my lip curled.

"_CHIKUSHOOOOOUUU! ! !_" I yowled, so intensely that it boomed to echo on the air. Two hundred meters away, Orochimaru tensed, flinching a step as he was met by a buffeting wind.

And I was there in the shadow of my resonant voice, clawed hand striking toward a snake in human skin and quite intent on crushing his skull.

He leaned away, and even as his hair danced in the shockwave of the strike he landed a kick with great speed at my side. I was thrown, rolling once and sliding to a stop on all fours.

"Kukukukuku… Your tricks won't fool me a second time, Jinchuuriki," he scoffed, contemptuously tossing his hair.

"Naruto!" Jiraiya barked behind me. "Stand down! Do you hear me? You are _not_ to engage! The two of us can handle him–!"

"_I've had it!_" I screamed. My breath was fast, so fast. The sounds of clashing weapons, the war cries and the anguished screams – all that I'd heard since the fighting broke out seemed to be crashing at once upon my ears, a roar of chaos, overwhelming and relentless. "_It's this guy – it's because of this scourge that brothers- and sisters-in-arms of the Leaf are spilling each other's blood! I've had enough of this! I'll crush him AND his so-called 'ambitions' here and NOW! !_"

"Big words, from a child," he sneered, as chakra swirled and condensed in the palm of my hand. "Are you perhaps done running away now?"

'_Yes, gaki… Silly tricks are worthless against someone like this…'_

The air cracked with pressure as whipping energy thickened around me, sparking with its blinding intensity. My teeth lengthened. I was gaining tails – the spectrum was shifting from violet to red.

'_Perfect, perfect – at last, slough the guise of Shinobi that encumbers you. You may pretend to be a creature of esteem, a noble and elegant fighter… but even that is mere illusion, no matter how deadly its powers may seem…'_

My body was burning. A strange exoskeleton, vulpine, was materializing above me, embracing my frame as yet another tail was sprung. I should have noticed, should've realized that the beast's energy was entering me faster than my body could tame it with my own.

"Then come over here! Strike at me, tiny kitsune!"

"Naruto!"

But my focus, the bastion of clarity I'd been for so long refining, was falling apart. It had met its undoing, powerless as it were before the raw strength of my desire to destroy the monster before me.

'_There is no denying it… __**you**__ are a savage…'_

"What are you doing?! Snap out of it!"

'_Now, __**become**__ unstoppable with me…!'_

"NO! If you transform here–!"

'_**Become**__ the monster you __**ARE!**__'_

"_Gr… __**Graaaaooooooooooooh! ! !**_"

_Everything – so many shades of red. Everywhere – pain, wild and maddening. The vessel's pulse pounding, his heart near to breaking within a crushing cage of power…_

_The boiling black sphere of solid power, spiraling in our hand – we would drive it through the madman's heart. Seven tails danced behind me as I growled in contempt, and launched myself forward. Kill – nothing to do but kill. All I can do, I shall become._

_Arm, drawing back. Now – now one more exquisite kill, to settle them all. I must. Kill…_

_KILL!_

"You can't honestly believe the _children _were my trump card, hmm?"

Seized.

I was still registering what had caught me, wondering what could have been strong enough to bind me, when the man in dull plate armor, glassy-eyed and glowering, slammed his broad palm into my chest. I yowled in outrage, but could not so much as give a thrash before he yanked his hand back, leapt away, and tore the insurmountable power clean from my body.

I choked out something of a gasp, eyes huge and bewildered as the solid cloak and all seven tails were banished in a quick, explosive flash. Falling, I blinked at the absence, at the mind I'd regained, and at the claws of wood that had sprung from beneath my feet and now tightened again to entrap and immobilize me. It was in such a bind, arms and head drawn back, locked in place and perfectly vulnerable, that I recognized unmistakably the one who'd so easily stripped me of the demon's power, and my jaw dropped in terror.

Standing at a great height before me, the ox of a man drew back a decisive fist.

"_Forgive me!_" he shouted.

_M-move… I need to move… that is…_

Sweat pealed down my cold face. He'd bust my neck.

_Wait… but… h-how is it that I use my technique, again…?_

I watched his strike close to kill.

_Fourteen years… I'm still… so small…_

"NO!"

The sound that surged from Jiraiya's lungs was only half a word, and half a thing made bestial with rage. A solid crack shook the air as the First Hokage's fist connected with the hands of the Sannin crouched before me.

The Lord Founder's expression was blank, if a bit perturbed as the livid toad sage swiftly grabbed his wrist in one hand, and drew back a rapidly shaping Rasengan in the other.

"_Back off!_"

CRASH!

The spiraling sphere in his hand faded; his arm slumped, falling short of a dull-red breastplate. I screamed out something like a protest, but all too late – much too late to do a thing, as the Second Hokage's foot plunged clean into the back of a shattering neck. The legendary ninja was dropped like a stone.

"_Hyaa!_"

The next event in this surreal progression was the crashing of a snarling Tsunade's bursting jump-kick into the blue-armored ghost's face, firing him a few dozen meters backwards.

"Even you are so careless, granddaughter?" The Founder wore a frown as he said this; he had narrowly dodged the projectile the second sannin had made of his brother, and now set a living mass of wood bursting toward her from the earth, morphing branches into skewers as they shot for her with deadly speed. She was in the air – she could not dodge.

_No! Not her too…!_

"_Infinity!_"

A timely blur of green, and the skewering branches were diced to their roots. Tsunade's feet met the ground, and she hopped back; before the First could pursue attack, he jumped away from the path of a vicious blast of sand that subsequently arced and reared in warning, and the man fell back to Orochimaru's side.

"Y-you guys," I stammered at a gasp. "Th-this is bad. It's…" It was _what_, exactly? A pair of undead Hokage?

Orochimaru cackled. "Sarutobi-sensei didn't manage to defeat them before he met his tragic demise… Unfortunately, he _did_ manage in his last moments to use some jutsu that supposedly bound his own soul to the shinigami. As a result, the old worm won't be joining the party – believe me, I've checked…"

Lee's teeth clenched. When he looked at me over his shoulder, his face was severe. "So, what? Can you not get out of there on your own now?" He swung with a scowl, and the sturdy branches that held me were shattered by the pass of his blade. Free, I slumped to my knees, a hand at my gut as I coughed and gasped uncontrollably. My vision blurred momentarily; my body was cold. I needed to slow my breathing…

Gaara's hand met my shoulder tentatively and shook, though his eyes stayed forward and alert. "Please get up, Naruto-san…"

"I…?" I saw drops of water falling to the ground.

"What is wrong with you?" Lee cried. "Forget it, Gaara-kun! We do not have time. He is weak!"

I flinched at the word, teeth grinding as I glared, pitifully, up at my friend.

"D… don't s-s-scold hi-him… L…_Lee_…"

"Ero-sennin!" I yelped. "You're – how? That hit looked l-like…"

Tsunade was already at his side, hands aglow and eyes intent. "He lessened the impact at the last second by hardening his hair. If he hadn't detected the Second in time to do so, and if I hadn't knocked the man back before Jiraiya could suffer a second impact between the kick and the ground – lacking either one, he would probably have died instantly."

My fists clenched. _I screwed up everything… Because I couldn't defend my own damned self, he…! _"Kuso!" I grunted, shoving to my feet. "Pervy Sage… no, Lord Jiraiya. I'm sorry."

"N-no… we put t-too much on you… F-far… far too much…!" His voice was hoarse, barely detectable. "W-war is… Hell… After all you've already d-done, we w-were the fools to forget you're children," he managed, quick and hushed. Blood was pooling at his mouth. Tsunade's face was solemn as she focused on her work. I shook my head left and right, distraught.

"Just save your strength–!"

"Shut up for once!" he croaked, eyes shut. "Th-there's no excuse… as adults, t-to… to make you endure this…! And you, who I p-promised to watch over… I promised him, th-that I would…!" He panted for a few painstaking breaths. "L-live… live on, Naruto, and all of you! I feel I c-can entrust the… future… to you…" His teeth clenched, face briefly contorting. Then, having said all he needed to say, he fell still. Unconscious, from the pain.

"I'll help," I told Tsunade, moving to his other side. "You should fight, Obaa-chan. They need–,"

"Me?" She almost laughed, a bitter smile soft on her face as she remained focused. "I'm not so sure of that…"

"What're you getting at? This isn't the time to mess around! Obaa-chan…!"

"This man will probably be dead within the hour's end!" she snapped, head down. "You're a fine medic, Naruto…. but the only healer alive with a chance of saving him, from something like this…"

"It's you," I breathed, defeated. She gave a slow, silent nod.

"I know – I'm betting on a rotten chance. I know that even if I succeed, he won't be of any use in this fight, nor any to come, in all likelihood. I know that I probably ought to fight as well. But listen, Naruto. You were thinking I should fight because they need me, but it's not me that they need. They need a leader – their leader. And honestly, if I had to say which one of us is stronger at this point… I get the feeling that it's not whom you think."

"Granny…"

"I can't rightly ask any more from you than you've already given. Still… I've got one more selfish adult's request for you, Naruto. Even if you'll have to hate me for it, I'll accept it. Just once more… please… Fight."

"I…" I looked to Lee, and to Gaara, both of whom looked to me with uncertain hope.

"It's true that, as shinobi, we rarely have the luxury of choosing whether or not to fight, when, who, or for how long. Even so, you kids were forced to make these decisions all too soon, whether we appreciate it as we should or not. From the moment we recognized your potential, you've had power and responsibility continually being thrust upon your shoulders, perhaps at times without due consideration. We hang our expectations around your necks, simply because you only know how to reach them without complaint. Jiraiya realized this, and I see it now, too. I'm sorry.

"And in the very same sense, now… You've said you would crush that monster and his ambitions. You've said you would become the greatest Hokage, and now I'm holding you to it. Doesn't a man stick to his words?!"

I started; then my jaw set. _That's just … cheap. _Taking a breath, I clasped in one hand the crystal pendant of the necklace I wore. "You're right," I realized. "It's not fair at all. But…" I turned my head forward, eyes downcast, and walked to pass between Lee and Gaara. Pausing, I fell absolutely still. "Even knowing it, I can't hate someone for having high expectations. No more can I blame Ero-sennin for giving me the Rasengan… or for sending me to the toads."

_This tranquility… it's superior, _I found to my surprise, pulling the natural energy into my body. The fox's power and influence were blocked off from me, for the time being, but my ability to muster up, balance, and control this sublime force seemed to be reaping the benefits.

_Sage Mode… _My eyes slid open, and I stared down the shinobi who stood across from us.

"Kukuku… Finished chatting?"

I did not answer. Rather, I spoke for Lee's and Gaara's ears. "Guys… in terms of these odds…"

"What about them?" It was neither Lee nor Gaara who spoke that rejoinder, but it was a voice I knew. I smirked as Kakashi body-flickered into being behind us, moderately scuffed up but not letting any weariness show through his characteristic nonchalance. His arrival wiped the gloating smile from Orochimaru's face.

"You…"

"Yo! Yakushi Kabuto's been taken care of, if that's what you're worried about. And by the looks of things, we got here just in time for the good part…"

"We?" Lee echoed.

"Kakashi was a pain to keep up with, naturally…"

"Shikamaru!" I said, as the cool-eyed Nara youth and Mitarashi Anko fell in beside us. The strategist smirked subtly.

"Naruto, Lee, and even Gaara, huh?" He shook his head. "You sure know how to pick dangerous opponents… I hear you've grown stronger."

"The same of you," I answered, a glint in my eye. Now with the additions, we stood a fighting chance. "Stay on your toes, everyone, and prepare yourselves for the fight of our lives."

"We're up against Reanimation Ninjutsu here," Kakashi supplied. "The founders' will has been bound to Orochimaru's command; it's the only explanation. On top of that, we can pound away at them all we please, but superficial damage won't last. We don't win this fight until we can trap them or seal their spirits away."

"Right!"

Across from us, the two former Hokage looked on, glum. "It's a shame, Tobirama… but it seems we must now slaughter children of the Leaf and her allies."

The silver-haired Second Hokage nodded, and called out. "We're sorry, but you stand no chance of defeating us this way…"

"You think so?!" I said, sneering. This… this was what my training had been for, I realized – to protect my comrades, and my village, from the most powerful enemies who would threaten them. Fighting against shinobi like these, I needed not to fear my power. None of us did. We would focus everything we had on fighting, here and now. I stood tall, teeth showing through a cold grin. "I am Uzumaki Naruto! Against the men I've sworn to surpass… there's no way I'll be defeated!"

The Lord Founder frowned.

At my side, Lee sighed. "You are healing around what remains of a crossbow bolt."

"Huh–? Agh!" I yelped as the butt of a sword hilt re-broke my shoulder blade, forcing an inch of the bolt from the front of my shoulder. Grunting, I pulled the fragment free. "Thanks…"

"I am sorry for what I said before… Are you all right now?"

"Never better – and, I've decided," I said, flicking the litter aside before bracing the naginata in my hands.

"Decided?"

I nodded.

"After all, we have to grow up someday!"

With that I led our charge. _This will decide it!_

"_Matte!_"

_Fwa-BOOM!_

We'd all halted before the fireball came crashing to the ground between our group and Orochimaru's. It struck at an angle, tearing the rooftop and splashing in an angry spray of flame. Dancing remnants of the jutsu clung to scorched tile for but a few moments; then they rolled past, fading to reveal a black-clad figure rising to full height, and turning to face us – or more specifically, me.

_What now…?_

Sharingan eyes blazing, Sasuke smirked. "Naruto… _I'm _your opponent now!"

Kakashi swore under his breath. "It goes without saying that I'm a bit disappointed in you," he supplied, glaring.

"Hn? I could cry, sensei."

"How nice of you to join us," Orochimaru chuckled. "If you would, entertain the Nine Tails' brat while the good First and Second Hokage destroy the rest…"

"You, deal with me? In your dreams," I said, glowering at my old teammate. "I've already beaten you before!"

"Oi, Naruto…" Shikamaru began, but Kakashi spoke.

"There's no question you're strong, Naruto, but he would hardly need to defeat you. You're the utility player here; your offensive capability is enormous, but you're also skillful with complementing and protecting your team. If they split us up, and Sasuke is able to hold you in single combat, for even a few minutes… I'm afraid the rest of us won't last long. And if that happens, and you wind up alone against Orochimaru and his puppets…"

I clenched my teeth. "Then the war is lost…"

Kakashi nodded.

"Actually…" Shikamaru lifted a hand, but whatever he was talking about, we had some serious problems to focus on here. "The thing about Sasuke–,"

"We don't have time for this!" I shouted. "I'm sorry, but all I can do is crush you with everything I have! _Sasuke!_"

What happened next was truly strange. The Uchiha flinched, eyes unfocusing and refocusing again; he blinked, lips parted as if he ailed with some manner of sudden disorientation. Pupils dilated slightly, he slowly formed a seal, and shut his eyes.

"At last…" he whispered. "Genjutsu, release."

In the next moment his eyes snapped wide, and he wore an expression of shock, or even startled enlightenment. Then he seemed to regard all of us before him in a new light.

"So?" Shikamaru asked. "Did it work?"

Behind his two puppets, Orochimaru frowned. Obviously he was concerned that the Leaf Shadow knew something here that he did not. If anything, I suppose it should've been a relief to me that if anyone knew what was happening, it was one of us. Not to say I wasn't confused as heck right then.

Sasuke sent a familiar smirk my way, but there was no ill intent about the look this time. All eyes lay on him as he drew a sword deftly from the sheath across his back, and turned to raise his weapon toward an incredulous Orochimaru, his free hand in a half-Tora that ensured hostility was conveyed.

"What…?!"

"Hn. Too bad, ne?"

* * *

**(Sasuke ****サスケ****)**

"What do you think you're doing?! Those vermin over there are your enemies – you belong to ME!"

"Not quite," Sasuke answered. "I'll cater to the demands of no one's ambitions but my own. After seeing what you've done to your pet Hyuuga, it's pretty clear that the two of us wouldn't see eye to eye down the road. Thanks for the training, though; if it makes you feel any better, this wasn't my intention from the start."

"Worthless ingrate!"

The one known as the last Uchiha shrugged, clearly unfazed. "You're probably wondering, now, how I've been getting away with lying to your face for so long. The answer's that I haven't been. Depending on how you look at it…"

"Heh," Shikamaru scoffed behind him. "Is it possible to lie, if you think you're telling the truth?"

He scowled briefly. "Nara… you've figured out quite a bit, haven't you?"

"Only theories up to now," the Hakage said, nonchalant.

"Hold on," Naruto said. "Shikamaru – what exactly just happened?"

"He switched sides. But in reality he's been doing quite a bit of that – haven't you, Uchiha? You've been playing a deadly game, without any breaks."

The Nara got a chuckle for this; Sasuke's attention, however, stayed with the shinobi he faced. "Still don't get it, Orochimaru?"

He jerked back his thumb, indicating a Sharingan eye.

"You'd be surprised how easy it is to hypnotize myself."

–"_The following words will take effect when you state your loyalty, after which they will wear off when you have been alone for six minutes. You are only alone here, holding this mirror, to check your face. You will think nothing suspicious of it. More importantly, you are prepared to commit to becoming Orochimaru's student. You will take them up on their offer. You are willing to become Orochimaru's vessel in the future, because you will do anything for the power he can grant you. And above all else, you are loyal to New Sound."–_

"I started to get better and better at it; conditions became more complex, as each given or anticipated situation demanded..."

–_The red eye in the mirror, and the rapid slew of words._

"…_and will wear off ten minutes after exiting his cell, but you will not recall these conditions. You know of nothing unusual that happens to Neji on the night of a full moon. His claims are mere efforts to conspire with you in his desperation, and you will not help him because ultimately you are loyal to New Leaf."–_

"…At some point, though, out of fear I started to bury my true self, if one even existed during that time, beneath layer upon layer of confusion and self-imposed misdirection."

–"…_After, you will break into his cell. You want to give Neji a choice to either accept the assignment or escape, because you don't want to see him transform and slaughter others against his will, or the joy our Lord Orochimaru will take in it. You are a bit rebellious to authority, after all, so this is a perfectly believable action for you to take. The plan you will lay out for Neji is as follows:…"–_

–"_You delivered word of his assignment, but Neji escaped independently, heedless of our Lord Orochimaru's wishes…"–_

–"…_And above all, you are loyal to New Sound…"–_

–"_You will not recall overwriting Neji's instructions for the attack. It is to be permanently forgotten…"–_

–"_You have discovered that the Sound really _is_ striking New Leaf at 1200 hours tomorrow. And you are above all loyal to New Leaf."–_

–"…_will take effect when you state your loyalty…"–_

–"…_effective five minutes from now…"–_

–"…_as you cross Third Street…"–_

–"…_once outdoors…"–_

–"…_take effect when you spot the Great Oak…"–_

–"…_upon sighting Shikamaru, but will be negated in the event that…"–_

–"_At this point, you can no longer protect her, or any of them, from among them…"–_

–"_You will poison the food stores as instructed because… because, you are a loyal soldier of New Sound."–_

–"_Now that they trust you…"–_

All of this, so much forgotten, made the boy's mind race with an almost alien degree of clarity. "I enslaved my mind – twisting it, overwriting it, holing it up and locking it into cage after cage – hiding things from myself and making lies into truth. But now I'm free; I'm free of the masks I became, and free of the perpetual terror of discovery. I can now stand in the open and fight, here where I know I belong!" His New Sound headband was torn loose; he cast it to the ground, and stomped so fiercely that he felt the metal buckle beneath his foot.

"He's done something, then, hasn't he? He's finished switching?" Naruto asked.

"Looks like it," Shikamaru said. "It _was_ Naruto, right? When he said your name?"

_Dangerously sharp, this guy… _Sasuke nodded. "I knew that wherever I wound up, when the deciding battle began I would seek you out – and probably at a critical moment, as well. That's why, when things first started getting more convoluted, I devised the condition for a final release that would dispel every last layer of self-hypnosis.

"At the beginning of it all, I might have just been torn; I didn't know which side I should stand on. I had on the one hand New Sound, which offered power but would also stick me as an browbeating enforcer of your broken system, parroting ideals and visions I didn't care for. I had on the other New Leaf, boring as hell but where people were less unpleasant to be around. But…" He grinned as the self-proclaimed Fifth Hokage glared daggers.

–"_Above all else, you are loyal to…"–_

–"_You are loyal to…"–_

–"…_to New Leaf."–_

–"…_to New Sound."–_

–"_You are loyal to New Leaf…"–_

"Obviously, whichever side I hung with, I would do best thinking I was with it one hundred percent. I became the spy who scarcely told a conscious lie."

"It's more than that," Shikamaru asserted. "You might downplay your reasons for acting, but in the months since your defection to a New Sound whose administration offered trust and acceptance, you've been hard at work, haven't you?"

"Of course you would figure out it was me…"

"So," Orochimaru seethed, "After turning up clean in the results of every internal investigation… Behind that dull image of loyalty, _you_ were the mole passing them information?"

"You knew it was from him?" Anko demanded of Shikamaru.

"Well, my instinct to trust him proved worthwhile, didn't it?"

"Of course it did," Mitarashi groaned. "You don't do anything by instinct. It's all _logic_ this and _numbers_ that…"

Shikamaru nodded. "At the end of the day, there's only so much that we leaders could do face to face with such debilitating odds. There's another person, standing right in front of us, who deserves due thanks for the survival of New Leaf. A hero of the shadows, who subjected himself to great personal risk and psychological pressure to quite possibly save us all…"

Sasuke winced at this. "I'm no hero, Hakage. There were far too many that I couldn't save. I've committed heinous crimes, taking lives in exchange for power in a game of trust and secrets. Whatever the purpose, I've still done my share of fighting for the Sound as well. I can't take back these crimes. Even so…" He set his jaw, lifting the sword before him again as a new fierceness poured into his stance. "All I can do at this point is use my own power in the name of the Leaf!"

"Heh…" He raised an eyebrow as Naruto came to his side, that naginata of his balanced loosely in his hands. "However insidious you claim to be, I've gotta say I feel better to be fighting alongside you again."

The Uchiha snorted. He had not forgotten his last clash with the knucklehead. "Just don't get yourself killed, dobe. Once this is done, I still have a score to settle."

"Teme," his former teammate muttered, though the corner of his mouth quirked upward to give tell of a grin.

Kakashi came to Sasuke's other side, and Lee and Gaara to Naruto's; Anko and Shikamaru stood not far behind.

"Looks like the fighters have all line up," Naruto remarked.

Orochimaru glowered. "It matters not. Make no mistake – you all will perish with your foolish ideals."

"I probably will go out fighting for the Leaf," Naruto retorted, leveling his naginata, "many, many years from now, after I've been a helluva better Hokage than you could ever dream of being."

"Grr… GO!" Orochimaru ordered. "Obliterate them, with no more delay!"

"Charge!" Naruto cried.

In this way, a battle of all battles began.

* * *

**(Hyuuga Hiryuu ****日向ヒリュウ****)**

"The time is upon us… The crossroads of fates innumerable are being splayed beneath our feet."

Hiryuu's hand had paused when the old voice drifted out and reached him before he could rap the wooden doorframe.

"Come, child, quickly."

The man – a Branch defector, and a Guardian – had raced here, a furtive shadow crossing through the all but abandoned grounds of the clan that had once been his home. Nodding at the attendant who stood vigilantly outside with hand resting ever upon a sword's hilt, he now slid the door open and strode into an austere square room. A cozy dwelling, it could only be described as the quintessence of peace.

The warrior dropped his head as he knelt before the wise one; for his Seer, he held naught but the utmost respect. "You are certain, then?" he asked evenly, though he knew the answer. "It must be now?"

"Yes… The one we've spoken of, the one whom destiny awaits, must face him now. She of pure spirit and rightful b-blood– _urgh_…!"

"Honored Grandfather, are you all right?!" Hiryuu demanded, usually stern white eyes wide as the old man wheezed and coughed.

"Forget about m-me, boy! You must go!" The fit subsided, but the ancient man's gravelly words fell quick. "But heed this g-guidance– You must not seek his redemption, for he is inextricably damned. He has chosen destruction, whether at the hand of the Savior or the Snake…!" He coughed, grasping Hiryuu's arm in a faltering grip as the younger man reached toward him in concern. "Go to her now, Hiryuu – go swiftly. Go!"

"H–hai!"

With one last look at the All-Seeing One, as if for strength, Hiryuu stood and tore from the room, past the cold-eyed and unwavering attendant, and leapt with great strength. Then, sailing in the open air, he gasped.

_Murderous intent!_

The energy chilled his bones. But he realized, before he could so much as look back, that Lord Hikaru had known the threat to be approaching. It was in fact likely the reason he had sent Hiryuu off with such urgency. He could not protect him.

–"_Go to her."–_

"Kuso," Hiryuu swore, and body flickered away.

* * *

**Neji ****ネジ**

A _shishiodoshi_ by the pond was tipping to spill its contents. Unburdened, the bamboo tube fell back against its stone with a smooth clack, and began to fill with water again.

"Physical prowess aside, some would say that the proud spirit of a warrior, the admirable heart brim with courage and valor, is an exclusively inherent trait."

A breath of winter wind rolled across my form, across my ebon cloak and across the claws I bared, as I strode up the walkway.

"But should one hone and forge the spirit laboriously – should one truly struggle, and crawl brokenly through the muck…"

Silver-white eyes, resolute on my own. The metallic sigh of a longsword unsheathed.

"…Should one face the world in all its might and cruelty, bellow forth a roar of challenge, and beat and weather it back – and at last come to stand erect atop it, upon her own two feet…"

Clattering of a weapon disarmed. Struggle. A strangled cry, stifled. The attendant's body thumping to the ground.

"Is not such a one equally impressive?"

Chin held high, I brushed open the screen and stepped into the bumbling prophet's dwelling. "Cute," I remarked, a gentle smirk curling smartly across my lips. "What, pray tell, was that?"

The weathered old man smiled peaceably, though the light had faded from his sightless eyes. "The song of our savior."

"Oh? But the savior of the Hyuuga … is _me_. Babbling fool… you've grown weak, and blind."

"Even with all your Byakugan's prowess, blind is the one now standing before me. You have arrived; with your arrival, my Time; and with my time, the clarity, as the light at the end smiles upon me… I was wrong."

He was still smiling, as he said it. Forever at peace.

"Dear gods and spirits, I was wrong."

I lifted my claws, walking toward him.

"The wrong one… what have I done?"

My hand grasped his throat, to silence the smiling man forever.

_Ssslshkt!_

* * *

**Hinata ****ヒナタ**

Silent on all fours, I crept nearer. The prison guards had not detected me yet. But as I paused, in the shadow of a bush, a chill swept over me as something shimmered in my skull.

_A… premonition?_

A plump droplet of water landed at the edge of my eye, where it rested for a heartbeat, and then arced down my cheek.

Swallowing, I peered into the grey sky above.

_Why do I feel this way…?_

* * *

**Hanabi ****ハナビ**

_I have no fear. I have no fear…_

In the nice battle clothes that Harumi-oba-san had made me, I sat huddled in one of the fortified underground chambers deep within New Konoha, my head down – a shinobi, a guard, among civilians admittedly unlikely to come to harm here. I felt overdressed. When Auntie had found the time to make this robe with what little was available, carefully embroidered, fine-looking, and a comfortable fit, I would not know. I did feel that I had done little to deserve such a gift or the time that had gone into it. What had I done, truly, as they served me all this time? Unless_…_

Hope_…_ even if it was only that I'd given them hope?

I shook my head, focusing. Each other shelter had only one chuunin guard, but this one, if I were included, had two.

I might not be here for long.

_I have no fear._

When voices came from the entrance of the room I was on my feet immediately, Byakugan awakening. Identifying the arrivals, I relaxed what little I could. A man entered the room.

"Uncle, you've returned?"

He nodded solemnly, and lowered his head.

"Lady Hanabi… it is time."

The wise one had said nothing, then. It really was me.

Teeth clenching briefly, I gave a slow nod.

"Hai."

_I… have no fear._

* * *

**ナルト ****/ ****リー ****/ ****ヒナタ ****\ ****ハナビ ****\ ****ネジ**

**End Chapter Twenty-Five**

**PurpleFox10 (Ahri): **ashe try shooting down lane

**Kurouga1227 (Ashe): **Ok

*Enchanted Crystal Arrow*

*FIRST BLOOD!*

**[All] CagedNoMore (Vladimir): **What's the range on that ult?

**[All] PurpleFox10 (Ahri): **lololol

**[All] RuggedGreenBeast (Lee Sin): **Global

**[All] WhiteSnake1027 (Cassiopeia): **ffffff

**[All] Sharinganrox723 (Brand): **o hey ashe our nid's in that brush

**[All] KonekoNyaaa (Nidalee): **my team sux

_(–static–)_

**Shodai: **So you can block my strikes? And here with your weak presence I thought you might shatter, or vanish in a puff of smoke…

**Naruto: **Witness the strength of my resolve!

**Lee: **Do not underestimate me, either!

**Hinata: **Familiar faces are encountered at the prison…

**Neji: **And the righteous Main House arrives at last to put me in my lowly place. Really, though, I was expecting someone taller… but...

I suppose this saves me some trouble.

**Naruto: **Next is **Chapter Twenty-Six: Toward the New Age, Act Two.** I'll settle it, with the power of Shuutansokudo!

Shishou - Master

Bushidou - way of the warrior/samurai; the samurai code of chivalry

Kyuujutsu - archery

Iie - no (previously mispelled 'ie')

Hidoi - terrible

Boku ga - 'Me?' ; in this case, 'I have?'

Sora - Sky

Iwa - Stone

Kiri - Mist

Doumou - whiskers

Shishi odoshi - deer-scarer; device meant to keep away birds and such. Particularly, a souzu is described in chapter.

Teme (which is actually 'temee,' now that I look at the kana, but I guess most fanfictioners cut ending 'e' syllable to avoid creating confusion on its pronunciation?) - rude way of saying 'you'

Holyyy30,000words. Well… 72 pages on word? Still 20 fewer than the longest, at least. ^^; We can always count on my estimating to be atrocious, can't we?

The next will be the shorter of the 'halves,' and its writing is almost complete. Instead of posting it as soon as it's done, I could wait in order to shorten the wait between it and the following one. Of course, I won't want to draw it out too long since it is so closely tied to this chapter.

More chapter songs, two by Two Steps From Hell: Naruto - Disappear, Orochimaru/the Sound Regime's corruption - False King. Outside the TSFH, I imagine L's Theme B playing when Sasuke makes his revelation. I don't know!

A few random points! First off, as you can probably tell, I have no idea how warfare works. Supernatural warfare, though, with ninja armies, might work a little differently, anyway. All the role stuff I made up as it seemed to make sense. If it's utterly crappy, please just try to suspend disbelief a bit on this one T.T Second note – I have no idea how many ninja these villages should have, either. Horrible estimating probably goes with failing to come up with reasonable numbers. I think I vaguely remember the manga saying the combined might of the Godaikoku having several tens of thousands of shinobi? That just seems like quite a few ninja. We're going with my numbers here, anyway (of course the Leaf army contains only a fraction of the full might of the Godaikoku, but with the numbers the manga gives mine would probably seem a paltry approximation, even taking this into account). As for relative numbers - the Sound army's got a good number, because they have not only all their own ninja but a good chunk of Leaf ninja who became New Sound-nin. Assuming New Leaf has some three to four thousand, and the Leaf portion of the outside army is almost purely elite ninja, I think the 'beating the numbers disadvantage' thing isn't so inconceivable.

On a third note – the return of the First and Second Hokage in this battle was planned well in advance, early in the fic's writing and before we found out that a man the First was as strong as is powerful enough to defeat all the... well, in the interest of skirting manga spoilers, let's just say he's kind of OP. *latelyeverythingevilisOP* Hashirama will be stronger than the average (modern) kage, but I don't think I'll be making him _that_ strong, because good gosh. That was just ridiculous.

As always, how was the chapter? Best parts, worst parts? Naruto's now a Sage, and Lee has trained under samurai, but we'll really see how they use their skills in the fight next time. We had Hinata's scrap with Kurogiba, more Hanabi training, Neji the silencer of dissent... Three failures reunion, Lee and the solstice festival, Naruto and Hinata sparring, the Art of Dramatic Introduction, Gaara returning, army gathering, NaruHina fluff (why am I so sappy? T.T)... Oh, the first strike - the two arrows, then the demons attacking, and smuggling the army in their fur for a surprise attack - I spent a lot of time tweaking that scene until I was satisfied. I guess I really wanted to have them making a statement :P The real fighting begins, with Naruto and Lee adopting their roles. Hinata has a rematch with Koneko, but gets a strong first strike and snowballs from there, as successively revivals take more and more of her strength when she can't recover between them. Neji's fateful encounter with his team... Naruto, distraught, is baited by Orochimaru... How about Jiraiya's and Tsunade's words? Did the 'we used you without respecting you/made inconsiderate choices for you' idea make sense? I feel like what I was trying to convey something there, but didn't quite get it across in a way I liked. Thoughts on Sasuke, as his trick is revealed? And finally, Neji's last scene with Lord Hikaru? Should I even ask about Hanabi, or does no one give a crap about her anymore?

XD Well, please review! Liked it, didn't like it, tell me what you think!

Happy New Year,

-Hinata0321


	26. Toward the New Age, Act Two

J3F\\\Journey of the Three Failures

Chapter Twenty-Six

I'm so bad at estimating it could be a crime. D:

But I guess when I didn't knock out this chapter during spring break, as was the goal, there was just about no working on it until school was out. Aside from that, what remained to be written of this chapter was a lot more than I anticipated at the time I posted the last one… Well, first year of college has gone great, and I've got a hefty chapter for you now! Sorry for the wait, but you needn't fear – I'm back! I'll ALWAYS be back! Mwahahaha!

O.o That moment when you realize the reason you no longer use single subject, 70-page notebooks for your fanfic is because if you did, chapter (greaterthan) notebook.

Thanks for reviewing, **jgresidentevil, Chibbistick, Cuervo Blanco, awkarddnnja, Soraya the All Speaker, Kuromaru-kun, RedRangerBelt, DamionKenley117, hinalover, Omega the darkness, darkdeamon41, Veraozao, I'm Naruto Dude, Adam218, TwiliFay, Malix2, castrjoa001, ToeGirth, kingdom219, Adam-Bloodraven, tokusei04, Mecha-Nii-San, Amer Leon, KoreanGal5, Syron13, Sublivion Mist, Angel of Atonement, william and jack and jake, Superstar For Life, Lunahras, InflatedChimp, Obloquious, **and anons signing _hinalover, Dan, Gaea's Son, jcmac, Hi, _numerous _'Guest[s]_,' and _Forever-A-Guest_! Your comments, questions, praise, suggestions, criticism, and the like are as always appreciated! *bows* I am not worthy!

Not too many outside goodies this time, except for drawings of **Hinata's and Lee's final outfits **on deviantART. Also, I'm posting on my profile a link to a Youtube music playlist I put together to listen to during the writing of this chapter, if anyone's interested in that.

Chapter theme is 'Blackheart' by Two Steps From Hell. Naruto, Lee, and the defenders of the Leaf vs. Orochimaru, Hashirama, and Tobirama gets the theme 'They Fought as Legends' by Epic Score, and Lee's theme is Elementum, also by TSFH. All are in the above mentioned playlist.

Finally, more material has been posted in Gaiden of the Three Failures, chiefly a **completed Lee sidestory** ('Young Dragon's Gaiden') that covers his personal journey in the Land of Iron during the 24-25 timeskip. Events from it will be alluded to, but not necessary to the understanding of this chapter. *ButIlikehowitcameoutsoyoushouldgotakealookplzkthx *

**NOTICE:** I will be changing my pen name soon! Wanted to announce it here, first!

Alright, chapter twenty-six is a go!

**Disclaimer: **I don't own NARUTO!

* * *

**Journey of the Three Failures**

**Twenty-Six: Toward the New Age, Act II**

**Part One: The Defenders of the Leaf  
**

**Naruto ****ナルト**

My arms were back, my naginata trailing in the grip of a right hand clasped midway down its length, and my head low as racing feet lightly repelled the dust of the ground that passed beneath them. Lord Founder broke ahead of the Nidaime as the two charged; he raised an arm and whisked it forward, and a sprout rose at his feet to come shooting toward us at his command, growing and branching with fluid and dynamic speed.

Without abandoning gliding stride, I wove left as a branch flashed past, and ducked right to pass under another; I left the earth to roll gracefully to the side, passing over a branch whilst whipping the polearm's curved blade in a tight, circular slash for the wicked obstacles. With a clap I held the weapon in a standard two-handed grip, and a pair of swift slashes diced the wooden skewers around me.

The First frowned. The ground before him swelled and cracked, and a massive, flowering column of wood burst on the attack.

_Raw force, huh? _I thought. The subtle slowing of my dash was the only cue Lee needed to sweep gallantly ahead, his grin glinting and a strong arm drawn back.

As this was happening, the Second dashed from behind the First, hands melded in the Tora seal as, with stunning speed, trailing pools of water expanded from his footsteps and snapped to life, rising to loop around him before going spiraling toward Kakashi.

"_ACCELERATE!_"

A single whip of a katana rent the crashing Mokuton branch down its length, and Lee came to stand before the First Hokage, stance low and strong, sword outstretched. At Kakashi-sensei's side, a wall of sand snapped erect; dented by the Second's missile though it was, it scattered white water from the impact and instantly lurched in retaliation, disintegrating into a thousand bullets of sand.

The First Hokage kicked out, savagely, in front of him – just as Lee opened two Inner Gates, and vanished. The Second flickered aside from Gaara's Sand Shower, and in doing so flung himself straight across the path of Lee's lunging sword slash.

His eyes widened. "So you were aiming for me all along?! Not–!"

"Quite!" I cut in, substituting with Lee and running my naginata across the Second Hokage's body.

Lee had already been mid-slash when the blade before him would have met the Suiton user; I, a heartbeat behind from fifteen yards away, had only just finished drawing back. The man had pulled a spin move to narrowly escape the range of the passing sword when I swapped to come slashing past, striking in Lee's shadow with the naginata's superior range.

"Checkmate," Shikamaru announced coldly as I substituted with Lee again, and the Second was abruptly frozen in place until the very instant the Blade of Acceleration met his side on the reverse slash, and proceeded to tear him in two.

"Earth Style Sealing: Head of the Stone Inugami!" Kakashi shouted whilst leaping toward the fallen Hokage, and slammed his hand to the ground. Seals raced along the ground from beneath his palm, and upon reaching the Nidaime's form splayed rings of markings upon the ground around it. This area crumbled, and with a roar a statue of a massive, canine head broke through the earth, fanged jaws snapping shut with the shocked Nidaime within them. The Inugami skull fell over quite unspectacularly; then, from the glowing kanji 'seal' engraved on its forehead, lines of running markings unfurled to wrap themselves about the stone prison.

A blur passed me. Snarling, I lashed my arm back whilst depositing myself in the Shodai's path.

Kakashi was able to stay at his work as, a few feet from his side, I appeared before a Hokage who leaned to dodge the sweep of my hopping backfist. Scowling in annoyance, the Founder dropped a foot back, cocked his fist, and brought about a mighty swing.

My light feet met the ground.

WHAM!

Stance square, I held the massive, shuddering fist in a palm swiftly raised before me. "Nope…" I grunted, as he blinked incredulous eyes.

A second slam of force rang out as his other fist connected with my other palm. My teeth ground as the towering man pushed against me, and I held off his strength.

"You've got your granddaughter's touch. I was afraid of that…"

He narrowed his eyes. "So, the slight fellow who dances about in an ethereal charade actually possesses a good deal of strength to him. And here with your lack of presence I thought you might shatter, or vanish in a puff of air…"

"You will witness the strength of my resolve!" I hissed harshly.

"Tall words, _boy_."

"A mere boy though I may be, I am a Sage…"

Behind me, Kakashi swore. I looked in time to see a large serpent, stretching from Orochimaru's mouth, go shooting toward the jounin in an arc of speed.

_Orochimaru's getting involved after all…!_

He must have realized it – if we failed to seal the Second in one shot, as we'd intended, things would go far from smoothly on further attempts. Wanting to strike down one of our enemies in the first combined blitz, we'd have shown them a number of our tricks for nothing. _If I can make a Kage Bunshin…!_

The jounin was still completing his technique, rushing through another string of seals. A curtain of sand flowed toward Kakashi, too slow. Caught off-guard, Lee wasn't about to reach him in time. A Shadow Clone poofed into the snake's path – but if it could stop the thing from interrupting Kakashi, would it hold back a determined Orochimaru?

"Four Branches Jutsu!" Anko yelled, hands locked in the sign of the Snake as she blurred to Kakashi's side. The upper back of her trenchcoat swelled, rippled, and squirmed before exploding in a writhing mass of long, hissing grey-brown bodies. One, its body easily wider than my forearm was long, arced with surprising and deadly speed to plunge its fangs into the neck of Orochimaru's smaller snake, and drive it violently to the ground at my doppelganger's feet. The other three serpents were just as large, and extended rapidly from the Mitarashi's back to tear off toward Orochimaru with vehemence. The surprised sannin managed to spit out his snake and leap back just before the beasts went bearing down with great force. The ground quailed, and hunks of debris were sent sailing from the dust cloud that blossomed.

"A-amazing!" Lee exclaimed, looking on as the four snakes arose and withdrew toward their mistress, hissing and poising their sleek bodies to strike.

"This is Anko-sensei's fiercest technique," Shikamaru said, a proud smirk in his voice. The crouching kunoichi snickered, maintaining her seal as sweat rolled down her face.

"I know his style better than most. I was the apprentice of a sannin, after all," she snarled, glowering at the man I now realized could only have been her old teacher. "Maybe not one of the more 'glorious' pupils, but I'll use what I've got…" One of her snakes nuzzled her cheek as she said this; following her gaze, it flicked its forked tongue at Orochimaru.

"An ultimate technique?" he laughed. "Dearest Anko, it's an inferior imitation in every respect."

"If mastering the true version means becoming like you, I'm rather content with the tradeoff…"

"Sealing, complete," Kakashi sighed, standing. The seals coating the stone statue glowed, and the whole thing went up in smoke as his gloved hands fell apart.

"To think you would defeat Tobirama so quickly," the First mused. "But you should be aware – I was always stronger than my younger brother."

"Figured as much," I said, slipping my hands aside to secure his wrists in my grip.

"Amateurs!" he cried, gripping my own wrists. He swung me above himself, and into the path of the Dragon Flame Jutsu Sasuke had fired toward him from a ways above.

_Of course we can't fool him so easily, _I thought, cursing inwardly as I vanished from his grip. Fifteen yards away I landed on my feet; Sasuke blurred down with his back half-facing mine as we looked upon an explosion of flame.

The fire died down, revealing a baked dome of wood that promptly split to collapse itself into the ground, leaving a stern-faced Shodai behind.

"Tch," Sasuke spat. I smiled, devious.

"This won't be easy, huh?"

* * *

**Hinata ****ヒナタ**

Crouched silently, with my back to a wall, I took a cursory scan of the building behind me with the Byakugan. _That's the structure… and as for rough numbers…_

Armed with my estimate, I nodded mentally, holding up a hand palm-up before me. My fingers swept, brushing smoothly at the air. _Well, in this situation…_

"Demon Fire, Art of the Will-o'-Wisp," I murmured soundlessly, as a marble of flame spun to life at my fingertips. Flicking my wrist as my arms swept back, I sent it on its way. I watched the sleek droplet fade from normal visibility as it curved and flitted through the air; then I lifted a hand, signaling my squad. _Ready…_

A ways off at the gate, a commotion was stirring.

"Captain! There's a strange light over here!"

"What're you yammering about at a time like this? Huh? No, that's what you call a firefly–,"

BOOM!

My teeth clenched.

Then I took up the bow, notched an arrow, leaned around the corner, and let fly for a shinobi moving toward the scene. He had knelt, had only begun to reach thoughtlessly for a fallen comrade, when a shot through the eye silenced him.

Drawing an arrow, I lunged and rolled from my hiding place. The projectile was fired before the next guard had left the prison building – before he would have been able to see me. He dashed through the doorway to catch an arrow deep in his side.

A roof watchman flung a profusely smoking pellet to the ground and jumped in its trail; he could not have known that their attacker wielded the Byakugan. I was notching still another arrow, dashing to the side, as his crumpled body hit the ground.

The young man who vaulted the edge of the roof and slipped to the ground in a straight, swift shot was keener. Dashing toward me from behind, he lashed his kunai for my neck. I ducked and turned, a sharp heel cutting his feet from under him. Rising, I angled the bow and loosed my arrow with a splat.

A number more were closing in now. A notched arrow was loosed well before a man could fully execute the motion to fling a trio of senbon. A charging kunoichi ducked past him as he fell; she didn't notice the seal tag lighting up on the exposed shaft of the arrow in his vest until its explosion had done away with them both.

I shifted my grip toward an end of the bow as I took it in both hands, lunged back, and turned to slam the wood across the shins of a man dashing from behind. They'd closed in.

The bow was neatly stowed on my back as I rose, right hand darting to shunt a hand that struck with a clawed gauntlet. My left darted to flurry jabs at tenketsu along his inner arm; quick feet rolled me outside the successive strike of his right hand. I whirled left and brushed a Juuken Stream down his arm. The chop of my right hand was sharp at the side of his neck as he flinched, and I kicked up to drop my heel on his shoulder as he fell.

A man came charging in, and I sidestepped, grabbing his striking fist and redirecting his momentum; I spun him around me, releasing him as he crashed into a comrade.

"It's just one girl, dammit!" an Oto-nin shouted, as he and four others came toward me.

I lifted my hand. With pinpoint accuracy, the five enemies nearest to me were brought down by Kidoumaru's wax arrows.

Though he was distant, I felt the second state of his curse recede. Nodding, I readied my claws, altered my feet, and tore without warning toward a few enemies to one side. I slashed one down, and my knee cracked into a New Oto-nin's gut in a leaping strike as the first fell; behind me, the outer gate was blasted down as Jiroubo charged through, bellowing, sending surprised shinobi sailing with the swings of heavy arms and fists.

The prison yard had erupted into a battleground in disarray when a Sound kunoichi went shooting past me so swiftly that I yelped. Wincing at her impact with the prison wall, I scowled. _Why on earth would Tsunade-sama have come here?! _I had deactivated my Byakugan to conserve as much chakra as possible, but when I turned to spot the Leaf ninja who stood twenty yards away, her fist outstretched, I was met with a surprise.

_Sakura-san…?_

"_Wahooo!_"

"_Arr-aooo!_"

Not far off, the unmistakable twin blurs of the Gatsuuga barreled to join the fray. In the meantime, however, I happened to spot a man drawing back a war axe as he rushed Sakura from behind. She turned in time to see him and barely skip away from the strike, but was unbalanced as a result. The man was trying to pursue the attack when, with a snarled "_HA!_" my foot crashed against the side of his head.

My cloak fluttered in my wake as he was torn off his feet, and sent flopping to the earth. I landed in a crouch from the leaping kick, and turned my head to meet Sakura's stunned green eyes. "You alright?"

Her mouth opened and shut, and her eyes shifted to something behind me. I whirled to sharply kick a sword from a man's hand as he tried to attack me; I clawed him shoulder to side, drove the heel of my left palm into his jaw as he sputtered in pain, and hopped, spinning into a snapping kick that knocked him back. Fangs bared in a growl, I turned to loose from my mouth a jet of crimson flame that scorched one man before directing itself to strike another, and Kurogiba took form with a roar to carry on the attack.

My eyes were white again, with the Wolf of Fire's spirit expelled. Sakura started this time when I asked if she was alright.

"Y-yeah! But… Hinata-chan?"

I smiled sheepishly. "Look alive. The axe nicked you, didn't it? Your arm's bleeding. Let me seal the wound," I said politely, and leaned in to run my tongue over the bleeding cut just below her shoulder. Her face flushed in surprise, but she didn't ask questions, for more enemies were upon us. We turned back-to-back. I traded blows with a Sound woman before catching her with a crippling series of Gentle kicks – and a strong finishing kick that snapped into her jaw. Sakura seemed to be struggling with her opponent until she got a punch onto the wrist of the knife-wielder's approaching hand. There was a snap; he howled, and with a battle cry Sakura delivered a square punch that now sent him skipping a couple dozen yards.

"Who taught you that striking technique?" I asked quickly.

"No one taught me, exactly… Anko-sensei told me about a kunoichi who could utilize chakra to augment the force of her blows. I practiced until I figured it out, and – well, I think I've sort of got the hang of it…"

_She worked out the technique just from a description of it? _Even if her strikes weren't yet on par with Tsunade's, it was impressive.

My skin prickled as the air stirred oddly. Swearing, I slung an arm across Sakura's middle and leapt from the path of a shockwave of pressurized wind. As Sakura and I split up again, the jutsu's user came at me with a leaping dagger strike; I dodged with a quick sidestep. Passing me, he pivoted to face me again – and was slashed diagonally across the torso as a snarling grey blur lanced between us. Kiba met the ground and slid a short way past on both feet and one hand, but his claws had only sliced the man's vest to leave shallow wounds. Remedying this, I spun myself forward and hacked a harsh, swift backhanded slash across the stunned shinobi's front, ending the spin with a solid palm strike that knocked him from his feet.

"Kiba-kun!" I exclaimed, turning to the Inuzuka as he rose with a look of bafflement on his face. Akamaru, once more in the form of a dog – a _large_ dog – came to his side with a yip. My teammate's parted lips turned into a grin, and he grabbed my shoulders.

"God damn, is it good to see you alive!" he laughed. "Your scent's a little different, but it's Hinata, all right! Hell! You've gone and gotten stronger on us, haven't you?"

I smiled, blushing. "What are you two doing here?"

"My ma and sister are locked in there," Kiba said. "As soon as we heard some commotion was going down at the prison, we booked it here!"

"There was no stopping him," Sakura groaned, "And I couldn't just let him run off alone at a time like this."

"Thank you for looking after him," I said with a nod of appreciation, while Kiba snorted good-naturedly. I turned my eyes toward the prison, Byakugan awakening. "The security here was probably lighter than standard, as expected; the most powerful shinobi are all busy fighting on the main battlefront. Still, the sooner we can free the village council and get them to safety, the better. We can't allow them to remain as potential hostages in the enemy's hands!" _Sakon? Tayuya?_

The two New Leaf-nin jumped as the two former Oto-nin flickered in at my back. "About time we got rolling," Tayuya scoffed.

"Your command, taichou-chan?" Sakon jeered, smirking in anticipation for a fight.

"We've cut their numbers pretty well. Sakon, you stay with Kiba and the others and help keep the enemy busy fighting out here. Tayuya, we're going in. If we encounter more of the enemy, you can use your genjutsu without affecting me."

"Simple enough," Sakon said, as black markings crept to pattern his skin. He looked to where Jiroubo, Kidoumaru, and Kurogiba still fought. "Let's help them out, you two."

"R-right!" Sakura said. Kiba nodded with a sidelong but not unkind look, more curious than anything. Akamaru barked, and they took off.

I took a breath. "Okay. Let's go!"

* * *

**(Shikamaru ****シカマル****)**

The young man now known as the Leaf Shadow did not need to pause and think, figure, or approximate any numbers to understand that his chances of victory were bleak. As a strategist, he already knew.

With a backflip and handspring, he evaded the lashing moves of a massive serpent.

As one Leaf ninja, however, he understood that whatever logic may say for their chances, the only option at a time like this was to fight alongside Anko-sensei to take the tyrant Orochimaru down.

The snake spread its jaws wide, baring slender fangs as it darted for him again. He formed a seal, smiling wryly. Fighting hopeless odds? Stepping up against the most powerful enemy shinobi? When he'd never even asked for any leadership role, but had it thrust upon his slouching shoulders… Just what had this rotted job done to him?

_It's a massive drag, but backing down isn't part of my job description!_

"That's close enough!" he spat. The string of shadows he'd tracked on the ground – three linked, aligned clots of darkness left by a footprint, a handprint, and another footprint, and connected to him by a strand extended to his feet – burst upward into a dark web of netting as Shikamaru grasped the line of shadow in hand and pulled. The trio of nets flung themselves to wrap swiftly about the screeching snake's body, tightening and slamming it to the ground. _Sensei!_

"Katon: Acidic Flare!"

The Mitarashi formed the seals, and shouted the technique's name – and a rearing snake of the Four Branches, as a glimmer of chakra flared off its scales, sent a ball of white-hot slime barreling from its mouth and solidly into the serpentine skull of Shikamaru's immobilized adversary, where it ground into scales and promptly burst into flame.

_Anko-sensei's snakes are faster, and better coordinated, _he noted, watching as the one to launch the Acidic Flare rejoined the others in tearing at a larger snake that lunged for Anko. Orochimaru had summoned it with the intention of putting some distance between them, but in mere moments the beast was torn by vicious bites and strikes, and could land a strike neither on the racing kunoichi nor the weaving, darting Branches before its long body slumped and crashed lifeless to the roof.

Not missing a beat, the woman bade one of her snakes to go shooting for Orochimaru himself. Chortling in amusement, the man hopped aside, and the hissing reptile went lancing past him, striking the roof to stir a plume of dust and debris.

Then its body coiled and went taut with a thrash – and Anko was pulled off her feet, whipping backwards toward Orochimaru. She turned in her flight, snapping around to bring a lateral kick cracking into Orochimaru's surprised face. There was a solid boom of force, and a moment of resistance – and Anko broke past, her shinguard having split through a bursting mass of small snakes. While the rest of his body melted into more of them, and Anko landed on both hands and feet, a new mess of serpents emerged from the floor, swelled, and rose a few yards away. The throng of scaly bodies fell away, revealing the sannin again.

"Wild, as ever," he sneered, rolling aside as one of Anko's snakes snapped at him. He prepared to kick it, but jumped away at the last moment.

_Damn, _Shikamaru thought, as Orochimaru glared toward him. The boy had quietly poured his shadow into that of the snake, not binding its movement but using it to extend his range. If Orochimaru had touched the snake, or so much as let its shadow cross his, Shikamaru would have him, but the sly sannin had already caught on. He dodged the snake's following strikes even as it was joined by another, and was not thrown off for a moment when Shikamaru began throwing his shadow deceptively between the living conduits. _Of course he's good…_

Anko rose, vanishing from his side; with another of the Branches' fangs latched into the roof, she flung herself in a shallow arc and dropped explosively into a whirling axe kick. Her former sensei blocked above his head, and she flipped back onto her feet in a crouch. The man flung a kunai knife, and she left the ground to swing over it in a rolling motion; the moment her feet touched ground again, she pulled with a newly rooted Branch to whip herself forward into a rapid advance, deflecting a trio of shuriken with her armguard and striking out with an angry yell.

Orochimaru blocked the straight punch with crossed forearms, his teeth clenched, and slid back almost a dozen meters on his feet. He blinked, straightening as their battle came to a pause. "Impressive power," he remarked. "Not that it will be of much use to you here, dear…"

"We can't be sure until we try," Shikamaru said; he noticed that Anko was beginning to pant wearily, and he scowled. "It's all or nothing now. Even if the best we can do is slow you down, we won't back down while there are comrades to protect – comrades who believe in and count on us, as the head ninja of New Konoha, to bring you to justice!"

"Kukukukuku… Such entertaining creatures! Tell me this, Anko – in siding with the Leaf, and taking on this boy as your own student, do you feel that you're making amends for your past mistakes…? Perhaps the crimes in which you so adorably served as my unwitting accomplice? Your weak little mind was just so _easy_ to play with–,"

"Shut _up!_" she cried, hands fisted at her sides as she hung her head, eyes tensely shut.

"Sensei…" Shikamaru breathed, as the kunoichi shook.

"Still quite the sore spot," the man chuckled, oily voice dripping with vile mirth. "But surely… _surely_ they respect you now, hmm? Do the fools regard you with smiles and open arms, for serving as their commander? For making that boy strong? Even by winning here, you wouldn't change a single thing. Why fight a hopeless battle for a village that will always despise you?!"

"Bastard…" Anko's teeth ground. "You destroyed me…!"

"I _made_ you, dear child – a mistake I will be perfectly happy to remedy. I suppose I should truly be more thorough in discarding my _trash_…"

"I'll kill you! You son of a–!"

"Easy, sensei," Shikamaru muttered, grabbing the distraught kunoichi by the arm before she did anything reckless. The Four Branches hissed, slit eyes intent on the snake sannin, as the fuming woman sweated with apparent chakra exhaustion. "Don't let him get under your skin. You have to keep your cool, or we won't stand any sort of chance. Please…"

She wouldn't meet his eyes. "…Yeah."

Orochimaru smirked. "So you've resigned yourself to such an existence? The resistance was never much more than nuisance – a tenacious nuisance that will finally be silenced today. You yapping dogs can't even reach my feet!"

Anko had regained some composure, but still did not meet her student's eyes. "Let's go, Shikamaru."

"Right."

Golden eyes flashed as the serpent-like man slyly bared his teeth. "My… but aren't you running rather low on chakra?"

Shikamaru saw the woman go rigid, her eyes round.

Before he could even deduce what was happening, her jaw fell, and she screamed in raw agony. Shikamaru could do nothing when an enormous serpent's head erupted with a crash from the floor behind her, in one clean move snarling all four Branches in its fangs. Anko's scream cut into a new sound, if possible more horrible still, as crimson flashed from her mouth and simultaneously spattered from four sets of puncture wounds suddenly gouging her shoulders and legs.

"No!" the Nara cried, lunging for the beast. His hand swept out, and from the shadow within an almost clenched fist shot a blade of darkness; the Shadowblade speared the serpent's throat and burst to protrude again between two rapidly dulling slit eyes. The weapon dissipated, and the enemy snake thankfully relinquished its hold before falling back through the roof. The Four Branches, dazed and bloodied as well as weakened by their master's present state, were drawn back into Anko's bare back; the woman convulsed, mouth dripping blood, and collapsed to slump heavily onto her face.

"Sensei!" Silently, Shikamaru swore. He knew that she suffered any damage the Branches did, and Orochimaru, no doubt suspecting this, had attacked them at the base to strike all four at once. And her neck – she was clutching Orochimaru's cursed seal, her face contorted by petrifying pain, while an angry energy seeped between her fingers. The boy knelt, tentatively grabbing her shoulders. "Anko-sensei, can you hear me?"

She grunted, shuddering. "Sh-Shika-m-maru…_run. _I failed – run…"

He looked up as dark laughter drifted out to them. Orochimaru lifted a slender hand, tossing him a cold look. "You're quite intelligent, right? You would do best listening to her. So, will you let your precious teacher be devoured by my pets? Or… will the pitiful Lord Hakage now try to entertain me?"

With that, a sea of snakes burst from his sleeve, flowing forth until hundreds of hungry, hissing, venom-fanged bodies were slithering toward the youth and his defenseless teacher. Time seemed to slow for the Shikamaru as the swarm neared them.

_He's trying to bait me… of course I should run. Without Anko-sensei, the probability of overpowering him has just dropped to approximately zero._

"R-run…"

_Even so…_

"What good's a leader who won't protect his people?!" he snarled through bared teeth, weaving his seals.

_Kagemane!_

His shadow sprang forward and forked repeatedly, exponentially multiplying the number of branches before reaching the mass. The fanned threads of shadow arrested those in the lead, so that those behind them grew cluttered in their attempts to squirm past. Then, just as the density was at its greatest, Shikamaru flung six exploding kunai into the serpents' ranks, simultaneously decimating them and scattering the large remainder. The many left raced on the attack, undeterred. Jaw set, the Nara drew two plain kunai from his tool pouch. He crossed his arms, a knife per hand.

"Shadow Stance!" he cried, sweeping his arms out as the shadows on the underside of either blade projected three meters, hacking through a leaping throng of serpents. He maneuvered the whistling blades to vanquish a few more in a low sweep, caught two in a swatting diagonal cut, and knifed one that slipped behind him by sharply extending the shadow of his right hand's blade tucked under his left arm. He hurled the other knife to a snake on the ground, and it struck true – and was lifted by a tendril of shadow, whirled across the snakes around it with the ferocity of a makeshift buzzsaw, and flung again, where it struck a snake near Shikamaru before being lashed about by a new tendril.

He fended off their furious advance by dishing out strikes with the two kunai, the Shadowblade, and the score of darting, stitching, and knife-brandishing tendrils of darkness that swirled about his feet. As he swept a Shadowblade out low, two snakes were leaping at his unguarded side; a knife whisked by a shadow sailed cleanly through one, and Shikamaru snatched the projectile in the same motion that slashed the second in two.

Virulent pain punched into his leg, just below his calf, and he swore as a Shadow Stitch pierced the offending serpent and tore it away. He hobbled back a bit toward Anko, panting. "I-it's alright. I won't let them near you…"

The voice of logic in him wondered just what he was saying, as numbness began to spread through his leg. He was down to less than some fifth of his chakra, and the enemy had hardly made any effort; it was clear enough that he wouldn't last. He shook his head.

"He looks tired…" Orochimaru mused, his voice already gloating in his victory. "I was so looking forward to quashing the head of your shambling resistance, I'm actually rather disappointed. _This _was the best New Konoha had to offer, all along?"

"I t-told you… to run…" Anko had just barely gotten to her knees, one white hand still locked against her neck as she sweated in pain, a number of veins standing too sharply on her skin. "Don't throw your life away… With you alive, the resistance might rise again. I beg of you… n-not to protect someone like me–!"

"Look at me – that's an order, sensei, from the Hakage you swore to nurture and protect."

Anko hesitantly raised her head, teeth clenched, to see the youth's clear eyes looking sternly back at her.

"Never say you're not worth saving. I don't care what that bastard of a sensei tricked you into. You've more than redeemed yourself already. Whatever anyone else thinks, _I_ believe in you."

Anko gasped, and light seemed to flicker back into being in her deadened eyes. Shikamaru could have sworn he saw silent words shaping on her lips.

'_Lord Third…?'_

Orochimaru laughed aloud, amused to no end. "Very well. You vermin can take that faith in each other, and perish with it!" The man ran through five hand seals and pressed his palm to the ground; with a burst of smoke, he was rising upon the head of a great snake.

Shikamaru tensed, eyes wide as the beast dived toward them. There was nothing he could do.

"Die–!"

"Hyaaaaaaaahh!"

And a quartet of snakes, exploding into being, wove into a serpentine spear that leapt to snap into the underside of the giant snake's skull. The crack of impact was accompanied by a splatter of saliva from its gaping maw, and Orochimaru leapt from his summon's head as it fell. He landed behind the two New Leaf shinobi – and whirled to receive Anko's harsh fist across his face. Shikamaru all but gawked as the sannin was thrown to the ground, and the man rolled once and slid to his feet – before Shadow Stitches pierced his soles and stitched up his legs. He yelled.

"Sensei, your curse…!" Shikamaru said as the Four Branches faded again, and he saw the black markings that had spread across half of her body. She tore off toward their adversary again.

"It was more painful to resist it!" she barked, drawing a dagger as Orochimaru held out his hand – targeting the mark directly. To his disbelief the wild-eyed kunoichi didn't falter.

"Besides…"

He grimaced as, at Shikamaru's bidding, the Shadow Stitches began to pierce his torso, and Anko's dagger neared his heart.

"For my leader, this much pain… I can FIGHT THROUGH!"

She stabbed him, just an instant after he threw back his head to loose a slime-caked figure from his mouth. He'd spat out a replica of himself; Anko's dagger was lodged in a swiftly vacated sack of skin. Discarding the weapon, she raced toward him again, drawing a fist back.

_THAM!_

She actually growled, shivering in effort and apparent pain as Orochimaru held off the blocked fist in his palm. The man scowled. "You're in agony, and yet you think you can defeat me this way?! Wretched _fool_!"

Anko cried out, shuddering as the mark lit intensely with foul, arcing energy. "N-no…" she managed. "No – I don't expect to defeat you like this."

Her fist opened, fingers interlocking with those of the hand he'd blocked with. Orochimaru's eyes widened, and Anko smirked dangerously.

"_Seal!_"

Orochimaru's brow furrowed as the two stood with their hands locked. "This isn't… Twin Snake Sacrifice…?"

Anko chuckled. "Unfortunately, I don't have enough left in me to pull that off. Either way, you can't escape now. Our chakras are one, bound at our hands, and our abilities to cast jutsu nullified. You're stuck with me, and you're not slithering out of your death this time."

Orochimaru raised a brow, as if offended. "So you intend to best me with _taijutsu_?"

"I won't pretend I'm not desperate, here. Even if we're dogs who can do nothing more than nip at your heels – we'll _hound_ you to death if we have to!"

* * *

**Hinata ****ヒナタ**

"You're safe now. Follow the wolves to the surface; they'll lead you to safety."

"What she said," Tayuya said, waving for the occupants of the cell she'd unlocked across the hall to follow the bunch I'd freed. "The strongest of you can carry the wounded."

There were wounded, and there were ill. Thankfully, it seemed this lot had not been subjected to the drugging that had occurred at most outside prisons; still they had been tortured, for the secrets they held – perhaps not all, but many, and then left untreated to rot. It was a struggle to stay strong, faced with haunted eyes, plainly shattered spirits, and the smell of festering wounds. But I had to. I had faced such things before; it hadn't gotten easier, but this I could do. I had walked through the streets of razed or plundered towns, and seen absolute misery and desolation firsthand before. So...

I unlocked the next cell, my face firm, voice kind but commanding.

"You're safe. Please get up, quickly."

_I-Inu-Tori-Saru-Hitsuji…_

_Ran, _I thought, looking into the eyes of the red-furred wolf that emerged from the cloud of smoke and finding her name in my heart. _It's the time I've told you about._ I pictured the obscure route, to the rock alcoves behind the village, and comprehension sparked in her bright eyes.

_Yes, _was the idea of the thought she returned. It would be done.

_Thank you. _"This wolf will guide you to safety," I told the prisoners as I unlocked more cells, daring anyone to question. "Go, as quickly as you can, everyone!"

_There are so many more…_

"Go! Take strength – as we speak, our Konoha fights to rise again!"

Whatever the situation at the main battle may be, that was what I had to believe.

_The Hidden Leaf will rise again. We'll make sure of it!_

* * *

**(Shikamaru ****シカマル****)**

Their locked hands clenched and pushed, each trying to gain leverage on the other – and their free hands met in a crack of clashing fists that shook the air. Anko and Orochimaru glared into each other's eyes, furious.

Both pulled back, and their forearms now crossed forcefully between them. The ground buckled at their feet. A moment of tension, shuddering force, pushing desperately for an advantage – and both of the deadlocked combatants' right knees shot up, both landing solidly in the other's stomach. Anko winced, teeth clenched, but Shikamaru had no doubt she caught the flicker of pain mirrored in her enemy's eyes.

"You can't win," Orochimaru grunted, pressing his knee firmly into her freshly bruised abdomen. She withheld a whimper of discomfort and returned the favor.

"I'll _kill _you…"

He let up on their locked forearms, and swiftly he hooked his arm around hers and rammed home a more solid knee strike for her gut, lifting her feet briefly from the ground. She still lashed out, now that her forearm was unimpeded, and struck a backfist across his face, while he brought his fist across hers. The two struggled with desperate intensity at close quarters, stepping, striking, and evading; it was half grappling, half a trade of blows, and there would be no rest until one or the other fell.

Nor would there be a hope of escape for either one, once his or her foe gained the upper hand. When Orochimaru leapt over a sweeping kick to jam a sole down against Anko's knee, and the kunoichi flinched a moment too long, the victor would have been as good as decided. A harsh kick to the ribs and jab to the windpipe broke her down further; with a sneer, the man brought a hand to the side of her head and pulled to deliver a stunning headbutt. She slumped to her knees, and he whirled behind her, twisting and pinning her bound arm at her back.

"You lose."

"U-urgh…!"

"You thought to kill your master, as I did? I wouldn't give you the pleasure. You're weak…"

"Maybe I am… but I'm not alone." She shut her eyes, and barked one word. "NOW!"

Orochimaru's incredulous eyes rose to meet Shikamaru's steely gaze. He glimpsed the boy knelt a fair distance away, beyond his jutsu's typical range, but with hands locked in the sign of the Rat all the same – just as a flash bomb exploded at the boy's back.

_For everyone … who believes in the Lord Hakage!_

In the next instant, Shikamaru's shadow had pierced and stitched the blinded, yowling man's feet, leapt, and sewn his free arm to his side. _And now…!_

Anko had used the opportunity to break free of the man's hold, and was rising in the lingering haze of light. As a kunai slipped from her sleeve into her hand, she lunged for the kill.

"Don't underestimate the Leaf's will!"

He ducked.

The strike passed over his head.

And something, with a glint of metal, began to emerge from his open mouth. Anko was still moving forward, soon to overbalance. Shikamaru's shadow was weakening as the light faded.

It was only by the snap decision to release Orochimaru from the Shadow Stitching, to refocus his jutsu, that a tendril of Shikamaru's shadow struck into the Blade of Kusanagi in time, causing Orochimaru to plunge it through not her heart, but her lung.

The Hakage's eyes grew as he watched fine steel burst from his sensei's and bodyguard's back in a storm of flaring crimson. His overextended thread of shadow wavered, and dissipated.

"Anko-sensei…" he breathed.

Orochimaru released the sword from his mouth, took the hilt in his free hand, and twisted sharply. Anko croaked and hacked, blood spilling from her nose and mouth. She went stiff for a moment as her own sensei tore the blade free, and he grasped the neck of her tattered trenchcoat before she could fall. He lifted their locked hands, uncurling his fingers with a lofty smirk; her hand fell away, limp, as a fading film of entwined chakra weakened and split between their palms. Shikamaru's heart pounded, louder and louder.

–"_If I can catch him, the jutsu won't fade until one of us…well…"–_

"No!"

He tore toward them, not caring that his left calf was jelly and his chakra was all but spent. If he could get back in range, he could… surely he could do something! Orochimaru gave him a putrid smirk as the boy cried out.

"Get AWAY from her–!"

The man whirled and threw, sharply. Shikamaru caught the kunoichi with a grunt, sent staggering back – and blinked to find that Orochimaru had vanished.

Cold steel, still caked in warm blood, pressed against his neck.

"Lord Hakage," Orochimaru said in mocking acknowledgment. He drew away, and hacked a savage slash clear across Shikamaru's back.

The youth screamed madly, and fell from pervasive, torturous burning to utter nothingness. He fell with his dying teacher in his arms.

* * *

**Naruto ****ナルト**

I straightened, lips parting.

"What's wrong?" Kakashi asked, sparing me a glance.

"Anko-sensei's chakra… it just…?" I gritted my teeth, as if against a blow. "Now Shikamaru's as well! They're fading!" The building we'd all begun fighting on had toppled; those two had moved to a separate rooftop to fight Orochimaru, while our fight continued on the ground.

"Orochimaru must have been too much for them, after all," Lee said, scowling.

"Unsurprising," the First Hokage said before us. He met my eyes, calmly superior; in his confidence he looked down at me not in the manner of gloating, but the belief in simple and unchallengeable fact. "So what now, young sage? I applaud you for managing to keep this little band of shinobi alive so far. You might go to those two and try to heal them… but without your maneuvering, these four will no doubt fall to me before long."

I glowered as he popped his neck. _Leaving them dying, but not finishing them off… Was it in the hope of distracting me? Damn you, snake…!_

"Actually," the Shodai continued, "I guess all five of you will fall sooner or later either way. That being said, I invite you to try to get past me – to at least save those two – though I am inclined to prevent your escape."

"Dream on," I snarled. "Are you sure you're not just saying that because you know all five of us together can defeat you?"

"Naruto…" Kakashi began, and I shook my head. Orochimaru had fled, but another chakra, strong but compact, was nearing them already. The bundle of soft, warm energy was small, but curiously enough brought the great slug Katsuyu to mind in my sage sense.

_Hundreds of them, spreading throughout the village… I see, Granny. In that case, I can fight without distraction!_

"I'm the utility player here, right, Kakashi-sensei? I'm not giving up on any of you. But… I do have one request. While Sage Mode lasts, let me go on the offensive."

The man's eyes, one dark, one piercing red, studied me carefully. Wordless, he nodded.

I smirked. "Please follow my lead."

Eyes serious, the Shodai lifted level palms before him, giving a shout that set a tumbling mass of forestry rising and expanding our way with devastating speed. I charged undaunted, hands flashing through five seals as I slipped into the onrushing branches and trunks, weaving and twirling in evasion as I continued deeper into the midst of the thickening trees. Something lancing by nicked shallowly into my side, nipped a tear into my cape, as the world of greenery around me rapidly blotted out the sun – and as a branch came spearing toward my torso I leaped at it, passing over and kicking to the sides as my palm clapped onto the surface. Black markings were splayed from beneath my hand as massive branches splintered under my feet.

"Gamaken, strike!"

"_Got it…_"

Crackling branches and trunks sailed as a great toad emerged from the summoning smoke with a grand flourish of his shield, and drove his sasumata forward into the tide of the wildly emerging forest. The massive forked spear caught against the Shodai's jutsu, and the ground buckled further as Gamaken's webbed feet lost ground. Then the warrior-toad lurched to a halt with a stubborn grunt – and heaved to wrench the branches away, with a twist of his weapon, as if they were mere brambles to him. The way was clear.

Trees blossomed at the toad's feet, twisting to bind him, but I did not see this directly. Rather, I sensed the movement of the First's chakra with Sage Mode, and read the corresponding action of the lively trees. Gamaken stumbled, catching himself with his weapon against the ground. A clone raced down the cleared path, leaping for the First, but was caught by the arm and hurled aside. The Mokuton-wielder's chakra arced and blazed, and a column of wood shot from the ground, spearing toward Gamaken's eyes.

"You'll do fine," I muttered.

"_Hm…_"

The toad opened his mouth, tongue darting forward with me upon it. My naginata, streaming with razor-like wind, met the spear before me to split a ways down its length, burning with speed. I was nearing the First when I substituted, leaving the decoy clone in my place to leap and attack the man – while Gamaken's tongue, with the precision to catch a flitting fly, snapped aside. My true body was pressed flat to the wall of living tissue – and slung powerfully forward.

The Shodai's fist was still busting a clone's face when I swapped twenty-five yards, and he found, with improbable suddenness, my speeding Konoha Sempuu inches from connecting with his skull.

Eyes wide, he bent back as my kick cut whistling through the air.

I landed behind him and slid rapidly; I was already slinging a wind slash from the spear as I whirled, feet still crackling through the rushing ground, to face his back. He backflipped over the wave of cutting wind, twisting to face me, as I leapt with great strength, my right fist drawn back. He surged forward with a muted scoff, drawing back his own fist.

We were a breath short of striking when a giant morning star came to be in my grasp.

He caught his momentum sharply, flinging a wooden wall up between us. The transformed kage bunshin whose 'ankle' I held shifted forms as I swung, accelerating as it melted into a great waraxe that cleaved the wall in two.

It nicked armor as Lord First leapt back from me, forced to evade.

_Not yet!_

My light feet danced to the earth, in two quick moves sending me into an artful twirl. From this move I unleashed the monstrous axe; the First pivoted to dodge the laterally spinning weapon's broad blade. The doppelganger flowed into human form, twirling onto its feet to fluidly fling a snapping-quick kunai. A hand that obtained the texture of wood curtly batted the knife aside, and he diverted the charging clone's strike effortlessly before throwing a kick between its shoulder blades, knocking it to smoke.

"That all you've got?" he demanded, bringing his sandal to the ground with a stomp. I started, jumping back as the half wood wall still standing beside me morphed sharply my way.

The attack pursued me. I landed, glowering as it neared. Teeth gritted, feet braced, I levered my fist into the nearing mass of wood.

"That's just the beginning!" I declared, and the Shodai's head snapped aside as his attack disintegrated beneath my great strength.

_Double Fist…_

He took the blow well, barely stumbling one step, and faced me with hardly a glance for the blood that spilled from one corner of his mouth. He seemed amused.

"Befitting the fox's nature – a trickster, indeed."

"I once bet two thugs that I could knock them both out in a single punch, and won."

"Misdirection, sleight of hand, and illusion in the absence of illusion, huh?" He smirked as I rose to full height. "You may be a poor matchup for me, after all…"

"No point in pretending someone like you needs a good matchup to come out on top."

"Hm?" he said, effortlessly forming a half-dome of wood at his back as an enormous sasumata crashed in. Incredibly, Gamaken's weapon was caught fast, and vine-like branches spread to drag and pin the magenta toad more firmly down. "There you go, trying to distract me yet again."

"_Sorry…_" the great toad muttered to me, sheepish. "_It is because I am ungraceful…_"

"You did well," I said, and dispelled the summon before he might come to real harm.

The First's look was approving. "Good thinking. Your friends are also hanging back, biding their time while I focus on you, aren't they?"

"Ch!" I hissed, and bolted aside to vanish with a hum of speed. "You'll need all the focus you've got, to keep up with _me!_"

_Hyperteleportation Stance! _I thought, swapping rapidly and randomly about my foe along with a number of clones, dancing on the transient wind. I had thought so – he was trying to track me, chiefly, with his eyes. He wasn't a strong sensory type then, slightly above average at best; he had probably been able to eliminate this relative weak point in life with brute strength, instinct, and skill. But it had been said that my technique was an unorthodox one.

_Now!_

Following a misled darting of his eyes, my fist cracked into his face, and I was gone. I slid back in a crouch from where I'd appeared, and dodged a skewer of wood before it shot from the ground. _Meanwhile, _I_ can read the flow of every move, every attack, each time that strong Mokuton chakra starts to act up…_

Like any good medic, I was starting to use the information at my disposal to read him, connecting certain movements of chakra and natural energy, which all trees and greenery possessed in abundance, to predict the behavior of his Wood Release attacks. I struck again, but as expected, he quickly began to catch on, blocking and dodging most of the strikes as I flung wildly about – Shadow Strikes, true strikes – swapped and attacked, dodged, feinted, swapped, attacked. He flinched from two-footed kick to the kidneys – and predicted my next point of attack. His foot cracked the collarbone of the briefly extant clone before him, and I winced.

I was immediately ensnared in a tangle of branches. He leapt, punching through my vanishing replacement, and, almost off-balance, was forced to dodge a hand shrouded in lightning.

Kakashi's Raikiri tore through his shoulder armor, singing a sleeve. I leapt onto the First's back, hooking my arms under his as the jounin lined up another strike, but I felt a stir of chakra. I substituted away as a wooden spike erupted from his back, spearing the clone I'd left there. His attention was on countering Kakashi, and the instant they broke apart I was flickering by in front of the First, left to right, striking and gone – my fist dodged, and a twisting pulse of lingering Natural Energy knocking him square across the face. He spun on heel, and I flashed by right to left, nailing him again.

I flashed forward, going for him straight on, and was bent over a solid kick to the gut.

The pain was crushing; my breath was gone. Hugging my middle with a shocked grimace, I barely kept from crumpling as he swung his foot around, dropping a heel for the back of my skull. But I located Lee's chakra, as Lee spiked it to show he was ready – and I substituted with the swordsman, who appeared before the Founder blocking the heel drop on crossed arms. The ground buckled beneath him as he bent his knees, began to give, and pushed the man away again. A green blur, he grasped a sheathed katana's hilt, danced outside a punch, and struck with a blade nigh invisible with speed. A streak of hazy silver light was splitting a log in two as the sword slid back into its sheath.

_A Substitution!_

The Shodai was a ways behind Lee, beginning to weave seals until a number of cactus-like spheres of sand drifted swiftly into the air about him.

"_Desert Needle Bomb!_" Gaara growled, hand clenching. Each orb compacted and disintegrated into hundreds of needles of sand that burst toward their surrounded target, but the First shielded his face and slipped smoothly underground just before the needle blasts could strike.

"Earth Style Summoning: Fanged Pursuit Jutsu!" Kakashi shouted, slamming his hands down. Tremors shook the earth; the First shot from the ground in an angled leap, flushed out by the ninken, and continued fleeing the eight winding trails of violently cracking earth that raced intermittently at and below the surface behind him, seeking him out. He soon had shooting, lunging streams of vicious sand to cope with as well, and raced swiftly up a building's side to escape the range of Kakashi's hunting ninja hounds.

_That's it… we can't give him any chances to return attack!_

He had by no mere chance chosen that building, but been subtly herded to it. His attention was on the sand at his back as he sprinted up the wall, and Sasuke, falling silently toward him at great speed, smoothly drew back his sword. He was soon to pass the First by when a beam of lightning projected ten meters from the poised blade.

The Founder sensed the threat, and turned his eyes forward. Grimacing, he altered his step.

"_Chidorigatana – Slash!_" Sasuke cried, and the blade flashed around in an arc, blue-white power churning the humming air with a decisive slash. The First flipped narrowly over the path of the blade, sandals reconnecting with the wall as the Uchiha's slash inadvertently scattered the clouds of sand. Kakashi, who had been charging down the wall in Sasuke's shadow, headed a lunge with a hand alight with the Raikiri; the strike was dodged by the First, but the silver-haired man spun out of the move to swipe dangerously with another hand suddenly alive with crackling light. Sparks danced as the two Raiton users dished out an explosive combination of electrical attacks, until the Founder happened to dodge an attack from both sides narrowly enough that Kakashi's Raikiri and Sasuke's sparking straightsword were nearing at breakneck speed.

Sasuke turned his hand, pointing the sword aside so that Kakashi could catch his clasped hand in his palm. Disaster averted, they looked up after the Shodai in time to see him unleash a torrent of writhing trees that went cascading down from the wall above them, hunks of rubble and debris falling in its midst.

The two locked eyes, and something there clicked. When they sprang apart it was with a line of lightning stretching between their hands. They took off dashing up the wall, slicing through the mass of crashing branches as the severing lightning chain, indifferent to the element of water, cleanly overcame the earth nature of the wood, while Sasuke's sword – transferred to his free hand – and Kakashi's free hand, still electrically alight, fended off falling debris and refocusing Mokuton attacks. They'd closed the distance. The line had slackened in the wind, hanging behind them from the speed of their charge, and the moment they passed the First on either side they pivoted inward and leapt across, so that a loop of lightning began to close rapidly around him.

A monstrous shove of chakra hurled the First from the wall, just before that side of the building, riddled with forestation, collapsed.

He landed hard, and leapt over me as I phased in with a sliding kick, and away again. With our foe's reaction to this near harmless diversion, Lee came rushing in to lay upon the First a ferocious series of strikes, and a crash of sand forced him to leap back in evasion – straight toward the spear that was Kakashi's hand. He ducked past the thrust, finding himself between the Hatake and Uchiha, and a cool smirk glinted in Kakashi's eye.

Sparking light arced from Kakashi's hand to Sasuke's blade, darting in a blink of speed to just barely sear the dodging Hokage's side. The energy whipped back the Uchiha's hair as it rushed into him – and was unleashed again with the thrust of his sword toward his adversary's torso. The man dodged this ranged strike by leaping aside – but Kakashi leapt in his shadow, extended hand now calling and redirecting a bending stream of projected electricity as Sasuke released it again. Stark shadows stormed across Kakashi's form, and his silver hair was set whipping crazily as the absorbed current of redoubled power dancing about and no doubt within him was rooted to his will. The First's eyes widened as he looked back, and with a bellow Kakashi released a full-body shockwave of electricity that washed angrily across the shinobi before him – and then gathered to zip back to Sasuke, drawn to and caught by his left hand as his right crossed his body with his blade.

He was again cloaked in a blazing shock of electrical power, one that now roiled and thrashed tumultuously about him. Not quite having sensei's superb chakra network mastery, he probably could not unleash a pure shockwave from his body; rather, he channeled it all at once down the sword in his hand, as he sent a momentous slash toward his staggered foe.

The redirected energy manifested in a blinding crescent of blue-white light. The First's hands twitched together, into a seal, as the arc seared out toward him, and with a roar a burst of Wind chakra broke from his open mouth, tearing out the portion of the arc directly before him. The two remaining fragments of the split energy slice crashed down in the distance, causing a great span of the ground to explode.

_Of course… Even without a particular affinity for it, a guy like that is bound to have mastered a variety of jutsu…_

And I flashed to sling an arm around Sasuke's waist. He stumbled in surprise as I released him twenty yards away, my eyes on the skewer of wood, extending from the First's hand, that had been inches from spearing his heart.

"This guy's ridiculous," I muttered, watching intently as Kakashi traded blows with the Shodai. Sasuke's eyes narrowed, with what thoughts I couldn't tell, as he looked toward me, but I paid it no mind. The First was thrown a few steps as he blocked a hefty kick from the jounin. Sasuke rose to his feet, beginning a short string of seals as the First landed a solid strike to Kakashi's face. I raced through my own sequence, and as Sasuke fired off his own jutsu, it was joined by my own.

"_Katon: Gouryuuka no Jutsu!_"

"_Fuuton: Kazeryuudan no Jutsu!_"

Kakashi threw a kick and was blocked once more, keeping the First's back to us. Then, abruptly, the jounin flickered away.

The First turned, gaze taking in the barreling Great Dragon Fire Technique and the Wind Dragon Missile that raced and twined elegantly around it, sinking into its heart to infuse its fire chakra with the power of wind. With a roaring crack of unnamable force, the dragon of flames snapped from red-orange to almost white, bearing down on the Shodai with a shocking jump in speed.

The man wove rapid seals and held out a palm, and branches of wood, twisting into the air, were joined by rising hunks of earth and suddenly materializing streams of water. These elements blended swiftly together into a barrier of wood and mass of rapidly swirling mud and water; our dragon combination met it with an explosive impact, producing a clash of indescribable power that battered and obliterated the earth for dozens of meters around. I half shielded my face and eyes from whipping dust, but I sensed something. The First had been too close – he was disoriented, perhaps deafened, but he would not be for long.

"One more!" I shouted, whisking my palm out and sweeping the other hand by. A ring of clones, there and gone, mirroring the motion – and Sasuke started as the Rasengan burst to form in my hand. Another sweep, with a trio of clones that brushed the breath of wind into the Spiraling Sphere while I maintained its form, brought a new form whirring to life. I held it high above my head, and it set a vortex of stray wind tumbling lightly about my form. Its four branches expanded with my Senjutsu chakra – a flickering wheel of slicing intensity and pale white light about the whorling compaction of deep indigo chakra.

_Let this be the end!_

"_Senjutsu! Fuuton: RASENSHURIKEN!_" I roared, and drew back to hurl the Spiraling Shuriken from my hand.

Sasuke flickered from my side.

The Founder's eyes widened as the Rasenshuriken arced toward him, whisking away smoke in its curved flight.

And he dodged it.

In particular, he ducked – ducked, by his cursed sharp instincts, under the level of the cutting plane, so that expanding it would do no good.

Thus he would have been safe, had not a dragon of flame, lancing in from the opposite direction, met the projectile technique dead-on in its flight, swallowing it – scooping it up in its mouth, and carrying it back again. The igniting Rasenshuriken expanded as the dragon dived for Shodai's back.

Its explosion was brilliant.

I slumped to my knees, Sage Mode failing as I watched the First Hokage's battered form shoot from the smoke cloud, and go skipping and tumbling across the ground.

A weary grin spread across my face.

"Tha… that's it…!

"We beat him!"

I saw Lee give a sigh of relief, and Gaara cautiously relaxed a bit. Kakashi headed toward the First, warning us not to let our guard down; we still did not know where Orochimaru was hiding. Sasuke returned to my side, hands in his pockets and eyes on the wreckage as he asked what the hell kind of jutsu I'd used, to scar the ground so deeply. Indeed, our Blazing Wind Rasenshuriken's directed blast had carved a rut many yards deep and some two dozen meters across, extending for some distance along the ground. I shook my head, accepting the hand my old teammate offered. It was true… Together, we were strong enough to–

"Itai… This cursed body really won't fade easily, then…"

Ice brushed over the back of my neck, trickled down my spine. Kakashi, though briefly alarmed, had already finished his hand signs. "Sealing Juts– agh!"

"Sensei!" I cried. At first, I couldn't tell what had happened to him. He had gone stiff, and his eyes were wide; he seemed to have been pulling away from something before going completely rigid, the action frozen in his shuddering form. Then I saw it – his right foot, bleeding and draped with creeping roots that had nailed it to the ground.

"You didn't notice it, then? The seed I slipped into your sandal, when I let you nearly land that kick?" The First, as burns faded and his broken body recovered, rose to his feet. "And now you can't control your chakra, can you? Forgive me – Kakashi, was it? It's not a trick I'm fond of using, honestly…"

In a blur of motion, he was at Kakashi's back.

"Even so… I'll need you to die now."

I snapped out of my fatigued shock as the man prepared to kill. I nimbly rolled and flung into an aerial cartwheel, springing to wheel by at Sasuke's side.

"Throw me!" I barked, becoming a Fuuma shuriken. Without delay Sasuke snapped to focus, lunging to snag my swiftly windmilling form and hurl me forward.

His aim was true. The fingers the First had melded into a wooden spear, preparing to stab, redirected their move to instead sharply deflect me upward. I was still spinning as I eschewed the guise of a Demon Wind shurkien, descending into an angry Leaf Hurricane kick.

_WHAM!_

"Out of Sage Mode, then?" Shodai noted, as his blocking arms easily held off my kick above him. I snarled, but he snapped a hand to my ankle and threw me, hard. I went careening into Lee, who was driven back catching me.

"Damn it," I swore. The First Hokage studied us calmly.

"You really want to protect this man, don't you?" he deducted, as Kakashi swayed and slumped on his side to the ground. "If it's any consolation, I could always kill him last. The seed has already sapped most of his energy, so he won't be a trouble to me any longer. But even if order is irrelevant, I'm bound to the command to destroy the lot of you."

"Aren't you confident?" I said – but I tensed, bracing myself as he formed a handseal.

"Confident? Your most experienced shinobi is down. If you don't mind me saying so, young fighters – I cannot realistically expect to be bested by four children.

"_Wood Release Secret Technique: Nativity of a World of Trees!_"

I don't think any of us breathed when a two-leafed sprout poked from the ground before us. Seconds ticked by. Then the ground lurched violently, and I was thrown from my feet and sent surging skyward atop the rising ground. The earth was crumbling apart, giving way to the wild growth of innumerable swelling, blossoming trees.

Teeth gritting, I rose and leapt from the branch carrying me, scrambling along another and springing away again as a separate branch smashed against my perch. I didn't know which way to run, to escape from the dense, interweaving tangle of untamed foliage, if there even was a route to escape; there were only more writhing, ensnaring trees, as far as the eye could see. He had produced a veritable forest, centuries' worth of proliferation, in practically the blink of an eye.

_I can't see a thing… We'll be trapped at this rate! I have to find the others!_

"Naruto-kun!"

Lee had evidently been of a similar mind, and I spotted him taking a running leap my way after racing along a branch. He hacked through a falling piece of rubble, and I jumped to meet him just before a new branch spurted with violent suddenness from the surface I'd been clinging to. My hand clasped his in midair, and as we came together I heard and caught sight, in what occasional flickering droplets of light chanced to break through to the depths, of Gaara floating on a patch of sand a ways above, Sasuke knelt on a sand platform at his side. Sasuke's Sharingan had found us in the darkness that engulfed us all, and he pointed with a shout; the two started as I appeared with Lee beside them. The Uchiha's voice was frantic, though his eyes stayed calm.

"The walls–the trees–whatever, they're closing in on us!" he said, as the last inkling of light vanished and the already suffocating darkness became absolute. The sand platform lurched to one side, knocked by an indeterminable force.

"Gaara!" I said.

"I need time…!"

"We're about to be crushed–!"

BOOM.

It was an enormous sound – that of the titanic structure's living components, all massive in their own right, crashing forcefully together and locking shut around its captives.

Interestingly enough, I seemed to be in one piece.

The platform had jerked again before the booming sound struck; I was on my backside, pushed up against someone. My breath suddenly seemed too loud. Someone's hands groped in the darkness – checking for sufficient space, I found. Sasuke promptly became visible exhaling a miniature puff of flame. His shifting eyes were wide as they checked each of us in turn in the spreading light – me, fitting awkwardly in the cramped space; Gaara, one eye shut as he held a seal in terse focus; Lee, stance firm, head down, sweat rolling down his face, and trembling arms spread to their full span with palms pressed against two massive, dully creaking trunks, sealed above and below, that had bent and were still trying to close about us. Sasuke's controlled breath ran out, and we slipped into darkness once more.

"Ready." It was Gaara who spoke. An odd slew of sound followed, and twin claps of impact, issuing at once from opposite sides of us, were followed by the further creaking and crackling of wood. Another careful spurt of flame hissed into the air before Sasuke, and I saw Gaara's beast arms supporting Lee's herculean effort, thick, sandy claws spread elastically to press out on the walls. He still had only one eye open…

"He knows we're alive," the Suna-nin was saying quietly as the light faded again. "He's wondering why–urgh!–h-he can't get it to crush us."

His Third Eye was out there, then. _Good thinking, _I thought, _And while I'm sitting still, I might as well…_

Gaara swore. "He's forming handseals – it looks like a sequence for fire… This is bad!"

"Can you force an opening?" Sasuke said.

"What?" Gaara asked.

"I'll only need a second! Can you two do it, or not?"

"The three of us can!" I said, shifting. I had only been able to collect enough Nature energy to maintain Sage Mode for a half-minute at best, but I was willing to put faith in whatever Sasuke had in mind. "Lee – back to back, now!"

Sensing his energy, I felt one of his hands parting from the wall of wood, and slipped in to resume its place, catching a lurching branch with my back to his before the space could give out. Two hands apiece on the closing walls, braced against each other, we yelled and shoved outward together, crackling the great trunks that roared in splintering protest. Gaara's transformed arms reached to seep into the cracks, taking firm hold of the weakened prison around us – and with a mighty heave the Ichibi's jinchuuriki pried the wooden fortress apart, letting a single miraculous ray of light, from so far above, drop down upon us.

Upon us, and upon the flashing pair of hands that were finishing a string of signs.

"Katon…"

Sasuke's crimson Sharingan eyes were blazing with his determination as he straightened, arms flung back, and released a shout.

"_Divine Wind Pheonix!_"

A missile of fire lanced from his open mouth, rising, spiraling clear into the open. It continued to rise, a fiery droplet of light that strove for the heavens as we watched it. Then it burst, unfurling into a brilliant, avian beast of flame. It flapped its shimmering wings but once, leveling its head with a shriek, and dived in a flash of speed, down at an angle, vanishing from sight.

Even the trees that housed us quailed, with the roar of impact that no doubt razed the ground.

"He was forced to defend!" Gaara shouted. "Now's our chance!"

The force binding the trees around us had indeed slackened. Lee, using my back for a springboard, leapt for the wall of tree trunks with his hands on two sword hilts. With a growl of "_Acceleration!_" he plowed forward and struck out in three fierce swings, punching on the third strike into open air.

Sasuke, Gaara, and I raced and leapt out after him, and I met the eyes of a man who stood among blackened earth and lingering orange, white, and red flames, as a charred and burning dome of wood crumbled around him. He frowned, clapping his hands together as we raced down the side of the product of his Mokuton jutsu – scores of immense trees twisted and woven into the semblance of one colossal, towering conglomerate of wood and leaves, its 'trunk' many dozens of meters around.

He wove a long string of signs, and we jumped away just as it went up, violently, in flames. Gaara's sand spread to cushion our backs from a searing blast wave, and we sailed to the earth roughly no worse for wear. I met the black dirt and dropped into a roll, sliding into a crouch with both hands out. A pair of kage bunshin had flown into being at my sides, two sets of extra hands racing as I poured an abundance of chakra from my palms.

_Five more seconds in Sage Mode…!_

"Genjutsu!" the First bellowed, his hands shifting as I changed. "Infinite Darkness Jutsu!"

I nearly flinched, as shadows began to eat away at the edges of my vision. But I couldn't stop now. I tore forward, around the assailing spikes of wood that lanced from the earth, while the others fought through at my sides. I could reach him, before the illusion took complete effect. My vision had nearly fallen to it when my foot touched ground strongly, twenty meters short – and I swapped forward just in time to glimpse the dual blows of the Rasenrendan go plowing into the First's armor with concussive force, before my vision faded completely.

I scowled. _My Senjutsu chakra… ran out just a moment early…_

The darkness cleared. My determined expression shattered as I saw Sasuke flung by what could only have been a Rasenrendan square to the back.

Lee and Gaara were staring at me in shock. I imagine I quite mirrored their faces, gaping in bewilderment and unable to react – or even lower my outstretched palms – as Sasuke's black-clad form collided with a pile of rubble with a crack. He bounced from the impact, swayed unsteadily as he fell onto his feet, and dropped to his knees before falling flat with a heavy thud.

"Wh…what the hell…?" I said, my voice almost reaching a squeak. If I had remained in Sage Mode, that strike would probably have killed him.

"For all your ingenuity, you're still not a genjutsu type, are you? I thought not," the First sighed, still twenty meters away. "I simply led you to _think_ you might land your technique before the illusion fully overtook you. In actuality, you were already fully under the thrall of another genjutsu before you even lunged 'toward' me."

"So you cannot recall it?" Lee said quietly. "You lunged to strike, but instead of swapping forward to attack the First, you placed yourself behind Sasuke-kun…"

I cursed sharply, glowering toward our foe. "_Bastard_…!"

Shodai smirked calmly back. "And then there were three."

"KUSO!" Gaara shouted, driving a transformed arm into the ground. Our foe leapt swiftly aside as a life-sized semblance of the maw of the Shukaku burst from the earth beneath him with a malicious snapping of its jaws. The man lifted an eyebrow in surprise, watching as it sank again, lost form, and faded.

"For children, you're able to summon unbelievable amounts of power. Your collective inability to land meaningful blows, however, might be more unbelievable still."

I glared daggers. "You think you've won? We're still going to beat you, whatever it takes!"

"To protect the village, right? Believe me when I say I wish you could! Don't say such words, young Uzumaki, if you lack the abilities to back them up. You mock the dreams I left in this place – dreams that I'm being forced to destroy with my own hands!"

"And I'm telling you, I won't let you! I said I would stop you, and I won't take back my words! I'll use every last drop of my power to protect those dreams – you damned corpse!"

The Senju gave a stern, coolly forbidding frown. I glared back, teeth clenched, knuckles white on the naginata clenched tightly in my hands.

_It's not gonna happen. I won't let him win!_

A hand clapped onto my shoulder. "Calm down."

I glanced back. The green-clad swordsman's eyes were firm on our foe, but in curious coexistence with the fierceness he exuded was an untold depth of tranquility. I blinked, unnerved by the incongruity. "Bushy Brow…?"

He strode a few steps forward, gaze not straying from the First. Then he sheathed the sword in his left hand, as well, and my breath caught. "We will not triumph here by attacking carelessly; willing it is not enough."

"Just what are you saying?"

Lee took a steady breath. "In brief – to stay calm. I will take command now, if you are not opposed to it. Center yourself, and please follow my lead."

_Then… then he's going to…? _I nodded, gulping. "I've got your back. You know that."

The taijutsu expert sank into a pure Gouken stance.

"There is no other choice. Forgive me… but I am afraid I must let loose."

I had thought so when he sheathed the blades. I would not have wanted to be Lee's opponent – not then. I didn't know what kind of training the guy had gone through in Iron Country, to extract such potential in so short a time, but since returning, he had held power of an entirely new caliber within him.

"Naruto-san?" Gaara asked as I contemplated.

I met his inquisitive eyes. "Do you know why Lee was selected to play the role of an 'equalizer,' a counter-decimator on the battlefield? He can't be beaten. Not in single combat."

"What do you mean… 'can't'?"

Settling into my stance, I shook my head. Lee was ready to move, and we'd do best to keep up.

Lee had returned from Iron, as best as I could make of it, with the ability to flip some crucial mental switch inside himself. It was in no way like opening the Inner Gates; no physical change occurred in him. It didn't seem to be a state he was capable of triggering entirely voluntarily, either. But when he did, faced with a tough opponent, he went off to some place inside himself – some place I could only imagine was filled with pure grit and ferocity and unruffled confidence, and thousands upon thousands of hours of hard work – and became unstoppable.

Hinata and I had tried sparring with him, all-out, in the hills near Sora no Sato. We had _tried_.

But… when he got that look in his eye, and the resolve to best the opponent before him…

"More than anyone else… that guy's power…

"…Is unreal."

* * *

**Twenty-Six, Part Two: Warrior, God of War**

**Lee ****リー**

–"_Rock Lee, of the shinobi village Hidden in Leaves. Do you admit to your crime?"_

_A suppressed snarl. Defiant eyes, contradicting the answer as it is given. "Hai."–_

I still had not spoken to them – not even to Naruto-kun or Hinata-san – of all that had transpired in the lands of the samurai.

–"_Very well. Hear your sentence. You shall remain alone atop the tallest of the Three Wolves. As you sit upon the mountain, you shall contemplate your sins, and lament."_

"_Hai."–_

My breath was steady as I held the Founder's blackened eyes. It was happening; my power was settling. It awaited the time to be shaped and channeled to my will, and my will was certain.

–"_Should you live to the daybreak, you will walk free. Pray the kami of the mountain have mercy on your soul…"–_

I was entering that place inside myself – a place that was all ice, wind, and bitter snow. A place filled with striking clarity, and a place in the reaches of which dwelled one true conviction.

–"_I can…"–_

…_Face you now._

I breathed in.

My opponent began to blink, and my fist was smashing his jaw.

Behind me, I heard Gaara let slip a shout of surprise as the First was thrown well into the air.

The man flipped back just in time to land on his feet, stirring a tremor of the earth. I slipped aside as the ground erupted in prolific greenery.

The Hokage diverted my fist, wide eyes intent upon me as I blazed by. He spun into a kick, and I slipped under it and jumped away, and stood motionlessly awaiting his next move. The man's eyes narrowed; he did not leave his stance.

"What is this power, suddenly…?"

As he was pondering, Naruto appeared with Gaara at his back, the blonde's hand on the redhead's shoulder carrying him with his Shadow Swap. The instant the two materialized behind him, sand was bursting from Gaara's gourd in a wicked move, arcing to crash into the earth as Shodai-sama leapt away – away, but straight into my fleet-footed advance.

"Shimatta!" he grunted, blocking my fist with a thunderous crack. I tore on, and he ducked away from and diverted a rapid slew of strikes before returning attack. We traded blows until he put a fist solidly beneath my ribcage. The wind was knocked out of me, and I leapt back – escaping the range of a sharp followup swing – before one of my knees dropped me.

"To think you could match me," he wondered, as I suppressed a wheeze. "And you remain conscious and alert, though I struck at full strength…"

Naruto and Gaara were already at my sides, prepared to defend. "You look disconcerted," Naruto told the man as I rose to my feet, and I knew he was using the First's curiosity to buy me time to recover. "Lee's core style of fighting is straight taijutsu. It's like if someone who knows how to play a shamisen is taught to play a flute; you can practice with a new instrument until your proficiency with the two are all but one and the same, but in the end, you'll always feel more natural with the one you mastered first." He raised his head. "When Lee sheathes his swords and starts to really fight, few opponents can stand against him!"

I assumed my stance – and with no further notice, raced on the attack. The First half-evaded, half deflected my strike, and a fierce chop of my other hand cut the long column of wood that came lashing toward my side. _You say it smugly, Naruto-kun, _I thought, as the two rushed to both stay clear and support my attack. _But in truth, this is an imperfect form…_

I yelled, pelting blocking, shifting forearms with swift but punishing blows. Lord First lashed out, and I blocked a series of strikes of his own.

_It is a regression, to resort to abandoning my kenjutsu – and its potential. That I must do so to hold my own here is evidence of my incomplete mastery of the blade. I cannot balance restraint and attack well enough with the katana, which I should be able to utilize to further focus and channel my power._

THUD! WHAM! THAM!

_Because of this, I can match such a strong opponent… but nothing more. I will never best him this way…!_

"HYAAAA–!"

Our fists collided with a crash. The air reverberated in a hint of instability for almost a second after we came together. Then great chunks of stone radially tore and flung themselves outward from the earth about us, crumbling up into the air. A shockwave finally split from between our still-opposing fists, and we broke apart.

With his naginata poised after breaking a hunk of earth, Naruto groaned as I landed and hopped nimbly back to his side. "You're ridiculous," he muttered hastily, "you know that?"

I _was _trading blows with the First Hokage. Ridiculous or not, however, we could not quite gain the upper hand with this alone. I needed something more…

"You can match me, blow for blow…" the man repeated, almost in disbelief. He gave a combative grin, and called out aloud. "What's your name?"

I looked up. "I am Rock Lee!"

"Rock Lee, then… tell me. Why have you yet to vary your attacks with any ninjutsu, or even genjutsu?"

For a moment, I considered whether there was anything to be lost in providing the answer. "I have none," I conceded finally. "None at all."

His brows lifted only very subtly. "You're a rarity indeed."

"I am well aware."

"No," he said, shaking his head. "Did you know that, in the times preceding shinobi, young men were rarely given weapons and sent to fight in wars before the age of eighteen, perhaps at the youngest sixteen years old? Women were rarely sent to do battle at all. Why would you suppose this was the way of things?"

"Physical maturity…" Gaara murmured. "And strength?"

The man nodded. "Even trained with a sword, for instance – in battles depending chiefly on brute force, a mere boy would stand no reasonable chance against a man's strength. For the civilizations of old, this truth was a simple one – so, rather than waste young lives that would have little if any impact on the outcome of a battle, they typically enforced age requirements on their warriors in times of strife. Only those at least nearing or beyond the stage of full physical development were permitted to fight."

"Then…" I began. "What changed that would be…"

"Yes. The advent of ninjutsu and chakra mastery turned the old system on its head. Suddenly the number of a nation's potential combatants jumped; sufficient training in ninjutsu allowed youths to largely compensate for their natural physical disadvantage, while those adults untrained in ninjutsu could now be overpowered easily. Humans scrambled for power as the ninja arts developed. Populations… dropped accordingly. In desperate times, even at the age of six, a child with talent enough might have been sent to the front lines among adults and hardened warriors, without a second thought." His eyes grew somber. "I was born in such a time," he remarked simply. "Viewed in this way, I suppose ninjutsu is quite wretched.

"But that is not the issue here. For a pup just passing through adolescence to possess such formidable power, without the aid or augmentation of any ninjutsu or spell… it's unheard of." He chuckled. "You think what I say is strange, clearly. Picture your Uzumaki friend stripped of Senjutsu, Kage Bunshin no Jutsu, Fuuton, and that Rasengan of his – or this Suna fellow, without his sand or demonic skills. If they were then forced to fight against that Hatake Kakashi, even similarly stripped of his special abilities, they would lose without fail. Yet you, who wouldn't even begin to attain your full potential for another six or seven years, stand as their equal – would stand above them all. _Now_ do you see how unusual you are, small martial artist?"

"I have worked around my disadvantages," I said, clenching a fist. "That is all."

He smirked sadly. "Hm. It truly is unfortunate… I should have liked to be fighting you after you had grown into a man, and witnessing another power potent enough to shake the world."

He did not need to state it, for me to know he implied my imminent and inevitable death. In spite of myself, my eyes narrowed in defiance toward the one called a god among shinobi. "Plenty of others will have the opportunity to enjoy that honor in time."

He gave that sad smile again, holding my eyes. "Rock Lee, then, huh?"

His hands clapped together, fingers interlocked, and the three of us tensed.

"I acknowledge your strength!"

The sound of activating chakra was emitted from his hands, and the ground beneath us all – beneath Naruto, Gaara, and me, and the First as well – broke from the earth to rocket upward. My ears popped, and my teeth clenched as I spied a tall building, and watched it slip beneath us in height. _We are rising so rapidly… is it another tree growing beneath us?_

"This same trick?!" Naruto shouted over the rolling rumble of snapping stone.

"No… it is different!" I cried, and a straight skewer of wood burst from the rock at his feet, spearing his chest and spawning three more needle-like skewers that broke from his wide-eyed form as it carried him upward.

Pop!

_It took you long enough to dispel it–! _"Ack!" I cried as a hand at the back of my shirt yanked me off my feet. Two great, tall thorns were jutting suddenly from the place I'd been standing, and Naruto swapped me away as more skewers sprung outward from them in all directions. The ground was rapidly dissolving, broken up in every moment by dozens more of the pillars. A central one continued to climb, its base several meters around as it spawned offshoots that sprouted even more themselves; more massive pillars tore through the ground space at various angles, giving form to the tree of spears that was rapidly consuming all free space in a large vicinity.

"He is trying to–disorient us again!" I said, jumping aside prior to the eruption of another needle branch, and launching from the side of another before it broke out in skewers. Naruto had dodged in the opposite direction, and swung his naginata to send wind cutting into the branches that rose up around him.

"I don't think getting boxed in will go over so well this time!" he called, blasting a slash of wind that carved out a path before him. The severed stumps were prompt in projecting all the more needles in violent response. The ground churned beneath us, and instinctually I leapt upward with all my strength. The existing skewers' rate of growth spiked with a jolt, effectively eradicating what fragmented chunks of earth had remained as suitable footing.

And from the peak of my jump, I fell toward the flourishing forest of spikes.

_There is no other choice now. The Fifth Gate…!_

Two arms encircled my waist from behind, and Naruto swapped me upward with him, above the wildly erupting maze of spears. The blonde released me, and we continued to fall until we were swept from harm's way by two rushing streams of sand, just as the forest surged up around us and branched to lock away the sky above.

"We find him, and strike directly!" Naruto snarled, shoving off and vanishing from his platform of sand, as Gaara swept by, riding upon sand that swirled beneath his feet. Both arms were fully human once more, and outstretched before him as he maintained the slightest frown of focus.

"The sand and I both know your chakra well, by now," he said, and plunged in his flight to avoid a skewer that projected laterally before him. "Trust me!"

"Always," I said with a smirk, and shoved backwards from my platform as a bursting roil of chakra a ways before me set a tangle of skewers loose in the platform's path. I backflipped through the air, swinging myself over another branch.

_With Gaara-kun's support, I can conserve the power of the Gates until I need it to strike…!_

"YOSSHU!" I roared, launching myself from a springboard of sand that materialized beneath my bracing feet. Gaara's sand provided footing, walkways and paths that twisted from the range of lancing skewers and raced in tandem with our moves to guide us through the perilous maze; I glimpsed Naruto gliding, ever-tumbling through the air in graceful flight as he flowed through Shadow Substitutions, while occasional, fleeting leaps from sand footholds kept him aloft.

I swung my right leg around and upward, and then my left, turning my body swiftly in the air as my feet left the cloud of sand beneath them; I passed over a broad skewer while the sand swept beneath it, and my feet returned smoothly to it as the obstacle was left behind.

"Through here!" Naruto cried, and with an indigo flash a kunai was sailing into the bark of one skewer amongst a wall of them.

"Understood," Gaara said, zipping with great speed toward the point the wraith had marked out. His right arm drew back, shimmered with power, and burst to transformed state as he slammed it through the wall of spears. As he did so, the sand beneath my feet was sifting swiftly toward my outstretched hand; with the relocation it stretched forward as a band, and I dug my fingers into the sand so that it could sling me strongly through the gap Gaara had created.

I found our foe's surprised eyes just as a recently tumbling purple-clad form appeared at his back. Naruto's axe kick was centimeters from dropping into the Shodai's skull.

The man shifted enough so that the strike sank into his shoulder instead, but he had sorely underestimated the weight of the blow. Naruto had let himself fall, swapping to keep himself aloft without the aid of any footholds for the last several seconds; the result was that he had accumulated that time's worth of freefall acceleration, and accordingly amassed a hefty deal of momentum.

"Agh!" the First grunted, and the blonde flashed away as three skewers closed for him from all sides.

_Now! Kaimon, OPEN!_

"_DYNAMIC ENTRY!_" I declared, sailing toward the man with a flying kick. Eyes narrowed, he slipped aside – and gripped my ankle. Whirling, he hurled me toward a projecting skewer at breakneck speed. I felt a hand on my arm, and the hold of Naruto's familiar chakra encompassing my own, and I was deposited before the wall of sand he himself had just leapt from. I turned to meet it feet-first, and launched with blazing speed toward the First once more.

He was charging, but dodged my first strike before he lashed out. I unleashed a focused barrage of intensity, assailing him with blows as he backpedalled and dodged craftily, before I leapt over him in evasion of a sly skewer; I pushed from a patch of sand that condensed in the air to explode vigorously into a high strike. He blocked, shoved me away, and rose upon a twisting pillar of wood that swept him toward me. I tumbled toward the mess of skewers that became of the ground. _Gaara-kun!_

A rush of sand caught me above them, and I sprinted to meet the quietly surprised First Hokage in an arcing path as sand raced to place itself without fail beneath my feet. _With this I can fight freely!_

I leapt and snapped into a blinding kick, and the Hokage leaned in evasion; the agile pillar carried him away from the following swing, and his arm shifted sharply – the imprint of Naruto's fist blinked with a thud into his sleeve – and I was shoving from the sand, striking at him again with all my might. An elegant shadow rolled and substituted, pirouetting undaunted from the paths of skewers that angrily targeted him; he landed, crouched for but an instant, on both feet and one hand on a hastily procured patch of sand, darted away, and continued to harass the First with strikes thrown from the depths of shadow. Even with Gaara coordinating for us both, and with the contrast between my direct offense and Naruto's elusive moves, the man masterfully dodged our ferociously concerted efforts to return attack with melee and Mokuton.

_Third Gate – Seimon!_

Two flying skewers were being cut from the air before me with a flash of wind. In a straight shot, I drove my fist into the First Hokage's stomach, sending crimson sailing from his lips. A Shadow Kick knocked into the back of his skull. Even then, he did not buckle. With unreal swiftness of recovery, he drove the sole of his sandal cleanly into my face.

I was thrown back into the air – and caught by a cushion of sand that plunged as I fell, swept, and swirled forward into a platform beneath my feet. Burning blood running from my nose and lip, I pulled back my fist and swiftly squared my stance – and my eyes grew as the Fourth Gate's power smoothly unfurled.

It snapped into focus – and with a yell, I struck out with a sharpness that twisted and shattered the very air about my fist.

Twenty meters away, the First was torn off his feet, blown backwards with an affronting crack of sheer force.

His eyes were wide as he flicked out two fingers. At a motion of his hand, the skewers behind him turned, reorienting to lay themselves flat, before his back cracked into the wall of wood.

He fell to a similarly flattening patch of ground, rolled forward, and slammed his fist down with finality. The skewers in a line before him came alive again, expanding, spawning unpredictable offshoots, and tearing toward the three of us. Towering branches lanced across the open space, cutting down the potential for motion.

_This is bad! As long as we remain in here, he has the advantage–!_

A great power electrified the air.

"_HORRYYYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!_"

With a wild roar that rang out past heavily fanged teeth in a duality of tones, hands falling from his fiery hair, Gaara threw his head back as the lower portion of his shirt burst to reveal the seal alight on his belly. His maddened eyes lit themselves a similar white as the glow shot downward from the seal, sending twin branches of light down along his legs, spreading from the ground at his feet, and obliterating all lancing skewers that came within a few yards of him.

The ground jumped–lurched–jerked again as a tearing roar of destruction echoed from somewhere far below. Then gravity listed to one side, and I realized that the great, deadly tree had begun to fall.

The First leapt into a shunshin, vanishing. Naruto grasped my hand, and flashed to catch Gaara's dazed, slumping form. A few more substitutions, each of which must have exacted a frightening toll in his chakra for the extra load, brought us miraculously into full sunlight.

As my eyes adjusted, I found we were at the side of the dropping mammoth of a tree, and nearly laughed in shock as I saw what had felled it. A less ineffectual move, indeed, the manifestation of Shukaku's maw had risen through faltering foundations, no doubt having emerged opened wide directly beneath the structure – wide enough to engulf even its roots – and split the trunk with a monstrous snap of its now-shut jaws. I watched the beast's head lose form and fade again as Naruto swapped to hasten us to solid ground.

"Arigatou gozaimasu, Issan," Gaara was muttering with a weak smile of relief, his ringed eyes shut and a hand pressed appreciatively to his belly. Though his words were calm, his face was stark white.

_To project its emergence to such a distance… _I wondered, blinking in amazement at the boy as he panted and coughed. _Gaara-kun… Where did you learn to summon such power?_

I had no more time to wonder, however; the First was sailing from the tree's outer branches, having waited for it to near the ground. He flipped away as it came roaring down, and by the time he landed I was there to meet him, Fifth Gate opening, rushing on the attack.

His move to block the obvious threat was countered as a subtle senbon, buried deep in his thigh by the speed of a Vacuum Shot, cut the range of motion of his arm. My kick plowed into his face, crushing, and he hit the ground hard.

Wherever he may have released the senbon from, Naruto was already swapping Gaara nearer. Sand spiraled from the gourd, diving to crash upon the man's weakened form, rolling, contracting – and blown away. The mighty sweep of an arm had cast it aside and freed the First, who studied us as bits of matter drifted to repair the damage to his face. He stood, wincing in annoyance as his nose straightened itself out with a dull crunch.

The Inner Gates fell shut, and I swayed. But I stamped down the mounting exhaustion and returned his glare, as did the others.

"You don't have any sealing jutsu between the three of you, then?" the First guessed, cerrectly. "Your power is nothing short of impressive, but if all you can hope to do is bind me, you'll need a much stronger attack to stop me long enough."

We stared him down. Then the three of us exchanged looks.

Me – determined to fight as long as I needed to.

Gaara – forever willing to protect his comrades.

Naruto – a madman's glint in sharp indigo eyes.

With no further notice, Naruto was dropping to seat himself in a meditative stance as Gaara's sand swirled to encircle the blond in a spherical shield. I leapt into the Shukaku hand Gaara drew back, and was flung at the First, to attack.

The man was incredulous as I hurtled toward him. "Are you insane?! What are you plotting…?"

_Smat…!_

"That is for _us_ to know!" I growled, as he deflected my punch. I drew back again. "Just take comfort… that your dreams will not perish today!"

He blocked the strike, and I shifted outside two blinding jabs of his own before hopping back from an air-rattling kick. "How can you still fight? _Why _do you fight? You're _children!_"

_WAM!_

I felt teeth shifting; the world seemed to flash black and white a dozen times in the instant his fist bludgeoned against my cheekbone. Blood was spilling from my mouth as I spun and toppled onto my front, half-blind with pain – and as he leapt to pass me, my hand lashed onto his ankle. I was dragged a few feet, but brought him back to the earth.

"We have _dreams _to protect!" I spat, flinging my feet up behind me to drop twin heel strikes toward his shoulders. These he blocked, and he leapt as I released him and lashed my legs down and around in a sweeping double kick. I caught myself in a crouch, and threw myself into an attack once more.

"Dreams are vital," he said, blocking sharp strikes, "but without power to match the strength of those dreams, such is all they will ever be – fantasy. Delusion!"

The fist that slipped past my guard met my breastbone with a crunch – one that painted the world white, with the sickening screech of an excess of cracking ribs.

I crumpled to the dirt, chest spasming. I had not even determined whether or not I was breathing successfully before I tried to pursue the man walking past me, and found my body would not move.

_Shock…?_

Gaara stood firm guard before the shell of sand, weary eyes cold as he faced the First down. "As long as we have faith in him, Naruto-san's dreams will not be eradicated so easily," he said with the levelness that was so characteristic of him, and a boldness that was not, as he watched the man approach. "Your dreams can and will live on – in him!"

Sabaku no Gaara was essentially defenseless while he concentrated his sand on shielding Naruto – so he did all he could, and leapt to throw a punch.

His fist was snatched from the air. He held his ground, eyes murderous upon the Shodai and teeth gritted as his hand was squeezed until it popped. Then a hand chop curtly shattered his elbow. His jaw dropped, and his eyes were going white as he was kicked harshly aside. The sand, somehow obeying the strength of the last conscious command it had received, had not raced to shelter him from either blow, and remained as it was, standing in its sphere, even as its master went sprawling.

"N-no…" I hacked, reaching toward them. The man glanced back.

"It ends here," he said solemnly, sharply clenching a strong fist.

And a skewer of wood burst through the heart of the powerless sand sphere, and out of the other side. The heavy crunch of rent flesh met my ears, and I froze.

The sphere collapsed, revealing a blonde-haired shinobi, wide-eyed as blood poured from his mouth.

Naruto bent, slumping against the skewer that had pierced his heart. His clothes and cape were torn. The markings of the Sage faded from spasming eyes.

"This fight… is over now."

Naruto's fumbling hands grasped numbly at his chest, and at the red-streaked spear protruding from it. His body trembled; his teeth shakily clenched, and his eyes slowly, slowly shut.

"My dreams… a-_are _my power."

And with those last words, he at last embraced sweet, overdue nonexistence, and melted into a plume of smoke as a young Sage, arms crossed, one foot extended, face fiercely stern, and cape stretched straight up, phased down into existence at the wide-eyed Shodai's back.

* * *

**Naruto ****ナルト**

Falling.

–_I wonder why… if I drop the stones from increasing heights, the impact craters reach a maximum size?–_

Falling.

–"_Fukasaku-sensei, I've discovered something interesting!"_

"_Eh? What is it, lad?"–_

Falling.

–"_I was dropping stones from atop the pillars in the ravine, and…!"–_

Falling.

–"_It's… interesting, sure. But what good is it? Huh? Why do you look so down?"–_

Falling.

–"_Naruto-chan? What're you up to now?"_

"_Cutting the rocks to the same size – I need to observe it s'more, and I think they'll compare better if they're all the same size, y'know?"–_

Falling.

–"_Blazes__, boy, are you still at it?"_

"_I shoulda' thought of it sooner – they should probably all be the same shape, too. Oh – do you have any string? I want to measure the craters around."–_

Falling, without moving my body.

–_I have to Shadow Climb to get there, but there's no question. Any height above that, and the craters _are _all the same size and depth, about…–_

Falling, and meditating as I fell.

–_So… they've stopped speeding up? Why the heck would that happen?–_

Falling, and no longer feeling the wind in my face.

–_When I fly, I feel the wind in my face…–_

Falling, and breaking free, so carefully, of all limitations.

–_The faster I fall… the sharper the slap of the wind…–_

Falling, with the miracle of Wind chakra infusing my form.

–_At some point… At some speed?_

…_Does the air slow things down…_

…_Just as much as they'd like to be speeding up?–_

Minimum resistance – attained.

Maximum speed – attained.

–_What should I even call such a phenomenon…?–_

The gut wrenching instant when, orienting myself, one last Shadow Swap down left me two yards – and in infinitesimal piece of a second – away from splattering into unforgiving earth. Everything in me said to climb, to get away; at this speed, even a hundred yards from the ground seemed much too close.

Eyes wide as can be, face locked in a scowl of deathly concentration – trained eyes, trained, somehow, on the enemy's back.

A precision substitution – tremendous chakra, the staggering sum needed to not only displace this much energy, but transform its direction.

The decoy was going up in smoke. The Senju's instincts were just barely telling him to react to me – one neck muscle perhaps began to twitch its part in the complex motion of turning his head.

But no man's reflex, no matter how unreal, could even begin to react to something moving so fast.

…_Then what am I…? _I wondered at the paradox, as I burned into existence with my outstretched foot a millimeter before his stomach.

What exactly did it mean… that I had _not_ gone splattering into the solid earth?

–_I'll call it… Shuutansokudo!–_

Madness and brilliance, becoming one to propel theory, burgeoning, clean into vibrant reality.

And Sage Mode, barely holding my body together as I felt every bone in the First Hokage's reanimated body surrender to swift obliteration.

_Have faith in us, like Ero-sennin – in us, and in the future that's passing into our hands!_

"_Terminal KICK!_"

My mouth, somehow shaping the name with finality as the air exploded, the whole world exploded in the thunderous crack of impact, and we went lancing through space together.

* * *

It was only due to Sage Mode that I could survive such a collision at all. That being said, the monumental power generated by shuutansokudo pushed even Sage Mode's might to its outer limits.

We blazed in a straight shot through a number of structures before, teeth gritted, I managed to push away with the foot buried firmly in his gut and collapsed ribs. My carefully molded sleeve of wind chakra dispersed, and my cape fluttered and tore, my entire body buffeted as air resistance snatched me again. The Shodai crashed down only a moment before I did, and I saw him beginning to tumble wildly in my shaking, blurring sight before I wiped out.

I would've broken more than a few bones in the harsh landing and rolling that ensued, had not Sage Mode mercifully lasted until I lost more momentum, seized some flailing control over my motion, and slid to a stop on my side. I wanted to puke. _It worked… it actually worked…!_

The Nature energy was slipping away as I raised my head with a rough breath, eyes intent but half-lidded with fatigue.

_That's it. No human, whoever it may be, can withstand a direct hit from forty-eight kilograms at a thousand miles per hour… If that's what I've got backing my words, not even you can challenge it!_

Twenty yards away, a motionless figure lay among heaps of strewn rubble that were the remains of some building's walls. His limbs were sprawled at random angles, and seemed not all straight in far more places than they reasonably should bend. His eyes were black, and his gaping mouth ran over with blood.

I caught enough breath to speak, a small smirk rising to my face. "You can rest easy now, see…?"

"Naruto-san!" It was Gaara; I turned my head groggily, seeing him hurrying this way. His face was taut, and a hand, to dissuade its motion, clutched an elbow splotched with a heavy patch of purple, but his eyes were bright. "I'm here! I'll stop his movements now!"

I smiled, and was about to answer when the sense of danger prickled over my skin. A hiss was the only warning before fire knifed into my neck.

_V-venom?! _I thought, hand shuddering as searing heat bubbled in my flesh, overtaking my senses. I'd let my guard down, but my hand had snapped to grasp the assailant's scaled body just as its needle-like fangs punctured my throat, barely missing my trachea. _That guy… has he been w-watching this entire time? Even in the middle of a battle for the village – watching his trump card fight, to examine our abilities?! _If so, Orochimaru had seen all I had, and summarily decided not to let me live.

I flopped onto my back in a spasm of pain, chest heaving. I crushed the hinge of the snake's jaw between the thumb and forefinger that had grasped it, and tore it away with a scream. Left lying on my side, I coughed and gasped wetly, tasting venom and succumbing to the sickening feeling of my body going limp. I had nothing left to fight it. I couldn't move…

I couldn't move, and the First Hokage, limbs straightening and bones solidifying with dull crunches and pops, blazing with Orochimaru's chakra, was slowly rising up in battered and crumbling armor before me.

"Extraordinary…" he was saying as I gawked, helpless. "Even if I had been revived with the full strength I possessed in life… I dare say that move alone could still have been my end. But Orochimaru has had more than a year to pour his chakra into this cursed shell; I'm more resilient than even the typical Reanimation."

Gaara was a ways back, exhausted but fighting desperately to destroy a much larger snake that determinedly barred his approach. I could do nothing but watch with unblinking eyes as the Shodai's hands swept through a flurry of seals. He flicked two fingers up and stomped, and a heavy spear of wood, nearly long as he was tall, burst from the earth before him to shoot high into the air.

"Mokuton: Ironwood Javelin!" he announced with an aura of harsh finality. He caught it with a firm clap as the solid weapon returned to him, its blunt end cracking the quailing ground.

_No… _I was petrified as he lifted and drew back the javelin, turning it lateral in his hand. Gaara was yelling something, running toward me, still so far away. My fingers twitched, numb; my pulse thudded against my ears.

I took one last breath as the legend among shinobi, like a god hefting his final instrument of judgment, gave a thunderous bellow and hurled the javelin to strike me down.

An earsplitting crack.

My eyes were stretched wide, the horrible crunch resounding in my ears, as Lee's half unsheathed katana shattered beneath the lance – his wrist buckled, turned, and snapped as he was pushed a step back – and the Javelin, its course miraculously altered by the collision, blasted through Lee's body and over my head.

Hanging on the flash-frozen air, the ringing of splitting steel and bone continued to reverberate with striking clarity. The ground a ways behind us loosed a grand explosion of dust as the speeding projectile bolted off and fell. When Lee's gritted teeth parted, it was to voice a howl of such agony that my gut clenched even harder than it already was.

Crying out, blood spraying profusely from the hole in a demolished shoulder blade, he crumpled sharply to his hands and knees.

My lips parted, cold.

"B…Bushy Brow!"

"Lee-san, no," Gaara breathed, as the First raised an eyebrow.

"He actually diverted an Ironwood Javelin's flight, even to the smallest degree… You kids are full of surprises, aren't you?"

Lee was coughing, choking on his breath; his eyes were mindless but mad, unblinking on a distraught and blood-drained face. His hand trembled steadily, as the rest of his body did, atop the hilt of a shattered blade he still held before him, in shock. His breath further shook, and the shuddering grew violent before cutting off altogether. The maimed youth finally slumped where he sat, limp with the loss of consciousness.

"You protected your comrade at the cost of an arm, even if only to delay the inevitable. You've got guts," the First noted. "Futile or not, I can respect such an act… Very well. At the very least, I can kill you first. You needn't see your dear friends die before you–,"

Before he could say another word, his jaw fell slack. Mine did, too.

Head down, bloodied face in shadow, Lee was rising to his feet in slow, jerky motions. His arms hung as he nearly stumbled, but he caught himself, straightening. A soft, hollow murmur was rattling toneless from his lips: "I see, I see…"

"Wh… How?" It was all I could say, as he reached abruptly to clench his good hand around the intact katana's hilt.

The moment his fingers made contact with the weapon, a vortex of energy surged from his form, and settled. He remained motionless as, like the beating of a titan's heart, the same power pulsed and ebbed, pulsed and faded, pulsed from his form and throbbed on the verge of awakening, straining the suddenly searing air. This energy wasn't Lee's – it was dark.

_No… _I realized, and I would have started, had I dared to. _Not even. I-It's…_

_Evil._

Evil, struggling to be given form.

"I don't know what you're up to," Shodai said, unruffled, "but I will end it."

He swept his arm out, and the terrain erupted in a mass of woody greenery that came bounding, barreling and crashing toward us. Lee stood his ground, apparently undaunted, as the attack closed rapidly for him.

Then his head snapped up, with a fresh pulse of shapeless vileness that simmered in the air. Teeth gritted, he drew his remaining sword from its sheath, bringing it first high into the air, and swung with a hellish shout into the opposing tsunami of verdancy.

Branches were sliced through like water and scattered, torn and thoroughly blasted asunder by the splintering slash. I gawked. Before the swordsman leaves browned and crumbled, branches shriveling and withering away from the plane of his slash as he resumed full height with cold seriousness in his eyes.

And then, with a final, reverberating crack of energy from swordsman and from the shimmering sword that glinted darkly in his firm grasp, Lee's hair stood up, his teeth gritted in a snarl of condescension, and his eyes grew intense and then so far beyond merely intense that his expression couldn't be put adequately to words. The voice that emanated from his lips was Lee's voice, but not; it rumbled out low and dangerous, subtly insidious, sinister to the point of being strikingly alien to me.

"_Juuchi Yosamu…_" he said icily, marveling momentarily at the blade he held before him. He met the Shodai's eyes expressionlessly but for a grandly calm smile, and an insurmountable lust for blood and conquest, shining chaos, flashing in the depths of his own.

The sword pointed toward the old Hokage.

"_It desires your defeat, Konoha no Shodai, and so one of us shall be destroyed here._"

Lord First's eyes narrowed calculatingly. I noticed with a start the grass that was wilting rapidly about Lee's feet, just as the First's Mokuton had, drying and browning as if with disease. The Shodai turned up his chin at this turn of events. "What manner of jutsu is this…?"

A rough scoff of a laugh broke from Lee's throat. "_Jutsu, you say?_" he snarled, and he turned the fiendish blade so that its gleaming edge caught the sparse sunlight and split its soft rays into glaring hues of dusk and deep crimson.

The First winced, and Lee was flying on the attack.

The blade made not a sound, not so much as the subtlest whistle or sigh as it flashed to cut the air, its wicked arc passing a hair above the Shodai's forehead as he leaned back in evasion. The man's knee lashed around for Lee's gut, but his airborne foe caught it with a crack against his own knee, and broke away into a backflip.

Lee had no sooner landed lightly on his feet than the First was dodging the quick lunge of the blade; Lee slashed toward him with a smarting snarl, and a tight spin brought the scowling Hokage from the blade's reach. With a devilish intensity Lee dished out strike after strike with no wasted motion, unnaturally calm in the throes of madness that shone from his eyes and seemed to seize and imbue his form. It was unlike anything I had ever witnessed; Lee was a man possessed, his weapon unstoppable, his body but a vessel of supreme lethality, his every decisive move borne upon the will to deliver ruin unto the grand adversary before him.

The First Hokage, backpedalling, weaving through the rapid bombardment of attacks that comprised an utterly relentless assault, summoned a longsword of his own and surged to counter attack.

Cleanly as the wind, the sword engraved with the Senju crest was split by an oncoming slash. However fine the blade had been, its intended parry had offered no detectable resistance – not in the face of the boundless ferocity that strove for annihilation, and impelled the hand of a beast whose eyes shone with dark, whose spirit blazed unchecked and whose coolly malicious smirk chilled all who beheld it.

The First's stomach was split open.

No – superior reflex had caught the man in his advance, pushed him to try to back away again in evasion. Even he, however, had been unable to fully react to a speeding blade that not only sliced through his block, but did so without lending an ounce of sound or feeling. What amount of instinct could prepare a shinobi for so illogical an occurrence? Still, among shinobi he was the best there was, so the slash that destroyed his sword and banished some remnants of his armor was shallow across his torso. He leapt back from an immediately following strike, black eyes wide as blood finally spurted from his ruptured flesh.

"_Yes_," Lee said, his smile harshly malevolent, his face spattered with blood. The stained blade whipped lazily through the air about him – at his right, above, the left, and before him – dancing as he strode forward in lilting steps, broken left arm swinging limp. "_Drink the blood of our enemies, and let us surpass them!_"

"Th-that… can't be Lee-san," Gaara breathed at my side. He gripped his stomach, as if ill, but could no more tear his eyes away than I could as Lee flung himself once more upon his foe.

"It can't…!"

Mokuton lanced viciously forward from the earth before the First; Lee hacked clear through the first of it, but could only get off that one slash before the sheer mass of bursting plant life, rushing against his form, carried him back with staggering speed, and drove him to the earth with a cataclysmic crash.

The First was just shouting that if you can't move, you can't cut, when in a burst of foul light the branches in Lee's vicinity were diced, shredded bits withering and reduced to nothing by what I recognized as the Blade of Infinity on a monstrous level.

_This power… What am I even seeing here? What…?!_

A thick branch lashed in just as he'd freed himself; it caught cruelly across his torso, slamming his shrieking breath out of him and swatting him away. He rolled rapidly as he met ground – and slid to his feet, back hunched and blood dripping from his lips – rose and jerked to full height as the upraised blade pulsated with an angry flash of luminosity – and unleashed a bellow of rage that sent violent light screaming into the air, as he launched himself forward into the pursuing masses of wood, his arm drawing back only to lash forward again as Infinity's Blade. Yelling out his might, he demolished all that opposed him, sprinting, blasting forward with frozen determination and ill intent.

But as I watched him move, a burgeoning whirlwind of living ferociousness, I found what it was that appalled me so. It was more than malice or murderous intent: it was a thousand wars' worth of pain and suffering, anguish, exposure, famine, and rot, assailing the senses with each breath and with every glimpse of the dancing blade's ghastly sheen. This power was catastrophe, and I shuddered to contemplate the price of channeling it.

What Rock Lee now wielded was the power to eradicate all that lay in one's path… a power that yielded to none, and that demanded the prostration of kings, for it could see nations turned to dust and was coupled with the potent desire to stand and watch them as they burned. The mere and barest comprehension of such a bane tore at my soul.

"What on Earth…" Great drops of cold sweat rolled from my chin; my eyes were frozen wide, and trembling in true horror. "No human's body… should even be able to withstand that much power!"

Obstacles, vanquished because he willed them to rubble. A harbinger of turmoil, fixated on a goal – tearing on, forever onward with that singular purpose – steeped in violence, doomed and willing to forge his path in bloodshed.

"This is madness!" Gaara, who was not easily shaken, was distraught. "He may win, but at what cost?"

_But you, Bushy Brow… you'd accept any cost, wouldn't you? Even shouldering this terror…_

My eyes watched silently, maybe in horror, maybe in awe, as I watched adversaries dance.

_For your goals… Would you even become something no longer human?_

A solid kick, meeting Lee's wrist, broke his grip on the blade. His expression grew savage.

And the First, the moment he caught the hilt of the great and terrible weapon, experienced an expansion of the pupils accompanied by the tumult of darkening chakra flying into utter disarray, and turned the blade against himself.

The man yelled, hand snapping open; in the course of losing contact with it, his eyes refocused, and he turned the blade away before its tip could pierce his gut. Then it was falling, and swerved impossibly – clapped into its chosen, outstretched hand of calamity, so that Lee could instantly lash out in retaliation.

"_It acknowledges only ME_," he boasted, and the First barely managed to escape with only a nick to the arm. The man planted one foot, and jammed the other hard into Lee's already shattered shoulder. A sound of pain creaked up from his throat, and he went sailing. He met the ground with a horrid thud, and shoved back to his feet, outraged.

Something sparked in his eye, and confusion rose, so briefly, to his stern features.

Then the sword's glow intensified violently, gushing hellish light, and with it Lee was overtaken once more by cold resolve. My eyes narrowed. _He responds to the blade…?_

And Lee flipped the blade in his hand, and plunged it to hilt through his own body. I grimaced, dumbstruck, as Gaara loosed a wordless cry of alarm.

_No – no, he should have missed the fatal hit by a centimeter…_

The First Hokage stared, teeth clenched. The shock and the pained expression together faded from Lee's face as he shut his eyes, pale, and he gritted his teeth only slightly as he drew the blade from the clean wound.

_Kuso… I see!_

He nearly staggered. Then the blade's glow strengthened vigorously, wildly within its coating of running crimson, and he straightened. Katana held skyward, teeming with new vigor, he opened his bloody, dripping mouth and unleashed a war cry as the blade's bursting power resonated with his own, causing the decaying earth to buckle for a distance around him.

"It's not him… It's a damned parasite!"

"What?" Gaara asked, looking to me.

"It's that sword. A sword that strikes with abandon, of its own accord, with Lee as its puppet!"

_Is that how it works? _I thought, as the young swordsman, panting roughly, settled into a loose stance. Knees bent and head low, leaning forward, he reached across his body so that the dripping blade in his right hand was extended back at his left. _You surrender to its will… and it destroys your enemies?_

_Or… _

His feet spread. The First's hands began to come together.

_Or did you even have a choice?_

A shockwave, born of speed, violently battering the air. Lee's feet slid to a smoking halt twenty meters behind the Shodai, who himself had suddenly shifted a few yards to his left. The combatants remained for a few moments as they were, the man's teeth gritted, the boy's arm high, stance low, glinting katana outstretched at his right.

Lee rose, sharply whipping new blood from the blade as he spoke.

"_Nothing can weather Ten Thousand Cold Nights._"

The First's right arm detached with a spurt of blood, lopped off at the bicep, and thudded to the dirt. But rather than regenerate, the stump left behind blackened along its edge, while the lost limb crumbled and faded away, its disappearance not uniform but spreading from the plane of its severing. The reanimated Hokage scowled slightly, eyes still shut.

"A soulsword that robs life force, then… effectively, a sword of sealing."

At this remark, Lee merely, slowly turned his head enough to glare back at the man, exultant.

As he turned, his image shimmered in my eyes. For a fleeting moment, I saw a horrible contortion of my noble-hearted friend; he was a true beast of a man, his ragged, strong, ensanguined form sagging with the encumbrance of shackles and countless bloodstained chains. His harsh eyes were devoid of light, and left as the eyes of one who relished in strength and rejoiced in suffering. Markings decorated his twisted face. But most striking of all were the thick outward-pointing fangs that hung from the mouth beneath a heavy nose, and the long, slender oni's horns protruding from his forehead. The vision then faded, and with an imperious grin, eyes dark and mindless with rising bloodlust, Lee turned sharply about to face his opponent.

"_**Come!**_"

My mouth was dry. _Was that… a glimpse of your soul, Lee? Or of the future that awaits you, transformed by power?_

Either way…

_Victory can't be worth this. Not even now._

I clasped my hand over my chest. The fox's chakra, reemerging, was fighting off the venom in my veins, but I could see well enough that anyone who stepped between those two now would be killed.

_This must stop…_

* * *

**Lee ****リー**

It is… so dark…

_Dark, and so oppressive that I could not move – I could not even breathe._

_The dragon called _chikara_… had finally consumed me._

But is there any point in fighting against it?_ I thought, eyes moistening in despair. I scowled through the tears. _Even if I could escape this, what other options remain to me now? I have grown stronger and stronger to protect my comrades. I have fought through endless battles without fearing death, but I was not strong enough on my own to defeat that man… It was not enough.

Killing our enemies is my only means of protecting them. I know this… but if I cannot even do that, what purpose remains to me?

"_Hey…"_

_I blinked in the bottomless darkness. A voice, in this place?_

"_Oi, kid – you in there? Yoohoo? Anyone?"_

Wait… this almost sounds like–

_A hand plunged through the darkness, latching strong onto my shoulder. I yelled, as much in floored bewilderment as in alarm._

"_Aha! So that's where you were!"_

_Unblinking in astonishment, I was pulled from the prison and into open light. I thudded onto my backside, dripping with living shreds of some black, sludge-like residue, and looked up at the back of the man who had thrown me. He was taller than I would have been on my feet; short, dark hair was spiked up, and he wore a fluttering, sleeveless black trench coat open over a ragged white tee and blue breeches. Before him was what I could only assume had devoured me – an amorphous, sluggish mess of a thing that perpetually crumbled and reformed, its shapeless body dripping with corrosive black gouts and rivulets of disease._

"_Rock Lee of the Leaf, huh?" the stranger chuckled, flicking some of the ooze from his hand. "You've come farther than I woulda' thought, all those months ago. But the demon blade's awakening overtook every scrap of you so quick, I figured I'd check in and see if this is really how you want things to go down. Ain't I sweet?"_

_I was speechless. Then the great beast before us – a squirming beast that had once shone with the chaos of a thousand hues, but was now soaked in poisonous red and black and many times its former stature – hissed in outrage, managing to shape a monstrous set of jaws as it slithered and lunged toward us._

"_Enough of you!" the Stone shinobi snarled, sweeping a dismissive arm out. A wall of chakra arced into being before us, sending the beast reeling from a collision. It lost shape and rolled over itself to fade furtively back, but simmered with palpable rage._

"_Stronger… __**Stronger**__!" the creature bellowed, frantic._

"_Good grief. It's totally outta control, huh… Hey, kid," the man said,_ _"want to take us somewhere we won't have to listen to his chatter? It's _your _mind. You ought to able to manage that for a sec."_

_I did not know how I was expected to go about managing it, but as I envisioned the thought the rogue dragon faded. Or… it had not faded, but the man and I were somewhere else in… wherever this was. My mind? I narrowed my eyes at the man, who still had not faced me. "How are you here?"_

"_Eh? You killed me with a soulsword. Well, in my particular case, you used that soulsword to cut down its former wielder. Not to mention, your first kill tends to stick to ya', right? That makes our bond especially tight, I'd say. Not like I was sure I'd be able to manifest here at all, but hey, it worked…" He shrugged his shoulders, looking back nonchalantly._

_I blinked as he offered me a hand to my feet. My lips parted as I took in his scarred face._

"_Kozue… Kuri?"_

"_Who the f#ck else?"_

"_I do n-not… What is happening? I do not understand…"_

"_Right now? That's the easy bit. You're in the middle of a toe-to-toe deathmatch with that god among shinobi, lucky punk."_

"_I can sense that much, somehow…"_

_He sighed._ _"You really don't know anything? I guess it'd be more helpful for me to go to the beginning. And the _very_ beginning… Well… Have you ever heard the samurai's legend of Masamune and Muramasa?"_

_I tilted my head to the side._ _"I have. What in the world does that have to do with–oh. Oh, balls."_

"_You never wondered at how those swords never broke?"_

* * *

_I knew the tale. I had thought I had._

_The young Muramasa had allegedly challenged his master, Masamune, to a contest of craftsmanship, to see who could forge a finer katana. The great smiths had toiled to produce works that would win the regard even of the gods, and at last tested their creations at a stream, by plunging the blades into the current. Muramasa marveled and boasted in the way his blade cut the water and air, the fish and the lotus blossoms – slicing everything that passed its way, without fail, without a sound._

_And the pupil laughed upon seeing Masamune's blade stir ripples in the current, allowing all to flit and pass unchanged around it._

"_That's how it starts, yes," _Kuri said approvingly. _"But as Muramasa taunted his peaceable master, a wise man – probably some monk – is said to have approached the two, after witnessing their contest. He praised the smiths' efforts, saying that both had forged blades demanding the regard of gods – but this regard came in different forms." He held up a pointer finger, grinning. "One of them, he said, was a sword of mercy, honor, and just righteousness – a sword of freedom. But the other… was a chaotic sword of madness, bloodlust, and death – a sword of sealing. Thus one was to be adored by the gods, and the other feared by them."_

"_But such things… I mean, there is no way…"_

_The Iwa-nin's expression was now level, as if to counterbalance my confusion. "There's more to it. Muramasa, who refused to see anything but beauty and perfection in his work, felt his effort scorned when the wise man deemed Masamune's blade finer. He was either unable to accept or comprehend defeat, and so it goes that he struck out at his master in outrage, possessed by his foul creation's bloodlust. Masamune drew his weapon in defense, and the blades of antithesis, bane to each other that they were, collided in a huge spectacle. The effect of this clash was the effective cancelling out of the blades' unique attributes; they became as one, combined in essence, their powers eternally inhibited by the other's counteracting existence. In this way they were rendered almost physically identical, and seemingly unremarkable."_

_I waited a moment, clammy sweat cold on my neck. "Then…?"_

"_Recognizing that something amazing had taken place, the smiths offered the blades to the care of the wise man, for sealing. From there – well, no one really knows. Maybe the monk was slain by bandits down the road, or maybe the blades were snatched from his shrine or temple. But make no mistake. These are the blades you have been wielding, Rock Lee, and the blades that I wielded before you – stolen again and again, coveted and lusted after, fading and resurfacing throughout the times, and passing hands forever with the slaying of the previous wielder."_

"_That is awful!"_

The man shrugged again, thumbing the messy stubble on his chin. _"Countless swordsmen have striven to possess those two katana; they're little-known relics of a forgotten era, said to be imbued with mythic powers that none can control. Only in the last five or six years did they come to be known as the katana of Kozue Kuri; in truth, they've been carving their bloody fate through history, intertwining with the lives of all those unfortunate enough to bear them."_

_My brow furrowed. This, from a proud nukenin who had preyed on the weak? "What do you mean by that? You sound bitter."_

_He started, and when his reminiscing eyes returned to me, his expression was almost sheepish. "I wasn't always so rotten at heart, I swear it. But the blades' latent abilities still hold the power to sway their wielder, even in their mutually subdued states. I wanted to be acknowledged by the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist, even though I'd been born Among the Stones. I strove for that goal without faltering, without looking back… and I unwittingly took up the Muramasa path. I had no idea it was happening, but before I knew it, in pursuit of that goal, I had lost myself."_

"_For… for your goal, then…" I winced, face falling as I looked upon my own hand._

"_Until today, you weren't as far along as I was," he said, smiling._ _"You're an interesting one – even in the contemplation of sacrificing your soul, the desire to protect your comrades never once faded completely beneath that impulsive will to gain strength. You, despite the number you've killed – feeding the demon sword's wrath – have never fallen to it, for you've fought and killed always with the intent of protecting others. Among all you've slain, you've fed it not a single innocent…"_

"'_Fed'? By that…?"_

"_Oh, yeah. The same reason I'm standing here in front of you – Muramasa's blade has another latent tendency strong enough to take effect even clean through the Masamune blade's suppression. The demon blade is never sated, see; as it consumes, its wrath will only redouble with heightened lust. Guess which blade you happened to have in your hands, when you ran me through?"_

"_The same blade you were first about to kill me with, before I disarmed it… Then, that was…"_

"_Yup__ – the same one your true body's mindlessly swinging around right now: the Muramasa blade, which seals away the soul of its every victim."_

"_N…nani?" I stuttered, suddenly faint. I shook my head left and right. "You cannot mean…?"_

_He nodded solemnly, managing a nonchalant smile. "Those slain by a stroke of Muramasa's blade, myself included, will never rest in peace."_

_Thud._

_I had fallen to my hands and knees, and remained paralyzed in grief. "No…" My hands trembled. The guilt was closing in, crushing – nightmarishly so. "It is… the one I wield in my right hand, so – b-by mere chance and ignorance…!"_

_I blinked numbly, head low._

_I had unwittingly condemned more than half of all whom I had ever killed. _

_Out of the horror, a new feeling arose. Loathing… unadulterated loathing, for my own flesh, for this strong body, for the very hands that trembled beneath me. I struck the ground with both hands, swearing, and brought a hand to my face as tears fell. There was no atonement. Not for this…_

"_I had no right… no right in the world, to mete out such punishment unknowingly." It was worse, far worse, for having been done in the absence of accompanying intent._

_I heard a sigh. "Hey – you're sorry, right?"_

_I grimaced. Even such a light suggestion was a mockery. But…_

"_You're suffering. If tears for the fallen are all you can offer us for your mistakes, then at least you're doing that much. Right now, there's a more immediate matter at hand, and I can't hang around here much longer." _

What is within my power to do, then… Lord Mifune once said something similar, did he not?_ Miserable, I raised my head. "What now, then?"_

_He smirked. "Now? Now, you need to make a choice," he said as I rose to my feet, eyes shut. "You faced down some high caliber jutsu made to penetrate any defense, and happened to draw Masamune's sword to block it. You've done what I could never figure out how to do, and unlocked the full potential of an indiscriminate blade that will cut through anything – any obstacle imaginable. The destruction of its counterpart … it makes sense, but I never would have guessed it…"_

"_Then would I be right in assuming that monster you pulled me from, my power, has grown so tremendously from the influence of that blade's cruelty, its chaos?"_

"_Seems so."_

"_Then… that blade can grant me victory."_

"_If your purpose is truly as singular and unbending as that of the blade – its penchant for annihilation – then there might really be no limit to the power the two of you can wield."_

"_But in return…"_

_His eyes were level; he had no personal intentions of swaying me either way, and for that I was grateful. "Its awakened influence has accelerated your transformation into a being of darkness. You're already beyond the level of corruption that I, as a petty outlaw, experienced. You're nearing the point of no return. Look at your reflection."_

"_Huh?" The ground in this space had been all this time like a rigid liquid, shimmering, drifting, and rough. Nevertheless, as I looked down in search of it, my reflection took form._

_Looking back at me was a cold young man with a slightly sterner nose, with an oni's fangs protruding from a perpetual scowl, and with a pair of short horns poking from his forehead. I jumped, stumbling onto my backside; as I realized there was no escape, my hands flew to my face in disbelief. "Wh-what?!"_

"_Your spirit's already begun to transform. You're being shaped into its ideal master; next the demon blade will steal your sanity, and dye your heart black, your body and soul crimson. Ultimately…"_

"_I will be no longer human."_

"_Hai__."_

_I stared back into my half-alien face as I spoke. "I need to defeat the First Hokage… I need the strength to overpower my enemies. But should it require that I be reborn as a blight upon this world…" I paused in torturous thought._

"_Kuso… Well, don't ask me. I have no honest idea what I'd choose. Besides…"_

_I looked up, and was startled to see that Kuri's image was losing substance, fading away. "K-Kozue-san…!"_

"_This is your tale now, kid. But I'll keep on watching it, whichever way it spins, to the end."_

"_Wait – please, wait! The Muramasa blade's attribute and essence is power itself. What is the antithesis to such a thing? What does the Masamune blade embody…?"_

_I trailed off in surprise. Kuri, hands in his jacket pockets, was almost transparent now. He nodded, cracking a cool, subtle grin. "Looks like you already know the answer, Rock Lee of Leaves and Iron."_

_Indeed, it was already passing across my mind as the wayward spirit vanished in a flash of scattering light._

Restraint…

_I nearly stumbled as I found myself once more on the plane that housed _chikara. _The grotesque creature caught sight of me instantly, fixing me with a blood red eye only briefly visible through the crumbling and swirling pestilence of its decaying form. It screamed a furious roar, filth dripping from its maw, and shot to reclaim me._

_I stood my ground, my conviction firm as it drew near._

–"_Tell me, Lee – which katana do you believe was finer?"_

_Hesitating in thought on the story Mifune has told, before shaking my head. "A sharper sword is obviously superior…"–_

_I understood now. As the monster rushed to devour me, I calmly held out one hand._

"_I understand now, you see … which katana is finer."_

_CHOMP!_

* * *

Awareness snapped into my half-consciously fighting body, and I found myself twenty yards away from the First Hokage, my crouched form tense and dangerous, blade in hand, and a vehement urge to destroy twisting and burning sickeningly through my gut.

My foe was short an arm, scratched and bloodied as was I; the wounds inflicted by this beastly weapon would not heal, even for a reanimated corpse. The blade thirsted for blood – for anyone's blood – but before a strong enemy had chosen to fight until either its wielder or adversary perished. I could feel all of this, but above all else felt that my being was overflowing with power, with this blade in my hand; I had the power to crush gods or demons with sheer might, the power to rule over, to reign sovereign above mere humans. It was unbelievably enthralling. My jaw slackened at the overwhelming sensation as I beheld my own suddenly limitless capabilities. I, who had always been held back, disadvantaged, scorned…

My grasp tightened on the hilt until my fingers popped. Breath ragged, I lifted the blade in my hand … and turned it toward its sheath.

I growled through clenched teeth, eyes mad with effort, voice still unnaturally fierce.

"_Th-th…This blade…!_"

I held the Founder's observing eyes as I struggled; the demon blade rattled against the scabbard, glinting and sparking furiously, dazzlingly, resisting with the whole of its great wrath and might as I fought to sheathe it.

"_This blade can defeat you, but whether it would shall not be seen. This is an indiscriminate weapon that will slay innocents readily as s-scoundrels… and strike down my friends in the same breath as my enemies…! If this path should be the price its power, I __**renounce**__ it!" _I ducked my head, eyes shut, face contorted as my muscles strained. It was a third into its sheath, and it was outraged; I wondered if it might now sooner have me kill myself than any other. I yelled out my conviction, more for myself and at the warring blade than for my enemy's ears.

"_I renounce it all now! I disown these desires and cast them away! I will not become a slave to my own power. Cutting down everything that lies in one's path… sacrificing one's soul for power…! This is NOT the way of a warrior!"_

And with a cry, and with crackling pain that seared through my entire body, I began to give – and thrust the sword in one move securely into its sheath, where the pommel met it with a solid clack, denying its fervent desire to spill blood, its desire to make me blight and king, and silencing the foul and wrathful energy it exuded once and for all.

All at once my energy snapped down to its natural, unspectacular state; my hair settled down, and I felt as the changes that had begun affecting my form were swept away. I took a deep breath, raising my head, and spoke.

"That is not the Way of Rock Lee."

Several seconds passed in stunned silence; I spied, in the corner of my eye, Naruto-kun and Gaara-kun staring toward me, terse sweat shining on their wide-eyed faces. The First Hokage studied me curiously.

"What are you playing at, child?"

"I will hide no intention; it is as I have said. I pride myself in strength, but strength is not merely the wielding of power. _Using _power is easy. In truth, what requires the most strength of all… is fighting and possessing the will to overcome the inclinations of one's own desires!"

"Surely you realize your life is forfeit?" he asked pointedly. "You would stay the hand that holds a monstrous weapon, and sheathe your greatest chance of victory? On pure principle?"

I was broken, bruised and bloody; I possessed no longer the strength to so much as throw a decent punch. Even so I stood straight, and held the Shodai's eyes evenly.

"I would sooner face my own death than grant this foul blade even one more victory, and let it to raze and gorge itself on another soul…"

Something flashed, so briefly, into the man's lifeless eyes. Before it might have been identified, his face was again hard as he sank into a stance. "Very well. You are of a rare stripe; of this there is no question. I see now before me a youth who has lived by his way, and shall now die by it! Rock Lee! I, Senju Hashirama, will honor that wish!"

With a roar, he brought his fist forward and smashed it into the solid earth.

Wood tore with great speed through the ground, rising and furrowing, twisting unwaveringly forward, and leaping to plunge cleanly through my gut. I had watched it come; I felt the pain as it carried me, and blasted from my back. I heard two anguished cries, from friends whom I loved but had ultimately failed to protect. I caught the wash of cool air and the scent of green things, and the bubbling, coppery tang of the liquid that burst and gushed freely from my gaping mouth. My mind and body were beginning to disconnect, I knew, through the shivering flashes of pain and numbness.

After some number of moments, everything seemed to seep out of me with my flowing blood, and my rigid form slackened against the spire that had run me through and now held me aloft, leaving my feet dangling. Only when my unfocusing eyes could no longer hold his own did my foe somberly withdraw his hand, retracting the skewer. A new burst of blood went flying past my lips, and I found myself falling a short way. My feet did not begin to hold me. I fell hard to my knees, and then onto my back.

The sky dimmed, shone, flickered, and dimmed rapidly again; an oppressive, inflaming heartbeat pounded in my ears, shaking me enough to tear me in two. I could only assume my torn-open body was bleeding out. It convulsed where it lay, amid unceasing shivers. I realized I was choking on my blood, and helpless to do a thing about it.

Even in so pitiful a state, when the sky was further blurred, its sparse light scattered by the moistening of my eyes, my tears fell for not a grain of sadness.

_If I may cry at all, my tears can only belong to the fallen. I am pathetic… and yet, not pathetic in the least. I never saw the village freed… never saw Naruto-kun mature into a fine Hokage, or Hinata-san defeat our common nemesis and restore peace to her clan…_

_And… what of _my_ dreams? All of this time… have I sought nothing but the acquisition of more strength?_

_Enough… I am tired. So much fighting… has left me tired…_

_I have been slain… I know not if this was the 'best' way… but if nothing else, at the end… it was _my_ way… _

The crawling heartbeat had stopped buzzing at my skull.

My fingers twitched once. Were they grasping for… something… for the dreams that had never been found?

_I am…_

…_Rock…Lee…_

* * *

Light.

"_What a fine soul … child, born of the shinobi and loved by the samurai."_

Whose voice now… _"Am I dead?"_

The same kind voice, soft and elderly, gave a benign laugh. _"Unfortunately, it seems so."_

"…_Oh."_

"_It is alright to be saddened, lad. You led a short life of strife, confusion, and struggle… and only found resolution in the minute of your violent death. It is tragic…"_

I might have scowled, provided the body with which to do so. _"So it may be, but just as in fighting – and in life – there are times to strike out and resist, and times not to. I am slain, Ojii-san. I felt the incredible pain as my body was destroyed. I am now dead, and I accept this."_

"_Then you have made peace with yourself…? But no one can fault you for the will to live, young one."_

The faces of so many loved ones flickered up from my living memory – from dear friends, comrades, and teachers, to the distant memory of a beloved man and woman I could not quite recall, but whose arms around me had once made me feel safe – and vanished. _"If… if I said I have no will to live, I suppose I would be lying. All the same… there is nothing more for me. No – there is so much more to be done, yet nothing I can now do. I will never smile with any of them again."_

"_You feel your spirit's destination is not the same."_

"_I have condemned others' souls. I will never go to where the rest are going."_

"_And all of this, you accept unflinching. You think yourself wretched, but hold your spirit aloft with untold nobility, discipline, and grace. The power to accept is valuable and impressive, admirable indeed, but…_

"_Did you not say just moments ago, child, that there _are _certain times to strike out?"_

B**-_dmp_**.

A cloudy sky snapped into focus above my widening eyes. My form – my prone _body_ – pulsed with the crackling of a thousand nerve endings springing back to life.

My fingers splayed, and the careening hilt of a broken sword flew and clapped firmly into a grasping hand. The air hummed as it gleamed brighter and brighter, and bathed me in its permeating golden-white glow. I held it before my heart and tilted my head back, hacking out blood and gasping as sublime and convalescing energies raced and skittered whimsically through me, frolicsome, light as the breath of many gentle, faraway chimes. The soft smells of milk and fields of wheat, of sunlight and warm air and quiet life filled my nostrils. A benevolent voice only I could hear brushed against my revitalizing soul.

'_Your hand is worthy of wielding the finest katana. Of that, I am sure.'_

Strewn fragments of the shattered blade were breaking down where they lay, evaporating in creamy droplets of sparkling white.

Then my hand swung to stretch upward, and a congregation of white light, shimmering into being at a great height, came crashing down upon my supine form, warm and pure and enlivening, as the blade reforged itself in my grasp.

The man's voice was softly joyous, encouraging. '_It has accepted you. I commend you, young warrior, for choosing my blade.'_

Pleasant warmth continued to waft across my being, lapping at my flesh. The hole in my stomach, more than my hand's length across, was healing as was my shoulder, pain fading and rolling away as I slipped free of it. I was almost weightless as I somehow began to slowly rise to my feet, guided along as if by a gentle hand; I slid the fine sword smoothly into its proper sheath, taking a deep breath as my wounds closed, as broken bones were made whole and melded back into place. Hand residing on the hilt, I calmly opened my eyes to meet those of the First Hokage, who stared back in wonder at what was taking place.

_But if its power lies in restraint, how am I to strike out, Great Swordsmith?_

'_You already know the answer, great warrior…'_

…_Restraint… does not mean to lie passive for all time. I _do _understand. It is the power to strike only when absolutely necessary! This is what Lord Mifune was trying to teach me, all along. Restraint is not the adversary of power, but its dearest companion!_

"Impossible!" the First shouted. "What's the source of this regenerative capability? Such a power…!"

Such a power, indeed. I had been granted a second chance to live life on my own terms. I had overcome the brutal will of the demon sword, and selected the sacred sword's passivity in favor of its companion's might, but I had anticipated nothing of this sort. I knew its secret now, for ancient knowledge and wisdom coursed through my veins and rose to my lips.

"_Underneath the underneath, the Yawarakai Te's true potential, greater even than that of the Juuchi Yosamu, shows itself only to he who knows restraint. It is a technique that can be mastered not by strength, but a pure heart's resolute conviction…"_

My straw sandals spread, one foot forward, as I sank comfortably, smoothly into a stance, leaning a bit forward, knees slightly bent. A world of energy danced around me, light and spirited as it arced and spiraled beautifully – and settled, condensing comfortably into my form.

"_Its power is restraint, and its fuel thine will unleashed…!"_

And I prepared to draw the sword from its sheath, for the time to strike was now upon me.

_ The truest freedom, through restraint._

"_TRANSCEND! Tender Hands' Pure White Slash of the Ascetic!"_

I struck out. The blade flashed around. With the move, riding upon my will and carried burgeoning rapidly forth by the purity of a sound soul's unadulterated and certain intent, a prolific line of luminous power blasted forward as a sea of rolling waves, expanding until it tilled the earth and set the heavens alight. Senju Hashirama raised an arm before his face as if in defense, eyes wide. My concerted will to win, the will to break through, was stronger, faster, and sharper than any defense my opponent might have conjured, and of this will the strike was born – so it ran him through, a million strikes as one blasting against and encompassing him, carrying him back, and breaking him down to nothing.

The grand wave of light faded after several moments, leaving smooth and crumbled upturned earth steaming in its wake. My eyes were cool in the lingering haze as I lowered the sword loved by the gods, the Yawarakai-Te, back into its sheath.

"_This is my judgment, and my conviction. I will not renounce it, for it was absolute."_

And the soft energy suffusing my flesh, the energy the sacred sword permitted its wielder to touch, gave one last cleansing caress and slipped away. I swayed, vision momentarily listing aside, fading, and returning as I slumped heavily to my hands and knees.

_It is done…_

I tipped my head back, panting in exhaustion. My strength had been restored in the miracle that had revived me and made my body whole, but focusing, channeling, and unleashing the immense power of that one attack had exacted a great toll just the same.

_But to think… these two blades, all this time, have actually been…_

"Ex…extraord…inary…"

My face paled.

"Y-y-ou a-are… an e-extraordina-ry… ch…"

My gaze snapped onto the figure approaching through the smoke and dust. Body half-formed of grey dust, clothing in tatters and his voice as gravel, the First reached toward me. He paused, gritting his teeth, and spoke rapidly.

"His c-control is weakened – you've already f-freed me from the Reanimation, and when my connection to him breaks in a moment, I w-will crumble–_urgh_!" Eyes shut, he shuddered. "Run–please run, now–!"

His one eye snapped wide, and Orochimaru's vile chakra was exuded from his broken body in force as his efforts to hold him off failed. The eye blackened completely. He drew back his hand…

Naruto slid into being at my side, reaching across me, back to our foe, to place himself in the path of a leaping skewer of wood. In the same moment Gaara, whom Naruto had transported no doubt with his last shreds of chakra, similarly positioned himself, unleashing a wavering cloud of sand as a shaky shield before us. I glimpsed Sasuke, battered though he was, drawing his sword with a furious cry as he ran toward the man from behind.

Because Naruto and Gaara both had put the attack at their backs, Sasuke and I were alone in witnessing the instant that a black-clad figure materialized amid the flapping of raven wings and swept from the sky, a short sword's strike splitting the Shodai's head from a body that wanted only to crumble.

The shinobi landed in a low, graceful crouch, sword outstretched in a gloved hand. A blank porcelain mask that covered the face, in combination with the upraised hood of a long-sleeved shirt, ensured no inkling of identity was to be gleaned. Perhaps most disconcerting of all was the storm of crows that circled, now squawking, about the newcomer, having somehow masked their arrival.

Sasuke and I stared. Naruto and Gaara turned their heads in time to see the Reanimation break, and the First Hokage's body at last turn to and collapse as dust. The skewer had pierced Gaara's shield barely slowed, and slashed the Suna-nin's side, but now merely rested unmoving an inch from Naruto's back.

The man – for by his proportions, he appeared to be male – rose to full height, and turned the seemingly sightless stare of unnerving black eyeholes to the side. Following his gaze, I started as I saw, a good distance away, Orochimaru himself. The sannin scowled in confusion.

Then the stranger flared his chakra threateningly, and the snake's white face was struck by something akin to fear. He turned and bolted, flickering from view.

Before a word could be said, the masked man flickered away.

"H-huh?" Naruto blurted out, hand still on my shoulder, eyes stuck wide and teeth still bared. Like me, he was probably unable to believe the danger had passed – let alone in such an incomprehensible fashion.

"Wait!" Sasuke shouted. Sharingan active, he sprinted and flickered in pursuit.

Gaara's mouth flopped once, silently. He paused. "What… just…?"

I grabbed the two in either arm, pulling them in easily since they were already close, with my head lowering between theirs and resting above their shoulders. "I do not care." I said it just as I realized it, all but surprising myself.

"What…?"

"Shush now. You heard me; I do not care what just happened…" I shook slightly, teeth clenching. "We are alive… That is what matters for now, even if for just one minute. Nothing more…"

They conceded easily enough to this proposition, and hugged me back.

_His trump cards were eliminated, possibly with no casualties. That itself is a miracle. And even as the First's body was beginning to crumble, he expended a great deal of chakra to maintain it, regain control, and make Shodai-sama attack us._

Fingers furrowing in Gaara's red tufts, I pressed my nose silently to Naruto's blonde hair, nuzzling slightly, half-dazed as I tried to stop my mind from racing. My eyes were unblinking at the moment, coldly contemplative, as I held my pair of younger brothers close. I was sweaty and soaked in blood, but we all were to some extent.

_He was injured… Shikamaru-kun and Anko-sensei must have done damage to him after all._

_But even so, could we have attained such a level…_

…_That Orochimaru… is afraid of us?_

I looked up. Shimmering light was rising from the pile of dust that half-surrounded the body of a sacrificed Sound genin's greyed corpse. A phantasmal laugh drifted into the air.

"_You've freed me, and this poor boy as well. You are the manner of beings that cannot sit idly by… men who will reach out, grasp the world in their hands, and shape it with their indomitable will… You will no doubt be heroes of this era, if you are not already."_

The First chuckled again, voice softening as the light vanished without a trace.

"_Well done…"_

Nodding, I choked down my anger – tearful anger toward the monster who would steal such fine shinobi from their due slumber, and command them, as abominations, to fight to destroy their own village and dreams.

And I shut my eyes, seizing just one minute of peace.

* * *

**(Sasuke ****サスケ****)**

"Hold it!"

His cry was almost desperate, as he stared, gasping, into the motionless back of the masked shinobi who had stopped ahead on a rooftop. The Uchiha youth did not know why he had pursued him with such fervor; there was the obvious reason that an unidentified individual, of uncertain strength and motivation – whether he'd just saved them or not, whether the village was at war or not, and even whether Sasuke himself had the power to do anything about him or not – was slipping about Sasuke's village, a fact that didn't sit quite right with him.

The stranger could not have been more nondescript. The generic mask he wore might have been likened to those worn by the ANBU, but for its being smooth, featureless and blank. He wore unremarkable black shinobi sandals, black pants, and a plain black hooded top; his hands were gloved, and simple bands at his wrists and ankles, along with a thin belt at his waist, provided almost excessive additional security in holding the garments in place. It seemed a cloth mask of some sort, covering at least the top and sides of his head and extending down along his neck, underlay the white ceramic one that would only have concealed his face. No skin whatsoever was visible, so not even its tone might have been ascertained. His build was average, perhaps bordering on slender. There truly was nothing distinctive about him, as if he'd come to the Leaf as a ghost.

Despite all of this, something about him had drawn Sasuke to pursue him doggedly, as surely and naturally as he breathed. Still, the young man was almost sure the clandestine fellow wouldn't speak when, too his surprise, the masked man was the one to break the silence between them.

"You've gotten faster… Sasuke."

His heart skipped a beat as that voice met his ears. Never mind that he had tried to unsettle him by using his name. His voice sounded… but there was no way it could be…?

"A particularly necessary skill, I suppose, for shinobi of your… of _our_ specialty."

"What the hell do you know about me?" His mind was reeling.

"I know you've gotten faster," the man said, and Sasuke wondered if it was a subtle chuckle that he detected in his voice.

"You say that, but can't help but do so in a voice that tells me I'd never have caught you if you hadn't let me."

"That's probably true," he admitted, sitting down on the roof's edge. "Orochimaru got away from me… He'll probably hide and wait until the moment he absolutely must strike out, not unlike what I've done. Unfortunately, I can't remain here; if my… _associates_ knew that I'd come here, let alone for what purpose, there would be a steep price to pay…"

Sasuke neatly stored this information, along with the disquieting possibility that this was a shinobi dangerous enough to warrant Orochimaru's fear, but decided against prying further. Not unwary, he sent a sidelong look as he spoke. "When Orochimaru next shows his face in this battle… when he strikes out against us… we'll stop him. Even if I have to fight him myself."

He thought he heard in smirk in the man's low but surprisingly gentle voice. "The Nara boy was right… You may claim to heed only your own ambitions, but the truth is that you've found something worth fighting for – something, as it were, so much greater than any one man's desires. The village you love… as a part of it, have you become one with something larger than yourself, as well?"

Sasuke wasn't sure why this man's words disconcerted him so. His hard eyes narrowed in annoyance. "I just found people that I needed to protect, and they took precedence. That's all."

"It makes no difference. Love, and people that we must protect… these are commendable things to fight for. Sasuke… I'm proud of you."

The youth glowered uneasily, unsure of what to make of the familiar stranger's praise. Somehow he was finding it more difficult to remain wary of the nameless shinobi…

"But have you not suffered enough?" the man went on. "An existence in the shadows is not a kind one, as I'm sure you've discovered. With your experience, if you remain a spy, I fear at the sort of people who may seek to use you…"

"An existence in the shadows, huh? I don't care," Sasuke said flatly. He had no intention, he realized, of letting this person make light of his resolve. "All of this – it was hell, but if the need arose, I'd do it again. In peace or war, there will still be people that I need to protect. There's her… even if she does hate me for the things I've done." He scowled, berating himself for sharing such sentimental thoughts with the ghost-like man. Such a strong shinobi would not think well of him, for being so influenced by his emotions. However, the man offered a response quite apart from the sort Sasuke had anticipated.

"So you would sacrifice your own happiness?"

Sasuke almost bristled through his inexplicable calm, growing suspicious anew. "My _happiness_? Of what concern is such a thing – is any of this, to you? Who _are_ you?"

A moment of thought. "Someone who cares very deeply for you… That might be an apt description."

Sasuke remained silent, studying the nondescript figure who so carefully left nothing to be ascertained.

"Tell me, then, Sasuke – can you live in the shadows of heroes? Please, think carefully. Are you truly willing to be at the best of times unknown to, and at worst despised by the people you protect?"

"I can … and I will." His fist clenched; shut eyes opened, and he raised his head. "I will protect them, even if that means standing in Naruto's shadow."

He could read nothing in the empty eyes of the mask that finally turned to look back at him. "You… and Uzumaki Naruto, huh?"

In a moment the man's smooth, melodic chuckle lilted out into the air. He turned his head from the young Uchiha again, surveying the still-warring Leaf. "This village will be in good hands, in the years to come. No… the efforts of the people around you cannot be overlooked, either. Your generation will offer the Leaf a kind leader and healer… a master spy… an indomitable warrior… an unrivalled strategist… and if all goes well, a just leader of the now-greatest clan. This place is in fine and capable hands… It seems I can rest easy, after all…"

Sasuke stared into the man's back, unsure of what to think anymore. _You…_

"And you? You've come into the regard of friends – strong friends – who will consider you a hero. Things may be hard, but they will stand by your side now. You didn't need any help from me, in the end…" The man was getting to his feet. "As I said before, I don't have permission to be here; if I were to impact the battle too rigorously or blatantly, my associates would catch wind of it without fail. I can't let that happen. So, fear not for whatever threats I may pose – I will be departing now, and more likely than not never to return."

Sasuke took a step, thoughtless, and froze as the man raised one hand a bit, without looking back, in wordless salute.

"I wish you luck on this path of your choosing. Even if we never meet again, know that wherever I am, I … I'm proud of you."

A gust of wind picked up, tossing Sasuke's hair, rolling and fluttering against the faceless shinobi's clothes.

_Why do I feel … as if I look upon a hero?_

The gust broke, and the man shattered and melted smoothly into a flock of ravens that tore off into the sky, squawking all the while.

An illusion, Sasuke realized, as he watched without blinking until the birds vanished from sight.

Then the spell was broken, and he collapsed, confounded by the disorientation that inevitably accompanies the nonsensically insoluble turning of one's world clear onto its head.

* * *

**Twenty-Six, Part Three: Clan Hyuuga**

**Hinata ****ヒナタ**

Under the clouded sky, I watched freed prisoners hurrying by, waving them along and shouting commands and encouragement in turn. The fighting out here, on the prison grounds, had ended well. I'd ordered, Kiba, Sakura, and the once-Sound four to join the previously imprisoned shinobi, moving themselves between groups on the trail to safeguard them on the path to refuge.

"Good work," I said as a few stragglers passed, among them an Akimichi carrying the elderly councilman Homura carefully on his back. "You'll be fine now. Just keep moving!" Taking a step after them, I watched them go. Kurogiba waited close by, giving a yawn. Though I kept myself from scowling at him, I permitted myself a sigh all the same. _Good. That should be about the last of them…_

I was about to reactivate my Byakugan for a final scan when Kurogiba lifted his head, curious. _'Pup…'_

"Hinata?"

The voice had come before I could follow Kurogiba's gaze to the person behind me. I stopped.

"Hinata… my daughter, it is you!"

The back of my neck was cold; I felt my eyes trying to water, and I didn't really know why. I didn't know why my body was reacting this way. Fists clenching, I swallowed the knot in my throat.

"…You must be mistaken, Hiashi-sama."

I had turned my head just enough to catch a man's unassuming figure in the corner of my eye. He took a step nearer, and faltered. "What are you saying? Hinata, you–,"

"Get to safety, Hiashi-sama." My teeth gritted, and relaxed again. My eyes were frozen, searing cold. "…The last time we spoke, you made it clear enough that I was no daughter of yours."

"I…" He fell silent. There was something strange about his voice; I could barely hear his next words, hushed as they were. "…I'm so glad you're alive."

Why was he acting this way? And saying such things – just what was he getting at? This needed to stop–

"How–how is Hanabi?"

I definitely felt something then. Even so I turned forward. "I don't know. Now. Go. I don't have time for this." I didn't have time to feel this way. Not now. "I have returned – to reconquer the Hyuuga Clan in your name, Hiashi-sama. Don't try to stop me; it's something only I can do."

"You…?"

I didn't answer, but began to walk away.

"Wait! Don't you walk away from me!" he cried, but it came out strangely, more plea than order. I heard his shuffling steps before a hand grasped for my forearm; with a harsh and wordless snarl I whirled, smacking the contact away. He recoiled, dumbstruck.

"Don't touch me!" I hissed, chin up, eyes severe as I regarded him fully. Somehow, to see him this way – gaunt and unshaven and slouching in tattered, grey-brown garb, bedraggled hair sporting streaks of grey, face bearing new wrinkles and firm cheekbones starker than ever they had been in sallow cheeks, and most of all the crippling weakness in his eyes, the whimper in his halting voice – absolutely infuriated me. It didn't fit. It made him a hypocrite, to be so weak.

I flashed my fangs, causing him to flinch in surprise. "Enough. My orders," I said, "are to get the prisoners here to safety. That includes you, Hiashi-sama. I won't tell you again."

As he regarded me mutely, sadness filled his tired white eyes. "…You're afraid."

"I _don't_ fear you," I said, bristling.

"I'm afraid, as well. I was afraid of how you might look at me, if ever we met again. I can understand why you wouldn't trust me… I suppose I've earned that look, haven't I?"

"Just stop it. Stop acting this way…" It would have been horrid, yet so much easier, I realized, if he'd glared or scowled or spat his familiar abuse.

"I won't. Please listen to me… I had a lot of time to think, while I was in there. I realize that I've made mistakes, but – but when all of this is over, I want to try to make things better between us, Hinata… You have to give me one more chance! I'm your father!" he said, and reached to embrace me.

A quick step back brought me from the range of his arms before they could close.

"No."

I shook my head, glowering with a scowl, though my body trembled.

"_No._"

My body trembled, though with what precise emotions I could not be sure. I had said I did not fear.

"I am no daughter of yours."

I wasn't even sure if it was despair that I saw flash in the man's eyes. I didn't know him well enough to say.

'_A-Ani-ue!'_

In a heartbeat Kurogiba had come forward to my side; he wheeled about gracefully, and as he passed my hand caught his shoulder. I swung myself onto the wolf's back, and did not look back as he bounded away from the deposed head of the Hyuuga's main branch.

'_What the hell…'_

'_You alright?'_

'_Mm. I panicked… That man has never once embraced me.'_

'_Huh…'_

'_Forget about him,' _I thought, needing to be done with thinking about the man. '_I'm alright – I promise. And I'll have more pressing matters to concentrate on very soon.'_

* * *

**Hanabi ****ハナビ**

The wind that rolled across the grassy field tossed droplets of light, swirling rain on its crests, blending it with the mists that it procured and sent scuttling from the surface of the nearby lake. Nine persons presently populated the spacious field that ran into the forests bordering the Hyuuga Clan's grounds. Hiryuu's strong aura was palpable at my back; on his right stood Harumi, and at his left Hikujaku and Hitaka.

The four across from us were similarly arrayed, but quite different in composure; three of the leader's dogs stood at his back, barely containing sneers of confidence, derision, and outright loathing. They anticipated a slaughter – eagerly so. The leader himself offered a soft smile of amusement.

"So… the Main House has arrived at long last to put me in my lowly place."

I ignored his taunting. "It seems you were waiting for us, Hyuuga Neji."

"_Oh?_" he scoffed, quirking a fine, lofty eyebrow. "In a sense. But I must admit I was expecting someone just a bit taller." He snickered. "Come now, cousin, why such a look? It doesn't befit one so young."

_You look down on me? _If he intended to provoke me, I wouldn't submit to it. I raised my head. "You know why I've come here, cousin. You have assembled your witnesses, as I have mine. But where is honorable Lord Hikaru? A neutral party should be present for such an occasion. You know our customs."

"Neutral?" he said, and laughed. "You're right, you know. Maintaining impartiality_ is_ a responsibility of the Hyuuga's Seer – a responsibility the old coot failed miserably with, right up to the end."

I tensed. "Hiryuu-oji-san."

The man's Byakugan activated. Glancing to him, I caught a glimmer of emotion in his cold eyes before, face darkening, he shook his head. "His body is still in his quarters – dead."

My teeth clenched; Neji merely continued to smile calmly, gloating, as if something unheard of had not just been implied. "Are you mad, cousin?" I demanded. "To raise one's hand against the venerable Seer is blasphemy!"

"Is it madness," he countered boldly, spreading his arms, "to comprehend when certain people must die, and to see them off accordingly? Those who would impede the will of Fate must be crushed, without remorse or discretion. I've accrued plenty of wretchedness upon my name; at this point, and as the proponent of a greater purpose, what is one more miserable soul's blood to my hands?"

"No more than pretention," I said, voice shaking, "for _you, _of all people… and after all you've done… to declare yourself a humble soldier of Fate."

"Such harsh words," he remarked. His eyes sharpened. "Enough lecturing me, Hyuuga Hanabi. Shan't we be seeing shortly whose ideals prove stronger, and who poses no more a threat than empty words?"

"Insolent wretch," I spat. My arm swept out. "No more will you be permitted to do as you please. You will wreak no further havoc on this clan, or this world! It ends here! Usurper Hyuuga Neji! I, Hyuuga Hanabi of the Main House, Hyuuga of Lightning and chosen of the All-Seeing One, as the second daughter of our clan's rightful head, hereby challenge you to a duel! Let us settle this dispute in single combat!"

"Energetic, aren't you?" He shut his eyes slowly, and as they snapped open his chakra was blazing – towering and ominous, effortlessly dwarfing my own. I wasn't daunted by the flashy move; I did not waver in the least, and he smirked smoothly. "I have nothing better to do, and I suppose this _does_ save a fair deal of trouble… Very well, then…"

One palm was extended curtly before the prodigy of the Branch as his feet shifted into position; his other hand was poised near his side.

"But know, little firecracker, that I do not need your or anyone's 'permission' to do as I please. Shall I show you the brute hopelessness of your endeavors, the fragility of your ideals? Yes… I will force you to see it, and taste the excruciation of true and inescapable despair."

His dark cloak stirred in the wind as he met my eyes fiercely, just slightly baring fangs.

"I, Hyuuga Neji, hereby accept your challenge. May our ancestors smile upon the destined victor!"

I settled into my stance, prepared to fight. No… not prepared, but burning to. _My will to fight … already it's overflowing._

_I have a need to stop this man… this _monster_… from destroying anything more!_

"Go," Hiryuu said simply, a large hand briefly brushing my shoulder. "With Hikaru-sama's blessing, to correct this aberration of fate." Then the touch and my sensei were gone, as he and the others flickered a fair distance to the side, and Neji's witnesses followed suit. I was left alone at the heart of the field, facing the menace down. I heard clipped greetings exchanged by the parties on the sidelines. Then Hiryuu faced us again, and his voice rang out over the chilly wind.

"In the absence of a neutral party, I will call the official start of the melee. Are both combatants ready?"

"Yes."

"Yes…"

"Very well. Then… as our customs dictate. For the resolution of this dispute, to surrender or death, may this duel for the Hyuuga Clan begin!"

I flew forward, on feet lighter than the swiftly racing wind.

_Your reign of despair ends today!_

* * *

**(Tenten ****テンテン****)**

Under cold droplets of light rain, two deep brown eyes, after a moment's twitching of their lids, snapped open with their owner's gasp. The young woman blinked slowly at the glum, dark sky, thoroughly disoriented; she was sprawled on her back, in dirt that was becoming mud. Her body ached, and by the stiffness in her jaw it seemed her teeth had been softly gritted for the duration of her unconsciousness. And her hand was clenched tightly, locked on a dagger's hilt…

Tenten sat bolt upright. Choking down her rising terror, shaking in the bitter rain, she began to look about. Her mouth was dry, and her voice was small.

"Sh-Shino…? Ino?!"

Her eyes found two dark figures that lay motionless on the ground.

Bile rose in her throat as she tried to stand, reaching toward them. She couldn't look away, even as she stumbled, and tried to crawl toward them.

_What… what have I…?_

She was frozen, seized by horror as flickering memories surged to the forefront of her thoughts. A young man, forcing Leaf shinobi to defile the emblem of their village, smiling ambitiously as he accompanied the Fifth Hokage from his inaugural speech; beating a kicking a young Nara in a market street, until the boy vomited blood; plotting, with white eyes dark, the assassination of a then-seven-year-old girl; arms draped somehow sensuously around the shoulders of two of his Chosen clansmen, as he glared furtively back at whatever eyes might dare to question him. Breaking the bones of defenseless protesters at a rally, in a bout of rage; impartial to the deaths, by poisoning, of New Konoha's refugee civilians and children.

_I was complicit … always standing by and watching, every step of the way… I was complicit in all of it, in the deaths of innocents…_

The husky voice he had learned to melt her with, as he peered into her eyes; his rapt expression, as he fondled her and watched her squirm. His devilish smirk before he smothered her in a kiss, even if only to silence her attempts to reason.

_I'm a fool…_

But a girl, meeting the distant, jaded youth who was from that day on to be her teammate. Immediately disliking him. Missions as Team Guy. Earning his respect, with her own power. Blushing, even though she was hardly one who blushed, at the first words of acknowledgement he afforded her. Witnessing his fierce loyalty to his teammates, despite the occasional to frequent spat.

After so long, first seeing his smile.

_A fool…!_

And somewhere along the line, falling in love with it.

_I couldn't do a thing…_

Watching those smiles all dry up, never to return.

_I couldn't save anyone!_

His now sinister smile, his coldly feral eyes, as he tore open Shino's gut, and buried a knife in Ino's chest. Condescension, mockery, as he danced from her dagger's strikes and threatened to crush her skull.

–"_You're __**weak**__…"–_

"I did this to you," she whimpered, eyes sealing shut as she tore her gaze from the prone, unmoving forms of her juniors. How could she look any comrade in the eye?

–"…_Seized command, drawing them into your coward's scheme…"–_

And for her hesitation, those two had paid the steepest price.

–"_Traitor!"–_

She had failed herself. She had failed the Leaf. She had failed even at betraying the Leaf, and failed the Sound as well. Who would call so wretched a ninja their comrade?

"I-I'm sorry… so sorry… but…"

She sat straight, mournful eyes rising to the weeping skies; the storm was at its worst. Everything she had done had been wrong. She would not hesitate any longer. No more…

–"_Not willing to let go of this dagger, even now?"–_

"Someone like me … does not deserve to call herself a ninja."

And with all hesitation eradicated she shut her eyes, to drive the dagger braced in both hands into the right side of her stomach.

The great pain she was braced for, however, never struck – it wasn't allowed to. She instead found warmth – wonderful, living, human warmth – pressing into the wrist of one of her cold hands, and opened her eyes to see another former teammate knelt before her. His strong face was fierce, his eyes wide in terror.

"What are you doing, Tenten?!"

* * *

**Lee ****リー**

"L-Lee?" she squeaked, blinking wide eyes that were deranged and red with the shedding of tears.

I scowled sharply; my pulse was racing. "Just now – what were you just trying to do? Have you lost your mind?!"

It was clear, however, what she had been trying to do. In such a place, she was fully intent and prepared to commit seppuku.

And at the harshness in my voice she shrank visibly, teeth clenching in fear. Tragic, and gut-wrenching – such was the manner of fear that consumed her as she looked up at me, shaken beyond speech. I was taken aback, as she tore her eyes away and shook her head frantically, stammers shaping into words. "I-I-I'm sorry! Look – look at them! I couldn't protect them or avenge them – I might as well have killed them myself!"

At her despairing, spiteful words, my eyes found the two figures to whom she was referring. I paled, but struggled to soften my expression even as my eyes darkened with a slight grimace. "Oh, Tenten…" I shook my head, and inhaled. "Naruto-kun! Please, hurry here!"

"On it!" Perhaps some sense that only healers had brought the blonde who was running onto the scene straight to the two bodies, where he slid to his knees in the mud without a glance our way, and cringed to produce a shadow clone.

Tenten tried to suddenly wrench her hand free, and I reaffirmed my grip, facing her down again. "Tenten–!"

"Let go of me, Rock Lee! I said I did this to them – you've got no right to stop me!"

"Whether I do or do not, I cannot let this happen…" I grasped the dagger by its blade, in the tattered wrap that remained on my hand, and pulled. She fought, but finally relinquished her grip just as my hand began to bleed. I cast the thing bitterly away.

"Wh…why?" she sobbed softly; her shoulders were shaking, perhaps with the cold. "Why save me?" She seemed unable to meet my eyes for more than moments at a time, and hung her head, desolate. I frowned.

_What… what could have made you into such a mess? To reduce you to this…_

"You are my teammate, Tenten. 'Why' not?" I said, and smoothly enfolded her in my arms. She went rigid, but only briefly. Then her body relaxed, and she rested her head against me, wearily, as she wept.

"Damn you, Lee, you… you crazy kid…"

"I've got a live one!"

That was Naruto. Tenten seemed to attempt to straighten, but all her strength had apparently left her. I turned with her in my arms. Naruto's brow was furrowed in effort as, hands aglow, he tried to work with the expanse of Aburame Shino's gruesome wound.

"It's just barely, but he's still alive!"

The lids above cracked amber eyes twitched in near wakefulness, along with Shino's gaping mouth. "Hai…" he rasped after a few moments. "I seem to be alive. How? I h-have ordered the kikaichuu to continue to deliver oxygen directly to my more vital organs…"

"Stop talking already, ya creep, or you really will die!"

"H-hai…"

"N-Naruto-san is a…?" Tenten murmured, blinking at the young medic. Her fingers tightened in my shirt before she spoke. "Wh-what about Ino?"

"No pulse, not breathing," the Naruto clone reported tersely. "A lung pierced deep – airway blocked by internal bleeding, but attempts to clear it or resuscitate could do more damage."

"But…" the original Naruto said, hand darting into his tool pouch. He pitched a small scroll that landed and unrolled beside his doppelganger; the kage bunshin's deft fingers darted over a pair of seals on the scroll, and drew a scalpel and some hooked implement from the resulting puff of smoke. These instruments held before him, one hand bathed in green light still pressed to Ino's chest about the protruding knife, he studied his patient with a dangerous glint in his eye.

"You can't save 'em all, but you've got to try for some, y'know? I told myself I'd wait until after the battle to be a healer, but screw it. I've seen enough of the young die today – so for as long as you're still warm, I'll keep trying!"

Something clicked in his eye – the selection and plotting of an approach to the mission before him, the salvaging of the fading life in his hands. Then, in a flurry of precision-entwined speed, he got to work drawing what was already nearly a corpse from the brink.

_Madman, _I thought with a soft groan of remorse, though I knew my eyes could only betray my hope.

"To think," Shino said, "One autumn evening, like fools, we attacked you. You're more forgiving than many…"

"I remember, all right," Naruto scoffed. "Lips sealed, _now_." And that was the end of it.

"Lee," Tenten said hesitantly. I looked to her, but still she would not, or could not, meet my eyes.

"What is it?"

"Neji… _He_ did this…"

I avoided expressing what shock or outrage I felt, if only for how clearly shaken she was. A strong reaction would not help anything, I reasoned, so I kept my composure, and she clung to the stability.

"He did this… the three of us tried to kill him, so he did this – left the two of them to die…"

"And you to live, with the regret…" Or not to. I scowled at the thought, but could not discard the possibility that he had foreseen such an outcome. It was a twisted, repugnant game our third teammate played. Teeth softly gritted, I watched Naruto's stained hand mending a ruptured organ through Shino's wound, while the clone, with a muted hiss of frustration, produced a small, sharp-ended tube from another mark on his scroll kit. I cringed. "You could not have known it, Tenten, but it needed not fall on you to bear this burden."

She flinched. "He's… he's not the Neji we knew anymore, Lee! You can't go after him. I should've realized it sooner – we can't save him."

"Me? No; I am not the one who will bear it, either. Another has claimed that right."

"Who else can stop him?"

"Hinata-san."

Her startlement was palpable. She shuddered, guilt no doubt rearing its head anew. "Does she think she can change him? She'll be killed…!"

"She will not." It was what I had to believe. "Nor will she kill him, no matter the circumstance." And this, what I knew to be so – so this combination of things, I could only believe.

"It's hopeless. You haven't _seen_ him, Lee. The person he's become… is one that can't understand anything but strength anymore."

I quirked a brow. _One who can only comprehend power? _The sigh that accompanied this thought was one of relief, however scarce. "Then maybe… maybe Hinata-san can break through to him after all."

_Compassion alone may be useless against some; this she already learned. But boundless compassion, with the strength to match, is a power that only the person Hinata-san has become can boast…_

I nodded toward the others. "Come – if you are alright now, let us see if Naruto-kun can use any assistance."

Naruto was currently asking after Shino's blood type; the pale Aburame's response was to note that his lips were meant to be sealed.

"You're talking right now!"

"…AB."

The blonde smirked wryly, the look about him all but grim. "At last, a piece of _good_ news…"

* * *

**Neji ****ネジ**

In her first move, she very nearly killed me.

_She's…fast? _The time it took me to both comprehend this and amend my estimation of the threat she posed left me only a split-second to flit from the path of the subtly sparking palm that almost grazed me. One direct hit from this child could spell any human's death – while this I had known, I had hardly anticipated her wielding sufficient skill to make it much of an issue for me. But the swiftness of her initial dash, along with the sharpness of her move as she pivoted to lash her palm fiercely for my side, made it clear that Hyuuga Hanabi, shy of nine years old though she may have been, could not be taken lightly.

"Kaiten!" I snarled, and as I spun my body the barrier glanced her palm aside before bodily swatting her away. She landed on her upper back, sliding briefly before kicking to nimbly spring in a backflip to her feet.

_To think I would be forced to use the Rotation almost immediately, _I marveled, but I had no time to share my musings aloud as she rebounded smoothly into another attack. _Hey – aren't you being too serious right off the bat?_

I dodged and diverted in one moment five strikes of the same palm, thrown so sharply they might have appeared simultaneous. I returned a sharp palm of my own, only for it to be diverted from its target by the curt, well-timed knock of her small forearm rising into mine. She stepped in, two fingers of each hand poised before snapping toward my abdomen. My own darting hands intercepted the strikes before I lunged past her in the midst of my whirling evasion, raising a foot and sweeping for the back of her skull; spinning, she narrowly ducked the cutting path of the boot heel and lunged to strike at me as I faced her again. My hand plunged beneath her forearm and rose before sweeping out, flinging her arm wide as my other palm arced into her chest.

THUD!

"_Gh…!_"

This sound escaped my throat as I jerked back my hand, fingers searing with the rush of electricity they'd begun to conduct in the fleeting period of contact. I had seen it with these eyes, as my strike neared her – her activated Raiton chakra, lying half-dormant, had fully awakened to contract at once into a barrier concentrated over her heart, and dispersed throughout her system again after diffusing the chakra of my strike. The effect was that she had been minorly winded by the physical brunt of the hit, but nothing more. Meanwhile, following through on my strikes was left out of the question…

"You manipulate your chakra well," I called, shaking pins and needles from my throbbing hand as she wheezed softly. "And your moves aren't like those of a child. I'm impressed…"

She shifted a bit in her stance, declining to respond. I smirked.

"But I imagine you realize it – you can't best me as you are now. It's why you put so much on the attempt to kill me with your first blow, in the hope of catching me off guard. Understandable… and even so, in the wake of the failure of this tactic and the coincident drop in your chance of victory, you transitioned seamlessly into the battle, without wavering for so much as a heartbeat. You're a spirited one – I'll give you that."

She maintained a steady glower through my words of mockery. "I came here to end you, and it is what I plan to do."

I cocked my head, an eye narrowed darkly. "Oh?"

When I rushed for her, she began to step back in alarm, startled by my full speed – and drew her chakra into a shield upon her heart. I came to a halt before her, palm a centimeter above her chest, and this moment of hesitation gave her the crucial time she needed to react. My hand withdrew before she could jab electrified fingers into my wrist, and I kicked the heel of my boot up into her ribcage.

As the strike neared her, I saw her chakra refocus itself over her heart.

Then she was snapping double with a bark of exhalation, and turned around by a sharp kick that clipped her shoulder. Still stunned from the blow to her ribs, she couldn't react before a backhand swing of my arm knocked her flat to the earth.

She may have gotten a faceful of dirt, but she scrambled to her feet and reacted swiftly enough to dodge another palm strike. I flipped over her as she threw a strike for my back, and as she faced me I darted to the left – faked right – and drove a palm cleanly down into her gut.

The chakra shield she'd drawn into her chest faded as her keirakukei was rattled; mouth agape in a fierce scowl, she staggered back with her arms cradling her middle. Hunched over, thin back quivering, she glared up at me.

"My speed easily exceeds that of the average jounin, you know," I noted offhandedly. "As such, I considered it curious, even accounting for your apparent skill, that you should be able to react so well – to read my attacks and manipulate your Lightning shield to counter accordingly. But the truth is…"

I smiled, glaring down my nose as I pointed at her. "You're not reacting 'accordingly' at all. It's nothing more a defensive reflex you've practiced, isn't it? Since a child's reserve of chakra is small, you can't shield a large area effectively; spread it any thinner, and a good Juuken burst might penetrate it. That's why when you can't quite keep track of my movements you automatically shield the most vulnerable and most targeted organ – the heart. A good deterrent, until your enemy finds its flaws. Obviously, there are more… and slower, more painful ways to kill humans with our Gentle Fist arts. And…"

Her eyes widened. She retched, and dropped her head as flecks of red went spraying from her lips.

"And with that, it's over, right? Can you move anymore, for the fear?"

She panted, shivering. "H-how did you…?"

"Have you forgotten about the time when one of your loyal dogs was taken into my custody?" I boasted. "I'm quite adept, I'll have you know, at _convincing _people to talk."

This implication was a lie, of course; even subjected to prolonged torment, Hiyuki had divulged nothing prior to her forced enlightenment. But the horror on Hanabi's already pale face as she was further shaken, and the subdued, pained cry of outrage from Hiryuu on the sidelines, told me that my ploy had struck well. I almost bristled, even as I showed them a smile. It was not the real, strong Hiyuki whom they grieved, but a fake – a weak, pitiable dog of the Main House. Somehow, this both sickened and infuriated me.

No – there was no time to dwell on these thoughts, however appalling it was that she should be remembered in such a way. The mention had served its purpose. My opponent's morale was visibly crumbling; her head was low, and her mouth in a scowl of remorse as she breathed fitfully. I would need only to weather her down a bit further, carefully, but once more with force…

Smirking, I lunged toward the girl with a fist drawn back.

Hanabi blinked, and her arm flashed up to divert my blow so that it passed beside her head. She looked up, and her watery white eyes were suddenly hard.

"Don't screw with me!" she cried, as her free palm sped for my gut. Since my strike had been only slightly redirected I was still moving toward her, with my body unguarded.

_Kuso! _I thought, grabbing the striking arm before her palm could touch me. Electricity – not as focused or well directed as it might have been in a blast from her palms, but painful all the same – flared from her arm and zipped into mine, forcing me to release her. I grimaced as I stepped from the path of another swift strike, and deflected a few more. The girl was livid.

"Hiyuki might not have been 'strong,'" she growled, leaping to throw a sharp, neat duo of kicks that I blocked with my forearms. "She might not have been skilled in battle, or good with Juuken…!"

Hanabi was frenzied – but rather than becoming wild, she grew more acute in her moves, seemingly with each word, each breath. It was unreal; I blocked a surprisingly solid kick and diverted more palm strikes, mouth slightly ajar in curiosity. _This child…_

"But she would never sell out her comrades!"

We broke apart, and she clenched her fists, teeth grinding as lightning simmered in the air about her; it tossed her long hair furiously, as her chakra blazed.

"You, who know nothing of her… I won't allow you to sully her good name with your _lies_!"

I frowned. She lunged in a flash of speed, and with a half grimace I jumped, spinning tightly to throw a boot into her back as she passed beneath me. She hit the ground, landing on her face, sliding on her front, and scrambling into a quick recovery to whirl and attack again.

_What's with this? What 'fear of blood'?! _I thought, eyes narrowed on the red that had trailed from her lips as I sidestepped an attack. Diverting the strike of her right hand to my left by hitting her wrist with my right palm, I crouched so low that I nearly knelt – and jammed the heel of my left palm hard into her gut. I withdrew the hand before she could shock me, and rose whilst levering my right elbow back across her cheek. The solid hit threw her off her feet.

She rolled once, rose with a slight stumble, and flew into another charge still faster than the last.

_I've never seen such a thing… Just what sort of a genius is she?! _I threw testing strikes, and she countered them flawlessly and tore on, never a break in stride. Her eyes could only see my defeat – my death – and seemed dead set on impelling her down the path, through every strike, feint, and subtlety of combat, to ensure it. I scowled as a palm nearly grazed me. I threw a heavy backhand, only to be fronted by a surprisingly intense Hakkeshou Kaiten that sent me sliding back on my feet.

_Did I __… miscalculate?  
_

Electricity was still sparking across my body when, teeth gritted, I seized her outstretched arm in both hands as she leapt sharply upon me, her dangerously sparking palm arrested an inch from impacting my chest.

_And why in the world would her speed now be so much greater than that of her initial charge?! Did she not put her best into that first attack, after all? No, that's not it… _I had thrown her off before she could fry my hands; already I was backpedaling, avoiding a barrage of palms whose great power crackled and shrieked on the air.

_She hasn't suddenly improved, or gained any new mastery of her abilities. Nothing of this sort has changed._

_She simply… truly…_

…_Has no control over her own strength!_

* * *

**Hanabi ****ハナビ**

_Yes – yes! With each move, I'm getting closer! I won't stop! I'll close in, narrow the gap, until I've struck you DEAD!_

"Lady Hanabi…" I heard Hitaka murmur, in a brief break in activity that followed an exchange of palms. Mouth in a half scowl, eyes keenly focused, I dashed in again. At a time like this, I could not rest.

_These eyes will show me the path to triumph over any foe!_

How would something as meaningless and useless as some blood on my face distract me, when I had such a strong opponent, and such a loathsome scourge to defeat?! I struck viciously, my controlled wildness keeping my adversary on his toes.

"It's happened," Hiryuu was saying. His stern voice held proud confidence. "No – it's _happening_. The source of her genius. When that girl's spirit blazes and refuses to be beaten, she will shape herself into the destruction of whatever opponent stands before her. We thought her sole chance lay in a split-second win, but we were wrong! Drawing out the battle is not to be her undoing, but Neji's! This is a child who loves to fight, and who harbors an inestimable well of potential waiting to be tapped. With each passing moment that blaze in her heart glows brighter – with each move she learns and grows stronger. Until she overwhelms her opponent!"

_I've got you!_

Neji was off-balance this time, eyes wide as my palm arced for his heart.

"Enough!" he hissed, blurring with speed. When my Byakugan found him, coming to a halt behind me, his outstretched hand was adorned with clawed nails.

And my left side was exploding in pain.

I pressed my hand into the fire that seemed to be clinging to my ribs, but I could tell the wound was shallow enough not to incapacitate me before I might kill him.

Even so, for me to suddenly lose track of him… _He was holding back? Then I'll just have to catch him again! _As I faced him again, however, Neji was settling into a foreboding stance indeed.

"You've impressed me," he mused, a thrill in his eyes. "No more games, little Firecracker. Let's see how well you handle this! Gentle Fist Art…!"

He closed with breathtaking speed, whirling into the opening attack.

"Eight Trigrams: Two Palms!"

He held my eyes, his cool, fierce smile steady as I deflected the strikes with quick hands.

"Four palms!"

This next volley was faster, but I struck into his strikes, breaking them.

"Eight palms! Sixteen palms!"

Sweat poured down my back; my throat was parched. I realized I wasn't blinking, and shut my eyes to entrust my life to the Byakugan.

"Thirty-two Palms!"

The air hummed and churned with clashing chakra as two sets of hands raced to collide and cancel with insane speed. _Here it comes!_

Da-da-da-da-da-daDA-da-da-da-da-DA-da-do-da-da–!

"_Sixty-four Palms!_"

As he shouted this I was mirroring his moves, intercepting the final pattern of strikes in the deathly barrage of jabs with my own. We snapped apart, feet sliding back; I was wheezing for breath.

But he had landed not a single strike.

"To match the Hakke Rokujuu Yonshou, and counter it blow for blow… means that you possess the ability to execute it yourself. As you are now," he added, smug. "Truly commendable. You're much better than I expected…"

This wasn't a time to be sitting still, chatting – not when everything in me was screaming to fight. This monster needed to die.

The ground buckled at my feet as I launched toward him with a cry of enmity. He stood his ground – and in the last moment before my palm would have struck and sent lightning tearing through his black heart, he vanished.

He solidified behind me, and a vicelike grip latched onto the muscle beside my neck. The young man clicked his tongue. "Calm down now, will you? You _are _good. I would suppose you could blaze past a number of foes in moments. But what if the gap between you and your adversary is too great to be traversed in a single bound? I imagine … it all comes screeching to a halt."

"Wh-what…?" I focused my chakra, hoping to let hot lightning course into his fingers.

He tightened his grip, and my jaw dropped as the sensation of pain welled up within me. He must have caught a pressure point – some sensitive nerve cluster. My chakra wasn't listening to my will, wasn't awakening; initially, just by resting his thumb firmly where he had, he had caused my activated Raiton chakra to settle. Now it wouldn't respond at all, as if my chakra, sitting right within reach, had been cut off from me. I grimaced as my Byakugan failed. It was an unnatural, sickening feeling that now needled me. Whatever he was doing, it was bad.

I was at his mercy.

I grunted, gasping as he adjusted his grip and the needling feeling grew more insidious. He crooned as if in pity. "And that rhythm, that momentum you rely so heavily on… it _can_ be broken, can't it?" The sound of strained flesh was prickling at my ears even as it seared in my neck. For a second, I almost forgot how to breathe. "It must be exhausting, to lunge and climb so vigorously beyond the present, fundamental level of your ability. Your trick certainly has its limits. And you can't quite ignore your fatigue indefinitely, can you? Nor can you maintain this… _extraordinary_ tolerance for pain."

He pinched the nerve with horrible force, and it all came crashing through to me at once. I shrieked at the top of my lungs, rigid in agony as my mindless focus cracked and crumbled, blasted away. He let up enough that I could breathe again, just as darkness had begun to flutter on the edges of my vision, but held me delicately on the brink of cruel pain.

"St-stop!" I whimpered out, trying desperately to shock him again.

"No," he said shortly, reaffirming his painful grip in threat. My chakra shorted out again. "You can't _do _anything to me now, you see? Very few people are capable of controlling their chakra while this nerve is being pinched. Do you understand now – how easily I could kill you?"

"Then why _don't_ you?" I cried.

He only laughed. "Why…?"

This said, he shoved me to the ground. I was freed from the awful hold; I could feel the irregularity gripping my chakra had abated, with the disruption removed. But despite that I'd yet to attain the victory I sought, I could now feel every last hit I'd taken, along with the exhaustion of pushing myself to his level. I got to my hands and knees, shaking, and struggled to rise.

_Was this the most I could do, against this monster? Damn…!_

I tensed where I stood, fighting to stay on my feet as I became aware of something more.

_No… no. Just ignore it…! _I thought, desperate. This couldn't happen to me now.

It was a lost cause. In the wretched state I was in, I was no match for the suffocating, inescapable awareness of the lingering taste in my mouth, the thick, unclean liquid matting my robe to my side. My breath pitched uncontrollably as I clenched my teeth against these sensations, eyes wide.

"Her fear's taken hold…" I heard Hiryuu breathe, as if in disbelief. Hikujaku's groan was mournful.

"Lady Hanabi, no…!"

I looked up as Neji gave a light, scoffing laugh. He knew he'd won.

"Well, cousin? Do you fear for your life?" he asked, stepping toward me. I flinched back, trying to look fierce; his subsequent laughter told me I'd failed miserably. My cousin sighed, but made no further move toward me.

"Relax," he said. "Now that you've settled down, I'd like to share a proposition with you."

"A… what?"

He smiled, cold eyes almost soft. "Hanabi… Forfeit this duel, and ally yourself to my reformed Hyuuga Clan."

I scowled, hardly of a mind to deal with jokes. "Th-that's your offer? Are you insane?!"

He only chuckled lightly at this suggestion. "Come, now – it beats dying, right? And look at that lot of dogs," he said, nodding toward my four protectors. Their faces ranged from desolate to distraught. "The piteous souls who dared to place their faith in you… they thought they were training a savior, to find only now that all their efforts have amounted to so much raising, nurturing, sculpting, and polishing a _lamb_ for the _slaughter_…"

Hitaka looked away with a croaked whimper, shutting his eyes against tears as Neji glared them down in turn. I cringed, bristling. "Leave them out of this!" I cried. "Everything they've done was right! It's my own shortcoming … my fault alone, if I should fail here!"

"You can't win," Neji repeated pointedly. "I thought I had made this clear. But it needs not all to have been for naught. Your skill is great, but your potential is greater still; I feel we haven't even begun to see the depths of the power you can wield. You could be of great use to me. Think about it, cousin. This talk of prophecy only divides us! I'm offering you the opportunity to lay it to rest, and unite our people once and for all."

"So I agree to support your faction, or you'll strike me down now?"

"I believe it's a generous offer," he said. "We could quell much dissent. And what have you done up to this point, really? What will your life amount to, if it must end in your next minute?"

I winced, face flushed. He never stopped smiling, a knowing look on his face.

"You see? _Worthlessness_. You _want_ to live, don't you?" he intoned, as if speaking to an infant. "To be frank, you won't have much influence; you will be expected to abide by and support all orders and decisions of my clan. In a gesture of good will between our households, you will be betrothed to Hyuuga Hajime-kun, my successor in the leadership of the clan. What matters is that you'll still have a voice in shaping our future – not a strong one, no, but more than none at all. Doing all that is within your capability, for this clan… is that not also within the scope of your duties, Hyuuga Hanabi?"

I had no immediate answer for the challenge. Brow quivering, I hung my head. My gaze edged toward Hiryuu, whose bleak visage was impassive; he was by no means willing to tell me what choice to make. Quietly, I cursed him. My body ached; I was bleeding. I couldn't even think.

Neji held out his hand. "You've heard my terms. Now – in the name of the Hyuuga's dying Main House, surrender!"

Somehow I held his eyes – cold, ambitious silver eyes – even as I continued to quaver. "I…"

With an effort, I straightened.

"I… will _never_ become a pet bride in your clan, _or_ wield my power to the bidding of New Sound!" I spat, recognizing a new feeling kindling in my gut. I was furious. "I won't subordinate myself to the likes of you. I would rather die than betray myself! So, cousin, it would seem I'm of no use to you after all!"

The amusement had faded from his face. "So it would appear… and…?"

Sparks were lighting up the air about me. My hands clenched into fists, trembling fists though they were. "You think people's lives are yours to play with as you please – you, a wretch, a fiend bringing shame upon your mean lineage. You think you can have anything you want. But you're _not_ getting this, Hyuuga Neji. My power is my own, and no one else's!"

The barbs had gotten under his smooth skin this time; his eyes flickered dangerously behind his calm mask. "Oh? A shame, then…" he said, "that I must now see all of that marvelous power and potential rot."

With no further warning, with frightening speed, he was before me. My Byakugan still wasn't active. I had only just registered his dangerous proximity and drawn-back palm, and drawn my Raiton chakra barrier before my heart, when he blurred from sight.

His palm met my back with a thud, sending his bursting chakra, blazing hot and numbingly cold, piercing cleanly through my heart.

And the emitted stream met the barrier on the other side, creating path and causing the electricity to conduct along it. My own chakra jolted sharply back through my chest, and he snapped his hand away before he could be shocked – but for me, the damage was done. I might have loosed a yell, in pain. My vision blurred, shook, and flared to white and back again; my hand clutched at my chest as liquid surged from my throat. And I found myself, so suddenly, crashing to the ground.

"Hanabi-sama!"

"M'lady!"

Neji's laughter broke through these cries of concern. "I wish you could see their faces! Really, you're breaking the poor fools' hearts here."

"Shu…shut up…" I planted one hand in the bloodstained grass, followed by the other. With shuddering movements I shuffled up to my knees, and then, somehow, back onto my feet. I was certainly scared – I was terrified just of the blood on my face and clothes – but the nightmarish smell and taste couldn't take singular command of my awareness. Not here – not in front of this person, whom I'd sworn to kill. Not when he insulted and taunted the ones who had done so much for me – and least of all now, when I needed, more than anything else, to make a stand.

_It's only ever happened in the heat of battle before… but right now, my refusal to lose is far stronger than any 'fear'!_

"I'll n-never follow you…"

The man seemed amused to no end. "Even if you say that, I suppose…"

Again, with that blinding speed, he was behind me – but this time he did not attack. A hand at rest on my shoulder, he bent to breathe in, slowly, at the other side of my neck. He spoke at a murmur, his low voice rolling through fangs poised treacherously near my neck.

"…I could always _make _you obey me."

I had no earthly clue what this might actually mean, but the sinister, spine-chilling air to a threat I could only believe to hold gravity, coupled with his oppressive nearness and cold touch, proved acutely unnerving to me regardless. With a shriek I turned, pushing from him with flailing arms, and struck out. He grabbed one wrist, and with my following strike snagged the other. My strength was dwarfed without contest; he held my arms perfectly still between us, smirking as I struggled without thought.

_Calm down! When have I ever relied on physical strength? _I thought, glowering in defiance as I roused my chakra.

My chakra… which, for some reason, wouldn't flow much further than my elbows. Neji grinned knowingly at my confusion.

"Finally noticed? You fell for it – just as she did," he noted, as if to himself. He lifted my arms above my head; my long sleeves fell to mid-forearm, and I looked up to see the red marks that dotted my arms.

_Kuso! After I was so focused on keeping him from landing hits to my vitals… he managed to seal some tenketsu during all of that!_

Of course, it was a rule of thumb not to let a larger opponent grab hold of you. I was a bit of a special case, equipped with abilities that could easily discourage foes from – or punish them for – attempting to grapple with me. This, however, was only worthy of note provided that said abilities could function effectively.

So for the second time since the fight had begun, I was at my opponent's mercy, and he knew it. He spoke, whether to himself or in half-explanation I couldn't be sure.

"It would be meaningless to 'turn' you in order to pull you into my fold. You're _special_, after all," he said, shifting both of my small wrists, crossed, into one of his hands while I tugged my weight uselessly at his grip. "I would so much rather see you first join my side by your own free will … to see you forfeit that defining stature and repulsive pride _yourself_!"

He pulled on my arms, and smashed my gut over his sharply rising knee. Stars assailed my vision with the crack of impact; the brutish shot's solid connection sent another hot burst of blood sailing past my lips. I could barely comprehend the pain that overtook me. I did not realize my feet had been kicked from the ground; I was turning from the low strike, looking at grass, then sky…

And then I was thudding to the earth, every pound of me nothing more than dead weight crashing down upon my back. My eyes were still wide, and my mouth hung open. My head turned aside. I couldn't really breathe…

_I can't… move…? _I clenched my teeth, and shut watering eyes with a shaking grunt.

"Hanabi," Neji said, "I've already acknowledged your genius. You must realize that you're more dangerous than any eight-year-old should reasonably be. An anomaly of nature…"

I turned my head again, withholding a sound of pain as I hugged my middle and rolled onto my side, still fighting for air.

"And you, with this prodigious skill, would have surpassed me – given time, you might even become one who would surpass Lord Orochimaru. It's unfortunate… but such a being cannot be allowed to live. Not if you have determined to oppose us."

I cracked an eye to glare darkly up at him, even as I gasped shortly for breath, my face half in the dirt. He frowned at the look; his voice was severe.

"You will join me or die. Choose – _now!_"

I shut my eyes. "D-do you _ever_… shut _up_?"

His brow was stern as I began to rise, but he did not speak. I scowled fiercely as I tried to settle my weight on my feet alone, and gingerly removed my hands from the ground. There we go – I'd been knocked down a thousand times before. Standing up one more time was nothing.

He watched, dispassionate, as I settled into my stance, blood flecking from my chin.

I lunged. He sidestepped.

Sidestepped, and grasped my outstretched right arm, and broke that shoulder with a clean chop of his dropping hand.

* * *

**Neji ****ネジ**

She screamed.

I watched her go down, her eyes wide and unseeing, and crash onto her front and her uninjured arm; that arm's hand twitched near the wrecked shoulder, as if unsure whether to grasp for it. Her legs kicked as she writhed blindly and yelled out again with a sob.

_Pathetic…_

"You monster!"

I turned, and Harumi, distant though we were, flinched under my eye. I smirked at the woman's determinedly glowering face. Her arm was around the young Hitaka, who had buried his face in her shirt; Hiryuu's hard face was pained, and Hikujaku's appalled – almost sickened. I scowled to think such imbeciles had once been counted among my clansmen. "You should have been prepared to witness as much," I said, "when you sent a _child_ to fight me. Have I not said it before? I will show no mercy to those who oppose me, whoever they may be!" I swept my arm out. "The weak will be crushed! Take a good look, all of you – at the fate that awaits those foolish enough to challenge absolute power!"

At this Hiryuu lowered his head, but not to concede defeat. He sent a level glower, his shoulders square and his eyes as stone.

"All I can do, right now… is to believe in my lady, to the last. Your words cannot touch me, when they have not touched her."

The corner of my mouth quirked upward.

_Nani…?_

Very slightly, my ear twitched.

Hanabi was standing up.

The shaking of her body was of such a magnitude that it was a wonder her legs would support her weight. She stumbled, somehow catching herself as her knees momentarily gave, and planted leaden feet to stand with her back hunched. There was a fierce grit to her teeth, and a matching glint in white eyes that fought to retain consciousness. Her breath was labored, and she had gripped hard the shoulder from which hung a useless arm. Powerless as she was, and even as a cough that sent crimson from her lips belied her deteriorating condition, she held my eyes with an air that few could command.

My sneer wavered slightly. "What's with that look? In the state you're in, of what worth is such a smug expression? You seem to think you've won something here."

Her bloody mouth gave the barest suggestion of a smile. "I th-think… I get it now… You don't w-want to kill me, do you? You weren't all lying when you s-said … that you don't want to see this p-potential go to waste. You still hoped to convince me to change my mind … but then, you're n-not too good with persuasion, are you?"

"What rubbish…"

"Then why haven't you killed me yet? I can't stop you…"

My eyes narrowed. Always so superior… "You dare to speak down to me?"

"I'm free to decide who's deserving of my respect, and who is not, cousin. I'll say it, once more – I'll _never_ join you. You want my power, and you won't have it no matter what." She shut her eyes for a breath. When they opened, they again struck me without an ounce of hesitation. "It's my choice what to do here … and I won't give in. If you're that afraid of the strength I _might_ attain, come – strike me down now, before the eyes of our ancestors. For as long there's breath in this body, I will fight you."

I was silent for several moments as I scrutinized the girl. "…You disappoint me. You take after that failure of a sister, you know."

"That's the highest compliment I could receive…"

Frowning, I sank into my stance. "Alas, the flowering flame shall never bloom: it was nothing but a dud."

I sprang. It was in a great, smooth bound, with my palm drawn back and blazing brilliantly with darkness, that I leapt to strike down a child who faced her death with a smile.

_WHAM__…!_

The impact rang out with a thud of force and a scattering rush of intensified chakra that went blazing through every bone and tissue in its path.

The blow's recipient, however, was moved not an inch.

She had intercepted the strike with her arm.

A strong arm… that housed no chakra of its own.

I gasped. _This person…?!_

* * *

**Hanabi ****ハナビ**

My eyes blinked before growing wide, staring into the back of the person before me.

_Nee-chan… you…_

**Neji ****ネジ**

…_Came back._

**Hinata ****ヒナタ**

"_Pick on someone…_"

His shocked eyes snapped from my arm to my stern face. I flicked out my arm, grasping his wrist as I did, and ground my left foot into the earth behind me.

"_You own size!_" I snarled, head ducked as I sent my right foot with a great _boom _slamming up into his face and knocking him back. Neji's eyes broke from me as he gagged and went shooting away.

His limbs flailed; he caught me with a fervent glare just before he crashed to the ground fifteen yards away, eyes snapping shut as he struck on his backside and bounced into a flopping tumble before sliding to a halt.

A breeze was stirring through the field as I rose warily to full height, eyes severe, mouth drawn into the slightest frown.

"N-Nee-ch–Onee-san?"

My expression smoothed as I turned. I took in the girl's battered form, and her fine clothes that had been spattered with blood. Had she been standing straight, I realized with a start, she might have come all the way up to my collarbone.

My lip quivered then, at that of all things. Then I realized the bright-eyed girl looking up at me with her mouth slightly open, both like a child and tragically unlike one, was unsure of how to address me. I nearly choked, biting back what might otherwise have become the onset of tears – and wrought up a soft smile.

"'_Nee-chan,'_" I said warmly. "Always."

She trembled, eyes squinting halfway shut as they welled with held back moisture. I had started to reach cautiously toward her when she jumped on me, with a wail of "Nee-chan!" throwing her good arm around my neck and her legs about my waist; she clung as if for dear life with every small bit of strength she had left, shivering through and through, sobbing shakily into my chest.

"I-I was…so_ scared_…" she confided at a whimper. "I'm sorry…"

I had been startled, but at her tearful words I wrapped my arms tenderly around her and planted a kiss on her head, smiling. How long had she been holding off the child she was? "You're all right, little sister," I said, shushing softly. _I would never let him kill you..._ "I promised you I'd be back, didn't I? I'm sorry for being late … but I'm here now."

"I'm sorry," she murmured again, but the tension had faded from her body. "I wasn't strong enough to go with you… I couldn't even help here. I couldn't do anything for you in the end, Nee-chan."

"But you did," I said, patting her back with a smile. "You believed in me, right? And that gave me the strength I needed to survive. Your feelings have crossed countries and seas to stay right inside my heart, everywhere I went. I made it all this time… because you never once stopped believing I would."

"O-oh," she hiccupped, nestling into me again.

I glanced toward the witnesses gathered on the sidelines; one bunch wore sour looks at this turn of events, but the other, a band of four, contained expressions ranging from bewilderment to awe. _These, then… they're the ones who have been protecting you all this time, right? _I thought, nodding slowly. I wished they wouldn't have let her fight, but they had meant well, and clearly cared for her. _Hanabi-chan has done so well…_

"How _precious_," a smooth voice chipped in, causing me to tense. But I needed not to fear him – not anymore.

Taking a deep breath, I turned my head to face him. The young man still sat, legs slightly spread and elbows propped on his knees as he rolled his head, lazily popping his neck. After laying his head far back with a sigh, he brought it forward again to sharply meet my eyes.

"I was beginning to think you might never show up… _Hinata_."

"But you knew I would, didn't you? Neji…nii-san."

He rose with a sharp fluidity to his feet, causing his cloak to billow, and began to dust himself off – casually, as though he had not moments prior attempted to murder my young sister. The air around him, around his cold smiles, calm moves, and truly joyful anticipation, was one of contentment. This bit of his fun may have been spoiled, but the promise of what was presently to come was more than enough to appease him.

"You've interrupted a duel," he pointed out. Sure enough, he barely bothered pretending to take offense.

"I ask that you cease this duel. You do not appear to be wounded, cousin. I, Hyuuga Hinata, wish to assert my claim to taking my proper place here, and fighting in the name of the Hyuuga's Main House in my sister's stead. Does the opposing party find this acceptable?"

"I suppose it will suffice. The girl provided me a lovely warmup, at least."

I scowled. As if on cue, Hanabi shuddered with a harsh cough.

"There you are!"

That voice was a godsend. "Naruto-kun!" I cried, turning to see him and Lee crossing the field toward us. Unlike me, they had thoroughly depleted their chakras today; Naruto now ran in favor of Shadow Swapping, allowing his chakra to replenish.

"I thought we would find you here!" Lee called out as they ran.

"And after we finally catch up with you, just for you to get a hunch that 'something's up' and leave us in the dust–great _kami_." The whisper that cut through his light complaints marked his growing near enough to pick up on Hanabi's condition. His face was immediately serious.

Hyuuga Harumi was flickering to my side just as Naruto, his hands instinctively outstretched, reached us. The older Hyuuga could approach now that the initial duel was off.

"Please – allow me to treat Hanabi-sama," she said, breathless. A face I could only remember as calm was stark with concern.

"Of course," I said. Hanabi relinquished her hold, allowing me to transfer her carefully to Harumi's arms. I looked up at a pop to see Naruto had produced a clone. "Can you help her? Harumi-san knows how to mend Juuken injuries, but there are many wounds…"

"You got it," one Naruto said, already following Harumi back to the sidelines. "Your little sis will be fine!" His eyes were on his patient all the while. Those two wouldn't let her die.

"That guy," the remaining Naruto spat. "With the state he left them in, we were just able to secure the lives of Shino, Ino, and Tenten, and get them to safety. But to beat up on a kid…!"

"I know," I said. "But I'll stop him here."

Neji raised an eyebrow as I looked his way. "A few interesting characters have joined the scene," he mused. "It's been quite a while."

"Neji," Lee said simply. Though his strong face practically radiated disapprobation, he opted not to voice it. In contrast, Naruto took a step Neji's way, lightly clasping my hand.

"Listen well, Hyuuga Neji. You've caused this girl a lot of grief, y'know? Suffering she didn't deserve. You're lucky Hinata can't bring herself to hate you, or you'd be torn to pieces in seconds. But me, on the other hand…" He clenched and unclenched his teeth. "If I, for some reason, get a go at you today… you won't be half as lucky anymore."

I gave his hand a squeeze. "It's all right… please don't worry, Naruto-kun. Please."

He tore his gaze from Neji's snide face, indigo eyes pained. "Hinata…"

"You remember, don't you? This is something I absolutely must do."

"I remember," he said. "I'm not worried."

I nodded. "Now tell me this. Is it truly okay for you to stay here?"

His answer was slipped under his breath – a quick, practiced mutter meant for my sensitive ears alone. "Gaara's joined the guard at the shelters. Orochimaru's abandoned the battle, even hidden his chakra. He's bound to turn up again somewhere, and I'd say it's pretty likely that somewhere might be at the side of his most precious disciple. If we're wrong, there are reliable people on our side who know where to find us. That work with you?" he asked, and I nodded again.

"Then, one more thing…" he said. Still holding my eyes, he lifted a hand to nearly cup my face, but paused. With a slow breath, he moved his hand to instead tug the neck of his shirt slightly aside. Some color had already left his face; now I knew why. "G…go on, then."

"Naruto," I gasped, reaching out – faltering, just before my hands could touch his arms. Little had been made of it… but he hadn't let me feed from him, hadn't even let me lick his wounds, since the time we'd spent captive together. So although my heart had jumped at the thought of his taste, I shook my head. "I can't – not if you're uncomfortable."

"I'm asking you to," he said, employing the same monotone mutter. "If you need to release your youki, it'll work best if you've tasted another human's blood, won't it?"

I didn't deny it. "I hope not to _need _to release my youki," I whispered back. "That's risky territory as well. It's fortunate we're not on a full moon, but even so, if we end up drawing on more power, the battle will only grow longer and bloodier. At all costs, I want to keep that from happening!"

"So it's not the ideal scenario. But I'm not waiting around to find out whether _he_ decides to make that choice for you."

And he threw his arms suddenly around me – one's hand nestling up into my hair – shut his eyes, and pulled me into him. I couldn't help it, and he had counted on as much. When my lips were guided to the hot, bared flesh by his neck, the only barrier between my teeth and his tantalizing blood, I was helpless to do anything other than open my mouth and let my fangs pierce him. Delicious warmth was drawn into my mouth, rich and powerful and so uniquely Naruto, and he withheld a groan that I felt rumble in his chest.

My cheeks flushed in frustration. I saw what he'd done. The illusionist had played the role of a lovestruck youth seizing his sweetheart in sudden passion, grabbing me close for one last embrace. It could not have been coincidence that he was the one facing toward the others, who saw only my back. He was focusing through the Demon's Bite – showing them what likely appeared as a tense face all fraught with heartache and emotion. Meanwhile, none could have seen my softly blissful face, or known that I had bitten him and now drank of his blood.

I relished the precious gift of lifeblood simmering pleasantly down my throat, and pulled from him while still returning his embrace. He met my eyes, and gave a lopsided grin. "See? I'm fine."

"Thank you," I breathed, almost speechless. "Truly… I feel better now. I'm ready."

"That's what I like to hear," he said, gripping my shoulder reassuringly as we separated. I looked Neji's way; he waited patiently, arms crossed. He inclined a brow as Naruto and Lee stared him down from either side of me; my guys wore matching grins.

"We will put our faith in Hinata-san this time…"

"So get him good for us, will ya'?"

I nodded, turning to face Neji fully. "Right!"

Naruto's hand on my shoulder gave one more squeeze before he released me with a pat. "Kick his ass!" he said, and with that he and Lee blurred from my side.

Neji eyed me in earnest. "I expected more reluctance… but on the contrary, you have the look of someone who's ready to fight."

And what look … indeed, what sort of look did he wear, this tall, sharp-featured but leanly muscled young man who stood before me? I knew he was my cousin, my once-brother – Hyuuga Neji, the prodigy. But I saw now even more, beneath the sloughed layers of composure he'd once maintained simply to survive. I saw the smiling hunger that slept in the eyes of one who lusted for chaos; I saw the inner being who had cursed his callously appointed fate more vehemently than any other. I saw the culmination of not one, but many unending generations of injustice, hatred, and woe, and the transformation it had at last exacted upon another who stood so ardently against its rigid, unquestioned tides of custom.

That was it. We both had realized, years ago, that something was wrong with the traditions so calmly handed down to us. From different sides of the mirror, we both had seen it.

We both had yearned to change the way of things.

He, however… had chosen a very different means to doing so.

And now, without question…

The man standing across from me… was demented.

_Yet even so… even now… I love you._

"I am ready," I said, knowing the words I spoke were true.

"Then you'll have me endure no more insipid words? Are you perhaps done trying to talk your 'sense' into me, Hinata?"

My brow furrowed, and memories swept me away.

–_Tearful words, met only with unquenchable rage. Pleas for reason achieving nothing for us, save for ever more pain…–_

"We used up all our words that day," I said softly. "I won't waste time on talking any longer. Whether I like it or not… simply talking will never let us understand each other. If this can be resolved, it will be by our fists." My gaze had fallen to the earth as I spoke, but with this I met his eyes again, firm as he regarded me with muted interest. After a few moments my gaze shifted to pass over our larger collection of witnesses. Though Hanabi lay prone for Naruto and Harumi to mend her wounds, her head was up, and her eyes attentive upon me as I faced her nemesis with a soft smile.

"You nearly killed my sister," I said, gaze returning to him. "And she was willing to die by your hand. But…"

The loving, always timid smile – the smile of the one _I_ had called older sister – surfaced, and faded again from my mind. Whatever path she had been driven to walk could only have been one rife with tumult.

My fist clenched slowly. "We don't need any more martyrs here. The time has come to put an end to this feud – to close this centuries-old rift once and for all. And the two of us shall be the ones to do it, Brother," I declared, sweeping my arm briefly out. "You don't need to threaten Hanabi to get me to fight you; there's no need for you to involve anyone else now. So don't go anywhere; don't blacken your heart any further. As the person you've become, brother, stay right here… and face me!"

My Byakugan awakened with sharp sureness, as my chakra flared once to send a shock bursting outward through the air and grass about me. My expression remained a calm one, my eyes large and coldly intent on my adversary, my brother.

"Heh…" Veins flared at once about his shut eyes. He opened them, and with a fine wisp of a smile he uncrossed his arms and sank into his stance. His strong frame was held with serene confidence, the utmost and fiercest grace, as he beheld me with the eyes of a predator. "I suppose this was always destined, wasn't it? You and I, two cousins, fighting to command the future of the clan… But the fate of the Hyuuga has already been determined, for I still am the destined victor."

"Destiny, again…?"

–"_You can't run away from your true nature…"–_

–"_That is why we have the elite … and why there are outcasts."–_

–"_People can't change the way they are. That's just how it is! Just accept defeat, and you won't have to suffer anymore!"–_

I extended one palm before me. Sunlight was peeking, so gently, through the breaking clouds.

_But my suffering… is an inextricable part of who I have become…_

The other palm was poised near my side, as my feet spread, toes pointing out, and slipped into position.

_And it's also by enduring, all this time… that I found the strength to survive within me, and came to be standing here today._

"You speak of Destiny, Onii-san… but from here on out, our actions alone will unveil what our Destiny holds."

"So they shall…" He nodded in assent. "The ceremony and posturing was taken care of before you arrived. Shall we now see whom Fate holds supreme?"

"Let us. I'm ready."

–"_Defend yourself … my brother."_

"_Very well, then..."–_

Excitement shone in fierce eyes as his lips curled into a derisive grin.

One of his witnesses raised his arm. "I will call the start of the resuming duel!"

My heart gave a firm thud in my breast. _Here goes…!_

"If both Hyuuga Neji and Hyuuga Hinata are ready…!"

Neji's form tensed to the slightest degree.

"You may b–!"

**POW!**

"_UAAARGH…!_"

And a leaping knee strike, blinding in its speed, had suddenly connected with my gut.

* * *

**Neji ****ネジ**

"Foul!" Uzumaki was shouting as I landed on my feet and straightened. "Kuso! That's a foul, right?"

The shock on her face, and her pained cry of exhalation as such a simple strike blew her off her feet, had stirred the fire in my heart – a flame of hatred that had smoldered so long, so patiently, but never died within me. I had to suppress a smile as she flew. _A bit of payback, if you will… for laying a kick on me before our match began. But this is hardly the beginning–!_

She struck ground with a grunt, slid, and sprang in a backflip right onto her feet.

That… didn't quite make sense. The hit had been vicious; she had taken it directly. She should have spent at least some time on the ground, gasping in pain… Realizing my jaw hung the slightest bit agape, I snapped it shut, pressing my lips into a firm line as I watched her wipe spittle from her mouth. She looked up, evidently unperturbed.

"That was a bit low, Nii-san."

_How can she already move? I put enough force behind that blow to lay out someone three _times_ her size!_ I snorted. _A 'demon,' was it? Then she's a touch sturdier than before. As if that would change anything…_

_I WILL crush her._

* * *

**Naruto ****ナルト**

When I pointed out that Neji'd struck before he finished saying 'begin,' the Hyuuga scowled sidelong at me.

"I saw no such infraction, outsider."

"What? That – good sir – is bull, and you know it!" I looked to the 'good' Hyuuga – what else could I call them, not knowing their names? – and the eldest shook his head.

"The move was underhanded, but Lady Hinata did strike him even before his duel with Lady Hanabi had ceased. It would have been proper to openly demand the free strike, rather than claim it himself … but however barely, he was within his right."

The girl – Hanabi – had been silent in disbelief. "A-amazing! Onee-chan just… took that strike like it was nothing!"

"Hinata-san was grown far stronger than the big sister who was forced to leave you so long ago," Lee assured her, popping a thumbs-up. Neji was speaking again.

"So, you can finally take a hit?"

"Yup – but I'll assume you're still not impressed, if it might save you the trouble of saying as much."

_Zing! _I thought, smirking as Neji started visibly, his face reddening in anger. It was obvious she'd stolen his words.

The younger man among the good Hyuuga whistled. "And I thought she could only mumble…"

I chuckled. "You haven't seen anything yet."

_That's the way, Hinata… _He'd worn a sneer, as he hit her. He was craving the feel of seeing her buckle, of asserting his strength and then reaffirming her to be so far beneath his feet, but she'd shortly denied him that pleasure. Thus where Neji had clearly meant to humiliate or unbalance her, he had instead wound up more addled himself.

I would even guess that Hinata had anticipated the early attack, and declined to defend – whether to gauge her opponent's strength, or in acknowledgment of the 'free hit' she owed him, I couldn't really be sure. Even so…

My expression sobered as a rivulet of blood broke quietly from the corner of Hinata's level smile. He'd made an impact after all; to suppose he was incapable of harming her would be comforting, but untrue.

_He's drawn first blood… _

_So, Hinata – what will you do now?_

* * *

**Hinata ****ヒナタ**

One arm extended down before me, I cocked a fist back near my ear.

"One more thing, Neji-nii-san. I would like it to be clear that I mean no disrespect if I must strike at times with my fists in lieu of palms, nor will I take offense if you opt to do the same. I'm sure you've already noticed…"

Naturally, he had – he would long since have sized me up in the way any Hyuuga would, gauging the look and health of my eyes, the tone of my muscles, and the efficiency with which my chakra flowed.

The habitual estimation of a Hyuuga's Juuken capability was rarely impacted by something so egregious as the perfect lack of chakra network circulation in one lower arm. He laughed almost companionably.

"At first I wondered that you would block a palm so carelessly with your dominant arm, even in a panic to protect that sniveling brat. So I left you another souvenir on that day, and you really are unable to channel chakra to one of your hands," he mused. Pressing a hand to his brow, he snickered and then laughed aloud. "As a Hyuuga – as a ninja! – you're practically a cripple! A fitting memento from our previous squabble, is it not? For you, who were never fit to bear the family's name upon your weak shoulders… Can't you see it, Hinata? You are doomed to fail, and your every attempt to resist the inevitable has only made things harder for you. You can't deny this."

I sent him only a steady look. Here was another change: words couldn't break the person I was now. "Are you done?"

He scowled, as if I'd refused to play my part in his game. Even then, his eyes shone with amusement. He spoke with soft relish. "Your request is heard, Hinata. We may fight with our palms, our fists, our ninjutsu – whatever we please! No holds barred." He cocked his head a bit, smug. "…It would seem we've peeled back one more layer of formality. No… perhaps we've reached an end to it?"

I returned his smile, this time. "So we have…"

"But I do have one last question before we get started, Hinata." He held my eyes. "…Will you bow to me?"

Something tucked away in some corner of my mind – so faint as to lie unnoticed – stirred. Unused and unknown, it might at one time have elicited an effect in me, but had faded by now to the point that its frail hook of compulsion fell away, shattering cleanly the instant I'd so much as begun to look at it directly. I blinked, suspicious, but it was gone. "Why… would I do that, Nii-san?"

He smirked, pleased. "I see… All the better that you won't. Now I can _make _you kneel," he said, flexing his strong hand.

"We'll see, won't we?" I said, tightening my fist. "I told you – words alone are meaningless to us now."

_At last… At last…_

"Let's fight… Neji-nii-san."

My toes dug down, my feet pushing, muscles tearing me forward, as his did the same. We moved with insane speed, eyes locked as we neared.

We, who were bound in love and hatred, connected on an intimate level of understanding…

_For the first time since then… let's go at each other on even ground!_

**Neji ****ネジ**

_All right! With no more tricks!_

We lunged for each other, fists drawn back.

_Show me all the strength you've amassed, Hinata of the Main House, that I may tear it to the ground!_

GA-WHAM!

**Hanabi ****ハナビ**

A collection of gasps arose as, eyes wide and stunned beyond comprehension, mouth open in the forced expulsion of breath, Neji received a snarling Hinata's purposeful fist square to the gut.

_It's true, Nee-chan… you _are_ the prophesied one! And you…_

**Lee ****リー**

_Is it possible? _I thought in wonder, staring as Neji was thrown off his feet and sent crashing back the way he had come. _Brilliant! After all this time, it appears that now…_

_Hinata-san, you have…!_

**Naruto ****ナルト**

_Hell yeah! I knew it, I freaking knew it!_

I couldn't have contained my grin at that moment, so I didn't try to. Hinata drew herself sharply to full height, head up, as her cousin rolled into a crouch, pushed to his feet, staggered – and toppled to one knee again. He looked up from this quandary, starkly dismayed, with not an ounce of smugness in his eye.

Now, and with everyone watching her…

"She's surpassed him!"

**Neji ****ネジ**

_Wh-what is this madness…? How?!_

I had thought to go at her seriously, and still she had been the one to land her strike. This was utter nonsense…!

Figures whirled across my reeling mind – an adorable, blissfully ignorant toddler. A nervous young whelp, peering uncertainly from a distance. A timid, stuttering excuse for a genin. And then, arising to firmly assert and cement herself in place before them all, the calm-eyed creature who presently stood tall before me, unwavering form betraying neither hatred nor fear. I ground my teeth violently, breath rapid, and jerkily shook my head.

_She is, and will always be … a FAILURE!_

**Hinata ****ヒナタ**

Neji rose abruptly to his feet, a blaze of fury churning in harsh eyes.

Very slightly, I bared my fangs. There were people who believed in me, and there were reasons… reasons why I absolutely could not lose this battle. My mouth opened as I raised my head.

"_Come!_"

_This fight … shall end them all!_

* * *

**ナルト ****/ ****リー ****/ ****ヒナタ ****\ ****ハナビ ****\ ****ネジ**

**End Chapter Twenty-Six**

**Random Hyuuga 1:** Lord Neji, what does the Byakugan say about her power level?!

**Neji:** It's over NINE f#cking THOUSAAAAAAAAAAAAAND!

_(static–)_

**Orochimaru:** Did you know snakes are, like, an inexhaustible resource?

**Shikamaru:**…

**Orochimaru:**…

_(static–)_

**Hashirama: **Wood Style: Forest Destruction!

**Gaara:** Why would you want to destroy a forest?

**Sasuke:** I think the forest destroys _you_.

**Naruto:** In Soviet Russia–

_(static__–)_

**Kuri: **The hell? Isn't this thing from Mononoke-hime?

_(static__–)_

**PurpleFox10:** [all] OMG the jukes!

_(static__–)_

**Lee: **What is wrong, Gamaken-san?

**Gamaken** (blushing)**: **_W-well... Fighting beside Naruto-san, I probably appear even more ungraceful..._

_(–STATIC–)_

**Neji:** H…how…? It's not possible!

**Hanabi:** The one with the _will_ to kill him lacks the power to, and the one with the _power_ to kill him…?!

**Naruto:** She will turn these tides of Fate onto a new course, where everyone can smile!

**Hinata:** Beyond 'your' people or 'my' people, to _our _people–!

**Neji:** NO! You can't be as strong as me! _It's not FAAAAAAAAAAIR!_

**Hinata:** If your resolve is to fight, I will crush your resolve under mine!

**Neji:** Everything you stand for, I'll destroy it all!

**Hinata:** Even if I have to mangle you so badly Orochimaru won't WANT your body!

**Hiashi:** I failed you, brother, and your son…

**Lee:** Real strength is something you learn, and make yourself!

**Neji:** The weak are PREY!

**Hinata:** That's not the answer – I won't let it be!

**Naruto:** I'll watch you to the end!

**Hinata:** I'll break this cycle once and for all…!

**Hanabi:** No – she'll only destroy herself!

**Neji:** This clan was wretched, filthy, but I – I made it beautiful!

**Hinata:** For our clan…

**Neji:** For my clan…!

**Hinata/Neji:** I will do what I must!

**Naruto:** Next is **Chapter Twenty-Seven: Hinata and Neji**.

\\\Er… Weeell, claiming the longest chapter throne from chapter 19 is… ^^;

Let's pretend we didn't finally breakahundredpagesonwordwith12ptTNRfontsinglespace d wut? Well, we've reconfirmed that my estimating is ridiculously bad, but that's not really news, is it?

Good gosh, I've been waiting forever to use that over 9000 joke.

Werds n' stuff:

Shodai - founder/first

Nidaime - second

Mokuton - wood release

Inugami - doglike god/spirit

Gatsuuga - "Fang Over Fang"

taichou - captain; (I was considering having Sakon call her 'Cap'n', but opted for 'Taichou-chan' instead)

Katon - fire release

Kagemane - Shadow Possession/Shadow Imitation

ninken - ninja hound

Gouryuuka no Jutsu: Great Dragon Fire Technique

Fuuton: Wind Release

Kazeryuudan: Wind Dragon Bullet

Itai - 'ouch'

Senjutsu - sage technique

Rasenrendan - 'Rasengan Barrage'

Nativity of a World of Trees - also known as 'Deep Forest Emergence'

Gouken - Strong Fist/'Ferocious Fist'

Sora no Sato - Sky Village

kenjutsu - swordplay

shunshin - body flicker

Issan - Gaara's new nickname for Shukaku; combining 'One' and '-san'

Shuutan sokudo - terminal velocity

Juuchi Yosamu - Ten Thousand Cold Nights

oni - demon, ogre

Chikara - power

Yawarakai Te - Tender Hands

Ojii-san - grandfather; address for an elderly male

keirakukei - meridian system/'chakra network'

tenketsu - chakra point

Though the real Masamune and Muramasa lived at different times (and so could not have been teacher and student, or even have met), there is apparently a folktale that places them as master and student. Though I've taken some creative liberty, it essentially follows the same course as the tale Mifune tells Lee in the third part of Young Dragon's Gaiden, the story Lee recounts here - up to the point that the wise man deems Masamune's katana finer. All that happens after that, the swords clashing and cancelling and being sought by warriors throughout the ages, is my addition to the tale. Still, in folklore Muramasa is said to have crafted evil, indiscriminate swords, perhaps that can cut through anything; some stories say that when a Muramasa blade is drawn, it must draw blood before being returned to its sheath, even if that should mean injuring its wielder, and the sword may even drive the one who wields it to insanity or suicide. Supposedly in another version of the Masamune and Muramasa tale, the two are crafting their katana for a Shogun, and after their contest Muramasa is executed for forging evil swords. Masamune's swords, by contrast, are in some accounts deemed holy, and in some stories said to even have restorative powers, and signify a warrior possessing internal peace. (Main source is Wikipedia... I didn't find many actual or completely reliable outside sources, no...)

How was the chapter? We started with Naruto, Lee, Kakashi, Sasuke, Gaara, Shikamaru, and Anko vs. Hashirama, Tobirama, and Orochimaru, and wound up with everyone out but Naruto, Lee, and Gaara, with Orochimaru MIA for the moment. Orochimaru puts Shikamaru and Anko out of commission. Sage Naruto shows his strength, Naruto and Sasuke use some combos and smooth teamwork, Sasuke and Kakashi toss around lightning, and Naruto reveals his mastery of the Wind Release Rasenshuriken. Lee starts to really fight and match the First, Gaara shows his furthered skill with Shukaku's power.

The great scientist Naruto discovers terminal velocity. Promply breaks it.

Lee intercepts the Ironwood Javelin, breaking the Masamune sword, and triggering the unexpected awakening of the Muramasa. Any thoughts on his dark awakening? I wanted to keep the tone of that distinctly seperate from that of others' transformations, or Hinata's prior rampages for instance. Did it work? Lee's struggle, his meeting with Kozue (returning all the way from chapter 5!), his rampant power, his decision, conviction, death, rebirth, and ultimate triumph - how did it come together? Did it work, or fail miserably? Hope I didn't scare you too badly with his death. Somehow I nearly started sniffling _writing_ that, and I knew he was coming back! Overall, was it how a climactic battle should be, or just too crazy?

Sasuke chases after the 'stranger' (we all know who XD). Any thoughts on that conversation? Hinata busts the village prison with the once-Sound four, Sakura, and Kiba, but afterward has her reunion with Hiashi. I know a lot of people were waiting for this... how did it compare to what you expected? Was it believable? Lee saves Tenten, Naruto fights for Shino and Ino... I was considering killing off one or both of them, but couldn't quite do it. Neji vs. Hanabi happens. Neji gets the upper hand, and tries to recruit her to his side. He entertains the idea of giving her the curse to control her - did anyone anticipate this possibility? - but decides against it. Finally, Hinata's arrival, and the reunion of the three. Naruto and Lee give their support, the cousins face off, and the battle begins.

Pleeeeeeeaase tell me what you thought, about anything! I'll try to reply, and if I don't, feel free to yell at me. "Hey you! Author! Reply to my review now!" You might think I'm joking, but if need be, that really should work ^^ Loved it? Hated it? Comments, questions, praise, criticism, best parts, worst parts - all feedback is appreciated! Love you guys!

Until next time,

Hinata0321


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